Does anyone have any recommendations for auction sites for medieval coins? Preferably High Medieval, though I am interested in early as well.
I'm not aware of any auction houses/sites that are specifically dedicated to medieval coinage. But CNG probably comes about as close as you could get, but they're gonna have a lot of other stuff too. That said, at various times many of the major auction houses, both in the US and abroad, hold specific auctions containing a lot of medieval coinage. And some of the larger dealers do so as well. But as a general rule it's gonna be hit and miss when it comes to what's being offered. And I assume you're aware of the annual auction coming in Jan that is held in New York every year ? There will be a lot stuff there that you should be interested in.
I'm not sure what "high Medieval" is. For Medieval coins I can highly recommend the following: Jean Elsen, Kunker, Numismatic Nauman, Heritage Europe, CNG, Steven Album, WAG online, Dr. Peus, Gerhard Hirsch, HD Rauch, AMS, Heidrun Hohn, Schulman b.v., Gorny & Mosch . These are in my opinion some of the best. I've bought from all of them, some like Elsen and Kunker, dozens of times. All have accurate photo's and to my knowledge have never run up the bid on me. For me, PayPal is a must. Not for fraud protection, but for ease of payment. I highly recommend having a PayPal account. Check with each auction house to make sure they accept it. Most of the time it is listed in the "Terms of Sale". Most of them send an invoice within a week. Once payment is received, another 10 days may pass before they ship. For most they post low auction estimates, so if you see a coin you want and it is nice, then bid strong. In a recent auction I bid 15x high estimate and the coin was won for far more. Happens quite a bit. Really nice Medieval coins are few and far between, so I bid accordingly. If after my "Rant" here you are discouraged about auctions, then try MA shops. I highly recommend this site. If you have any questions please ask. PS. If you are a winner at auction, make sure you ask for a tracking number.
Actually, the CNG/ Triton XXIII auction has a "treasure trove" of Medieval coinage from Italy/ Low Countries/ Germany/ England. All are high quality (which is important) I have my sights on that auction. John
Thanks for the info I will have to look it them. I currently use MA shops and have been very happy with them, but am looking to expand my options.
NumisBids can be helpful. It allows you to search most, if not all, of the auction houses already mentioned. You can quickly search dozens of auctions w/ a single query. Pretty cool.
