1) What does the coin business currently look like in the Czech Republic? Can it be said that interest in coins has been decreasing or increasing in recent years, and why is that?
Numismatics has been thriving long-term thanks to a large, stable base of collectors, which has been expanding in recent years, not only in the Czech Republic. Buyers are primarily collectors and numismatic enthusiasts. Of course, coins today are also a subject of investment demand, so some buyers can be described as investors. The numismatic market is naturally global today. I travel to auctions all over the world and buy for our customers. It is gratifying that after years of communism, when coins were only exported from our country, there is now significantly more import than export. National markets mostly influence the prices of specimens associated with a given state or locality. Therefore, our market primarily co-creates the prices of Czech coins or those connected with our territory. However, some fields, such as ancient numismatics, are literally worldwide. In recent years, it has been possible to observe a great rise in Eastern markets, including our Czech one.
2) Are coins a good investment? What can their appreciation be, and what all does one have to study before starting to buy them for commercial purposes?
Coin collecting is primarily a conservative investment. Appreciation is mainly long-term, though some areas grow even in the short term. Deep knowledge is not necessary for purchasing. It is possible to consult everything with an expert or to be represented when buying. For example, compared to an investment in paintings, the advantage is that coins are not unique; they are not originals, as is the case with paintings. They are interchangeable, and forgeries, for instance, can be compared with other existing coins that are documented in museums. The buyer also has the advantage that the price is predictable; the same coin might appear on the market perhaps four times a year. In contrast, a painting is unique; we can compare achieved prices of the artist, but usually not the specific work. Coin collectors have it easier in this respect.
3) Which types of coins are in greatest demand (e.g., from which period, from which material) and are Czech or foreign coins more popular?
Popularity is slightly changeable, primarily for modern coins. For classic old numismatics, interest is very stable. Among investors, gold coins are primarily popular.
4) What is the rarest coin you have sold (or are selling) and what was its value?
The most expensive coin sold by our company is a twenty-ducat coin from the year 1610 of Saxon Elector Christian. The coin was sold in our auction for 7,600,000 CZK.
5) If I find an old coin somewhere, how can I tell it might have some value? (age, condition, some unique features? What criteria play a role in determining its price?)
The main criteria for price are rarity, popularity, and condition. The age of the coin is not decisive for the price. You can easily buy coins that are 2000 years old for a few crowns, and conversely, a coin from the 20th century can be exceptionally expensive.
6) Is it always true that a coin made of precious metal is always more valuable than a coin made of base metal?
This is not always the case. A rare date of a small coin minted for circulation (e.g., Czechoslovak 5 Halers 1925 or 5 Koruna 1937) are sometimes many times more expensive than more common gold coins.
7) Is it possible to find a collector-sought coin even among today's current coins?
Theoretically, it is possible to find the sought-after trial variant of the current 10 crown coin from 1993, called "small Kč" by collectors, which was sold in our 82nd Auction for 140,000 CZK. However, given the number of around 1000 minted pieces of this rare variant and the many millions of minted coins in circulation, this chance is realistically very small.
8) In December 2017, a recently valid 200 Crown banknote from 1993 was sold in one of your auctions for over 600,000 CZK. What made this banknote exceptional?
The high selling price was influenced primarily by two factors. The first was that it was a very sought-after misprint by collectors, where a metallic strip with the inscription "REPUBLIQUE DU ZAIRE" was incorrectly embedded in the paper for printing the banknote instead of the correct one with the repeating inscription "200 Kč". The second factor was the banknote's origin from the first issued series A01 and especially its exceptionally flawless condition, as most found misprints are variously damaged from circulation.
9) The 5000 Koruna banknote from 1919 is considered the rarest banknote of Czechoslovakia, whose collector's price today ranges between 3 and 5 million CZK. Why is this particular banknote so rare?
A total of 500,599 pieces of these banknotes (more correctly state notes, as the issuer was not a bank but the newly formed Czechoslovak state) with a face value of 5000 Koruna were issued, of which only 98 pieces were not returned during withdrawal from circulation. "Today, the occurrence of 36 of them is known, a large part is in the collections of foreign banks that received the state note as bank specimens during its validity. Only a fraction of these state notes are in private collections, so it can be said that this is our rarest currency". It was auctioned twice, sold for 50,000 crowns in the 80s, and for 500,000 CZK at the beginning of the 90s. Today, the price of this banknote in the event of a potential sale can rather only be estimated.