2005 was a banner year for Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, with the company reporting $477,802,341 in sales.
Heritage officials say it was by far the best overall year in its history.
?This was an exceptional year, right from the very beginning,? said Greg Rohan, president of HG&A.
?We started the year with a record-breaking auction at the Florida United Numismatists convention ? over $61 million, making it the biggest coin and currency auction ever held ? and went on to break record after record as the year progressed.?
A hot currency market helped Heritage.
?February saw Heritage set a new record for currency auctions ? better than $12 million in an auction held in our Dallas, Texas headquarters ? and by December, Heritage had sold six of the top 11 coins of 2005, including all of the top four,? said Rohan.
Along with the Dallas event, Heritage set a new record set for small size U.S. notes ? a 1928 Federal Reserve note with a face value of $10,000 that brought $241,500 in the February auction. This contributed to a record year for the department, which demonstrated a 106-percent increase over 2004, bringing its total to $36,049,300.
The $477 million figure represents results from all of HG&A?s departments and it includes $304,058,341 in auction sales and $173,744,000 in private treaty sales.
In 2004, Heritage reported total sales (auction and private treaty) of $321,481,822, meaning 2005 saw an overall increase of approximately 48.6 percent. Total auction sales in 2005 (excluding private treaty sales) were $304,058,341, a 66.3-percent increase over 2004?s $182,790,132.
All figures include a 15-percent buyers premium.
For more information about any of Heritage?s auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color photos of each lot, visit www.HeritageGalleries.com.
For a copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call (800) 872-6467, ext. 272.
