Market Watch

This Market Watch examines ebay auctions from November 17 through November 23. It is freezing outside, but the CT market is hot with 88 sales this week and nearly 300 listings on ebay at this moment.
     Most of the CTs sold were part of a large auction that was held yesterday by benachie. This seller offered 67 pieces, most of them selling for low to low mid-range prices with one piece crossing the $50 mark. These pieces are from a Scottish collection of about 700 pieces -- this was the second offering, so there are many more on the way! I noticed some nice buys in this group.
     All told, sixty-one CTs sold for under $20 or in the C range. Eighteen more sold in the BB range, and five pieces were bid into the B range of over $50 (but under $75). There were three CTs in the A range and one more in the AA range (that is, sold for over $100). Two of the pieces in the A range were sold in a single lot for $197, so they were nudging up against the $100 mark.
     Please remember that I am using a new rating system (AA, A, BB, B, C) to group CT sales according to hammer prices. The cut-offs are still arbitrary at this point -- someday I will provide a more statistical examination of the CT market price structure.
     The top CT this week was a piece that I have talked about before: a Jamaica West Indies oval from the Scottish Missionary Society (B6334) that brought $338 in a hotly contested auction that opened with a rock-bottom start-bid. The CT was offered by stevehayden -- it was likely part of a collection of Central American tokens that he is currently selling. It might be part of the Rulau collection, but this attribution was not stated. The purchaser should ask about this. In any case, ten bidders entered 19 bids.
     Interestingly, nearly all the bidders appeared to be token collectors who were focused on the region versus CT-specific collectors -- I noticed only one cross-over bidder who often vies for Scottish CTs among the top five bidders. This suggests that most of those who collect the Scottish series or the Canadian series were not involved in this auction. Certainly CTs appeal to folks for different reasons. Here is the link: Jamaica SMS CT.
     Of note, there is another Jamaican SMS CT offered for nearly $600 on ebay at present. In contrast, the two SMS pieces (representing two varieties: Lots 1150 & 1151) in the Simmons auction last month brought about $180 each. So, how bad do you want one?

Here is another example of
a New London CT from PEI.

     The pair of A tokens that sold for about $98 apiece were Irish CTs. They were cut-rectangles from Monreagh P.C. in Donegal (B4945). Ten bids were entered by 7 bidders with the price doubling in the final seconds. A similar piece sold in the Simmons auction (Lot 1124) for $128 -- you get a deal if you buy two for one money! Here is the link: Two Irish CTs from Monreagh in Donegal.
     The remaining A token was a Glasgow-styled CT, dated 1832, from New London on Prince Edward Island in Canada (B5282 or PE216). It sold for $86 after two bidders battled for two hours, entering 19 bids as the auction closed. In all, 28 bids were entered by 7 bidders. It was a nice piece with light golden toning on silver surfaces. The price was spot-on as compared to the Charlton estimate of $90.
     Another Canadian piece was bid to $72 -- just shy of the A CT category. This one was an irregular round piece from Harvey Settlement in New Brunswick (B3231 or NB216). This primitive bit attracted 9 bidders who entered 20 bids. I have never seen this one offered before, so I suppose it was boon time for the Canadian collectors. Here is the link: Harvey Settlement CT from New Brunswick. The Charlton estimate was between $45 and $60. Get it when you can!
     Well, there you have it. An active week with non-Scottish pieces leading the way: Jamaican, Irish and Canadian pieces bringing out the wallets. Looking back at the last three months, the top 10 sales have been dominated by these pieces (plus the New Zealand CT profiled a while back) with only four Scottish CTs (one of them a rock!) in the mix. Where are the USA CTs?