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The following is the eight-step consignment process for submitting a coin to one of our auctions, from initial evaluation through to receiving your settlement. For any questions about the auction procedure, please get in touch with us at info@sovr.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3019 1185.
Consignment Process
The eight-step consignment process
1. Evaluation
If you have coins or medals that you would like to consign to auction, please send photos by email or make an appointment to show us in person. We accept a wide range of numismatic material, including ancient, modern and historic British and world coins, and our minimum lot value is typically around £500 ($750). We will require a copy of your photo ID to keep on file and will request your preferred wire details for payment. If you would like to wait until an agreed date to sell your coins, then we offer free interim storage services for any items guaranteed to one of our sales.
Image: Edward I (1272-1307) Groat. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1240
Image: Edward I (1272-1307) Groat. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1240
Hammer Price
$21,000
2. Commission
Our standard vendor’s commission rate is now 0%, giving you the entirety of the hammer price realised for your lots. If your consignment requires extensive cataloguing or consists of multiple low value lots, we may require a 5 or 10 per cent commission to reflect the additional time expenditure. However, if your consignment is of significant value, we can offer you additional special terms - please get in touch for more details.
Image: Henry VII (1485-1509) Testoon. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1250
Image: Henry VII (1485-1509) Testoon. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1250
Hammer Price
$36,000
3. Third-Party Grading
Once your coins have been accepted for auction, our specialists may advise that your material would benefit from third-party grading and encapsulation (often referred to as ‘slabbing’). This is not a compulsory process as we offer both encapsulated and unencapsulated coins in our sales, but the procedure can often lead to higher prices being paid at auction and assists in establishing current market values. The cost for this service is deducted from auction proceeds or, where lots do not sell, will be invoiced after the sale. Our chosen grading partner is Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), and we can submit material on your behalf before offering it in our sales.
Image: Henry VIII (1509-47) Testoon. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1251
Image: Henry VIII (1509-47) Testoon. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1251
Hammer Price
$25,000
4. Estimates and reserves
We aim to place estimates that are in line with current market values, conservative enough to encourage bidding, and yet are still satisfactory for our clients. We are happy to place reasonable reserves on our clients’ coins, but by law these reserves cannot be higher than the low estimate, and we aim to strike the balance between protecting the value of your coins whilst also making them appealing to potential bidders. Prior to a sale, each consignor will receive a full pre-sale advice that lists all of their consignments alongside their estimates and reserves, so you will be kept informed every step of the way.
Image: Ireland, Mary I (1553-58), Shilling, 1553. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1253
Image: Ireland, Mary I (1553-58), Shilling, 1553. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1253
Hammer Price
$25,000
5. Cataloguing
Sovereign Rarities boasts an expert team of numismatists with experience cataloguing some of the greatest collections of the recent numismatic era: Slaney (part 1), Samuel King, the Douro Cargo, Shuttlewood, Selig, Manville, Kaufman, Rees Jones, Mantegazza, Van Roekel, Karon, Marshall, Adams, Bentley, Hemisphere, Williams, Cook, etc. We ensure that our catalogue gives a suitable historical and numismatic spotlight to our client’s’ properties, and where possible we conduct extensive provenance research. We are able to discuss cataloguing requests prior to the auction.
Image: Charles II (1660-85), Halfcrown. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1259
Image: Charles II (1660-85), Halfcrown. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1259
Hammer Price
$40,000
6. Marketing
We send regular marketing emails to our client base in the run-up to each sale as a reminder of the closing date and most noteworthy lots included. We will also contact individual collectors and dealers to highlight individual pieces in our sale that may be of interest to them. For significant items or collections, we will produce dedicated digital and/or physical marketing material to distribute to our extensive mailing list. This will generally be conducted at our cost. Additionally, clients may request bespoke marketing material for their consignments.
Image: Anne (1702-14), Crown, 1703-VIGO. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1263
Image: Anne (1702-14), Crown, 1703-VIGO. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1263
Hammer Price
$50,000
7. Auction
We hold auctions both online and in-person at our Mayfair offices, and alongside our own dedicated online sale platform on sovr.co.uk our auctions are typically hosted on Sixbid, Numisbids and Biddr. We see high-value bidders participate from all over the globe and have generated multiple world-record prices in recent years. We typically offer two to three weeks of prebidding before each sale in which collectors can place public commission bids, leading up to the auction day itself where bids will come in online, over the telephone and in person. Prices realised are posted in the days following a sale.
Image: Victoria (1837-1901), proof Crown, 1839. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1269
Image: Victoria (1837-1901), proof Crown, 1839. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1269
Hammer Price
$29,000
8. Settlement
We pay our consignors no later than 45 days after the date of the sale, provided that we have in turn been paid by the buyer. Settlement can be made as a bank transfer or as a pound sterling cheque depending on your personal preference. For sales conducted on behalf of overseas consignors, we can transfer using an inter-bank rate of exchange giving you the best possible conversion. However, please note that the conversion will be conducted on the day payment is made, and not the day of the sale itself.
Image: Edward VIII (1936), pattern Crown, 1937. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1272
Image: Edward VIII (1936), pattern Crown, 1937. The New York Sale XLIX, January 2020, lot 1272
