QATARI SHEIK LATE IN PAYING FOR COIN PURCHASES

Noble Investments, a rare coin and stamp dealer, is chasing a Qatari coin collector for £2.2m after he failed to pay for his auction purchases. The commission is due to Baldwin’s, Noble’s main subsidiary, and amounts to a fifth of the group’s estimated revenues for 2012.

Ian Goldbart, managing director, is confident that the money will be paid: “The collector has never denied buying at the auction. It’s not a question of if we get paid, but when.” Shares in the Aim-quoted group fell 2.8 per cent to 185.5p, following the announcement. Noble declined to reveal the identity of the Qatari, although the group said in a statement that he was a “significant” collector.

The coin and stamp dealer will retain the coins and will consider another auction if they do not receive their payment. Mr Goldbart reiterated that non-payment remained unlikely. “I doubt this will happen – I really can’t see this not being paid for,” said Mr Goldbart. The company is, however, receiving legal advice.

Non-payment is an occasional hazard for coin and stamp dealers, according to Mr Goldbart, especially with larger collectors. “It doesn’t happen very often with us. When you have major collectors, it’s difficult to ask for a deposit before an auction. Auctions are on trust – you have to trust bidders to honour their commitment, whether you’re Sotheby’s or us.”

The non-payment blots an otherwise strong year for the company, with the market for extremely rare coins proving resilient throughout the financial crisis. Baldwin’s broke the world record for the most expensive English or Australian coin, after it sold a George V 1920 Sydney mint sovereign for £780,000 in September.

This sale came on the back of a similarly successful auction of 642 ancient Greek coins in January, which fetched a record $25m. The boost from the Greek sale helped Noble report a 59 per cent jump year-on-year in pre-tax profits to £2.4m for the first half of their financial year.

To read the complete article, see: Noble chases Qatari coin collector for £2m (www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/632b8764-1799-11e2-8ebe-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29VmkiCtB)

Nowadays it has become an usual scenario. The lion's share of the top auctions of ancient material - whether tetradrachms or fractions - goes to the bidder from Qatar. According to a preliminary addition of Hadrien Rambach, a London-based coin-advisor, who was attending the sale, the sheik bought 41 lots for over 1 million pounds (more than $1.5 million) during the recent auction of Morton & Eden.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QATARI SHEIK ON COIN-BUYING SPREE (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n45a16.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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