Society of Paper Money Collectors
Auction Archives
Much numismatic material is offered at public auctions. Until a few years ago, a buyer had the option of attending the auction in person (or bidding through a representative) or ordering the catalog in advance and sending a mail bid. The Internet provides a third option. Not only can you view the auction catalog online, but you can bid online in advance of the auction and sometimes online as the auction occurs. Some auctions are held only on the Internet (no attended live auction).
Records of past auctions can provide valuable data: What has appeared and how often, how much money it brought, and what it looked like. Here are some paper money auction records that we find useful (suggestions for additional sites are welcome--email the webmaster).
Heritage
The currency division of Heritage was once Currency Auctions of America. It has the best archive of past auctions with about 190,000 paper money items. Furthermore, almost every item is pictured with a high-resolution photo and the price realized is with the item (not as a separate prices realized document). Items that did not sell are so indicated. Access is free, but an ID is required (although only to access the archive--current auctions may be viewed without an ID). You will get email ads from Heritage/CAA in exchange for access to the data. This archive is a very valuable resource: Data from past auctions is aggregated into one database so you may search all items with one search. As such, this company currently stands alone, as far as this reviewer knows.
R. M. Smythe
Smythe has archived its catalogs since 2002 and prices realized go back even further. Access is free without ID. The catalogs are in PDF format in multiple files according to subject matter for each catalog, with no aggregation among catalogs. Images are limited. Searching the whole archive cannot be done in one operation. Still, a valuable resource.
Lyn Knight Currency Auctions
Knight's web underwent a major revision (and improvement) in November 2003 just before the St. Louis sale. Past auction catalogs do not appear to have been retained, however. An ID is not required to view or search the catalog. It is too early to know if the company will provide access to past catalogs. Keep checking!
Early American History Auctions
EAHA covers much more than paper money, and their paper money offerings are usually limited to colonial and obsolete U.S. paper money. Still, the descriptions and images are of high quality. Only one past auction catalog is retained, so this site is not as useful as it could be. No ID is required to view catalogs.
Note: This list is hardly exhaustive of paper money auction companies. It highlights ones known to the SPMC reviewer to have significant educational value because of their auction records. Suggestions for other sites are welcome.
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