High Prices At Yet Another Auction: Harmer-Schau

Sat through several sessions of the Harmer-Schau auction this weekend, and as with other auctions we've seen, bidding and results were quite strong, especially in collection lots. Just about everything went at or above estimates. Very few unsold lots. Asia in particular was quite strong.

Prices realized are not on SAN, since live bidding was only on another platform.

Prices realized: https://www.harmerschau.com/php/toc...g=1&sale=122

Some eye openers:

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1756&lang=1

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1759&lang=1

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1759&lang=1

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1765&lang=1

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1796&lang=1

https://www.harmerschau.com/php/lot...=1899&lang=1

Thanks for sharing that data Revenue. Some of those realizations are jaw dropping.

Dutch Country today too, with some lots going 5x estimate...

It is a very hot market. Lots of demand that supply is having difficulty meeting.

I watched parts of the Harmer-Schau auction as well. Was way out-bid on stuff I was interested in. I was impressed that they did 3 solid days of auctioning, with the same guy calling for 30 hours. I would have been hopelessly hoarse after 1 hour. The live-bidding web interface was excellent, too; very responsive and great audio.

China stuff was particularly shocking for the prices it went.

As to why prices have gone up so much, I have no doubt it is due to the pandemic in some way. One possibility is an increase in collecting activity. That isn't the only possibility. Checking APS membership #s, and the decline in members continues. So maybe the # of collectors is not increasing, though existing ones may be more active. A bigger effect may be an increase in the number of dealers, as out of work people seek to start a new business. With fewer auctions the last year, dealers (both old and new) have gotten short on material, and so bid-up dealer lots. Of course, more dealers if there aren't more collectors, will make dealing less profitable. I really don't see how anyone could make much money with the prices some of the dealer lots sold for at Harmer-Schau.

Actually, APS membership numbers are up.

For a discussion of the market by David Coogle, President of Kelleher's see this topic:

http://goscf.com/t/75776&whichpage=1#677755

"Dutch Country today too, with some lots going 5x estimate..."

The only lot I was going to bid on went at 4x. Silly me, I was "only" going to bid 2x.

Back to Harmtt-Schau

" I was impressed that they did 3 solid days of auctioning, with the same guy calling for 30 hours. I would have been hopelessly hoarse after 1 hour. "

Me too, but he loves to talk, so his voice is trained.

" Just about everything went at or above estimates"

Unlike Kelleher, he likes to intentionally underestimate lots, but for this being his last auction it is clear he just phoned in some of the estimates.

Has Harmer-Schau announced that they aren't holding any more auctions?

I don't know where Coogle got the idea APS membership was up. From the APS website (recently updated with 2020 #s):

https://stamps.org/history/membersh...torical-data

Members at the end of 2019: 28010; Members at the end of 2020: 27415. So not up. I guess you could say that the rate of decline has been stemmed some. Actually, the most new members since 2016. Below is a screen shot of a spreadsheet on the matter. Still, we haven't seen an increase in membership in the APS since 1997. Makes me sad.

There may be some increase in stamp collecting, but I doubt it is a flood (outside of China).

APS membership (like stamp show attendance and number of brick and mortar stamp stores) was as a metric for the health of the hobby back in the 1980s. But the hobby, and everything else in our lives that included the communication of information, drastically changed in the post-internet era. Of course APS membership declined**, pre-internet our primary interface with the hobby was organizations like APS and the AP magazine, Linn's, and local clubs. But now hobbyists have a variety of ways to interface with the hobby, and much of it (like this community) comes without costly membership fees.

Until someone develops a method of measuring the health of the hobby which includes the online segments it will be nothing more than guessing.
Don

**It is not coincidence that the decline shown above started in the late 1990s, the same time that the internet began to become mainstream.

Wjmartin - New membership is up in 2020 from 2019 by 14% per column 2. That is what I am talking about.

https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/r...c-1.50027508

Japan, Massive Accumulation in 40 Boxes, mint and used on pages, stockpages, in albums, in glassines, etc., collections virtually all bought out of major auction firms over the decades, subsequently some items removedAll the high values but, in many cases, substantial value still existsMostly common , some work needs to be doneMissing values everywhere but worth the effort, better items incl. DragonsSo what,what type ?, Cherry BlossomsIn every collection but mostly value in the early to mid 20th Century period

1. Pure supposition unless you examined the lot firsthand or consulted with the auction house.

2. To what extent do you realistically expect them to describe a bulk lot?

Received via an email...Harmer's first 1/2 of 2021 auction schedule:


Announcing H.R. Harmer's Schedule
For The First Half Of 2021

We are excited to announce our schedule for the first half of 2021, which will include four wonderful name sales and two general sales. We are still actively seeking consignments for both our April and June sales, dates, and deadlines for which can be found below. Don't miss a chance to have your material featured alongside the exceptional and diverse properties already in our office.


General Sales:

United States Postal History

United States, British Commonwealth, and Foreign Collections and Accumulations

Sale Dates: April 12-14

Consignment Deadline: February 12



United States, British Commonwealth, and Foreign Stamps and Covers

Sale Dates: June 14-16

Consignment Deadline: April 9



Specialized Sales:

The "Bedford" Collection Part I: United States and Canada

Sale Dates: April 12-14



The Dr. Larry C. Parks Collection Part I: British Commonwealth Postal Stationery

The Ing. Pietro Provera Collection of United States Stamps and Covers Part II

The "Erivan" Collection of United and Confederate States Postal History Part V

Sale Dates: June 14-16