History

Founded in Zurich in 1988, Numismatica Ars Classica made its debut with its first auction in the following year. The standard and quality of the coins offered in the few years that followed soon gained the company a reputation as one of the world’s leading and most trusted firms for ancient coins. NAC’s specialist areas are primarily, but not limited to, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Italian coins.

Over the years NAC has been honoured to sell countless important collections which form part of one of the most important series of sales ever to take place in the history of Numismatics. Particularly noteworthy was Auction 13, probably the best group of coins of Sicily and Magna Graecia ever presented at a public auction. The collection had formerly been on display for 10 years at the Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig. Another unforgettable sale was auction 24, Property of a European Nobleman. This is arguably the most important group of Roman gold coins offered at a public sale in the last century and comparable only with the famous Montagu, Vicomte Ponton d’Amécourt, Ryan and Platt Hall collections. A few years later, NAC presented auction 38, a sublime selection of Roman portraits assembled by a refined, anonymous lover of imperial iconography.

More recently, NAC has auctioned the remarkable Barry Feirstein and S.C. Markoff collections, two of the most important American collections of Roman coins to be offered in the last 20 years. The William James Conte collection was the best group of Roman sestertii ever offered at a public sale, also not to be forgotten is the Luc Girard collection of Roman sestertii. Finally, we must mention the BCD collection of coins from Lokris and Phokis and the RBW collection of Roman Republican coins, once again the most important and complete sales ever publicly offered in these fields.

In 2003, NAC opened a UK branch in London’s prestigious St. James area. This is where NAC’s main activities are conducted and is the location of NAC’s extensive numismatic library and stock. This is one of the largest, most important and most varied selections of ancient coins in the world; only a tiny fraction of which can currently be viewed on our online shop which will be developed over the years to come.

In 2005, Numismatica Ars Classica began a fruitful collaboration with the Italian firm NAC Numismatica SpA which organizes an annual auction of Italian coins from its very central office located on Milan’s Via Brera.

NAC currently holds two annual auctions for ancient coins, one in Spring and one in Autumn. The sales are always held at the exclusive Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich.

The company has applied its experience and expertise not only to producing the finest auction catalogues and organising some of the highest grossing sales in the field, but also to its editorial activities. NAC’s most important undertaking to date has been its collaboration with the renowned Bibliothèque Nationale de France for the publication of its entire collection of Greek coins.

NAC participates in all major numismatic auctions and is a member of all the principal numismatic associations. NAC strongly believes in the importance of numismatic research and is the proud sponsor of numismatic initiatives to preserve the tradition of coin collecting and encourage new enthusiasts to the field.

We are an international company and represent some of the most distinguished and discerning clients in the market. Our team is committed to providing a friendly and bespoke service to our customers whether it be for sales, consignments, valuations or simply advice on building individual collections.

To find out more about NAC and what we do, please take a moment to view some of our past auction catalogues and visit the press area of our website featuring numerous newspaper and magazine articles on the company.