October is a busy, busy month for stock and bond auctions. Two more beautiful catalogs just came in from longtime contributor Matthias Schmitt and his company Historiches Wertpapierhaus AG (HWPH).Auction 31 will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at Erbprinzenpalais in Wiesbaden, Germany followed two days later by Auction 32 at the same location. Together the two sales will offer 2,302 lots of stocks and bonds from around the world. Most lots are illustrated in full color in both the catalogs and online at www.hwph.de. If interested in participating in these auctions, be sure to contact Herr Schmitt or his staff immediately at auction@hwph.de or by phone at +49-81-06-24-61-88.
The Saturday auction (Auction 31) offers 962 lots of which 16 represent scarce and rare certificates from North American railroads. Several of these come from the collection of world-class collector Tankred Menzel and will not likely appear for sale for another twenty years or so. Since these certificates are being offered in Germany, I must expect most to attract strong bids.
The Monday auction (Auction 32) offers a wider selection of more typical certificates. As I have pointed out time and again, American collectors should remember that some certificates are much, much scarcer in Europe than here. Consequently, some of the certificates we see as common attract very strong bids in Germany. CONVERSELY (and this is the heart of my warning), some certificates are greatly more scarce here in the U.S. than in Germany and therefore sell for less on the other side of the Atlantic. Never assume that certificates are equally common or scarce everywhere in the world!
By my count, Auction 32 offers 1,341 lots, of which approximately 142 are North American certificates. Of that number, 65 lots are railroad-related. At least 11 lots are autographed certificates which normally fetch strong to very strong bids in Europe. Don't forget to look in the back of the catalog (lots 2253 to 2262) for multi-item lots which often represent great deals, no matter where sales take place.
All single-item lots are illustrated in full color and all images show entire certificates. Prices are denominated in Euros and all lots clearly show minimum bid amounts..
