The Triumph Of Cranky Stubbornness!

I'd posted previously about my unsuccessful efforts to sell a 1900 Austrian 4-ducat gold coin. I went to my first show last year, the big annual international show at the Waldorf Astoria, but I'd been led astray by a couple of dealers (I think Heritage was one) who were implying that they might be interested to the tune of $1000-$1200, but when I returned, they immediately were saying, oh, no, that wasn't what they'd meant at all. They were saying they weren't offering to buy, only hazarding theoretical prices if I wanted to consign it for auction.

So I missed my chance at the show, and though I shopped around in NYC over the next several months, the prices I was being offered kept getting lower and lower - $560, $550, $520, $510, $490, $470... People were implying that the margin was so low that they wouldn't sell it for much more than that, which I didn't believe, and I also had the impression that some were claiming that the condition was worse than it was. I was finding, too, that although there are a lot of local dealers claiming an interest and expertise in international coins, that just wasn't true.

I finally go so irritated that I decided to stubbornly wait until this January again. I went to the show again, and this time I was smart enough to make a beeline for the foreign dealers, sure I could get at least $600. I immediately got an offer for $650 - but then a better one for $700.

So I think there's a double moral. First, that stubbornness can pay off. Second, that nothing takes the place of persistent legwork.