RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR HERITAGE
Heritage Auctions, the largest auction house founded in the USA, had another record-setting year for numismatic auctions in 2022 with results totalling:
• U.S. Coins: $310,059,195 (approximately £254 million)
• World & Ancient Coins: $100,574,337 (£82.5 million)
• U.S. Currency: $37,623,883 (£30.8 million)
• World Currency: $16,205,390 (£13.2 million)
The four departments amassed $464,462,805 in combined sales – a total that jumps to $567,962,805 when the sale of Russian newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov's Nobel Peace Prize medal is added. Heritage waived its entire commission on the Nobel Prize, and therefore did not include the $103.5 million in its 2022 numismatic total, or in its annual total sales of more than $1.45 billion.
Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions, said:
‘It was a memorable year for the numismatic marketplaces and Heritage is honoured to once again, be the most popular auction platform for the largest and most savvy connoisseurs and dealers. Our team is proud of the incredible prices we delivered for our consignors and are even more excited for the year ahead as we increase our marketing around the world and introduce even more tools that will benefit the collecting community.'
The proceeds from the June sale of Muratov's Nobel Peace Prize – the $103.5 million marked the most ever paid for any numismatic item – were donated to support UNICEF's humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine and affected regions. Through the efforts of Heritage's Amsterdam office and other team members, UNICEF received payment in full the day after the auction.
Leading the US Coins sales for the auction company was a 1795 Nine Leaves Ten Dollar (pictured), the rarest and most popular of all the Capped Bust Right, Small Eagle tens, which soared to $3,360,000, crushing the previous world record by more than $2.3 million. In the same auction, which took place in January 2022, a Justh &
Hunter Gold Ingot, the largest
S.S. Central America ingot ever offered at auction, sparked 55 bids before finishing at $2.16 million.