MA-Shops
MA-Shops is a privately held online marketplace founded in 2005 that connects certified numismatic dealers with global collectors. The platform offers nearly one million coins, banknotes, stamps, and collectibles, earning revenue via transaction commissions and seller listing fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersBocholt, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What MA-Shops does
MA-Shops (MA-Shops GmbH) is a privately held online multi-vendor marketplace founded in 2005 by Joachim Schwiening and headquartered in Bocholt, Germany, with a US regional office in Sarasota, Florida. The platform aggregates hundreds of certified dealers offering nearly one million numismatic and collectible items spanning ancient, medieval, and modern coins; world and US paper money; stamps; militaria; watches; jewelry; antiques; and historical documents. The company operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and maintains offices in both Europe and the United States.
The underlying platform is a multi-vendor marketplace architecture with integrated seller management, multi-language support (English, French, Dutch, German), and multi-currency pricing across eleven currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, and several Asian and emerging-market currencies. Proprietary trust features include a certified dealer screening process, the MA-Cert trust badge, a percentage-based seller rating system with detailed reviews, and direct integrations with major third-party grading services (NGC, PCGS, PMG, NCS) that allow buyers to filter authenticated inventory. The platform also provides buyer protection mechanisms including money-back guarantees and insured shipping options.
MA-Shops generates revenue through marketplace transaction commissions on sales completed via the platform, supplemented by seller subscription or listing fees that dealers pay to maintain branded storefronts within the marketplace. Pricing of individual items is set entirely by dealers, ranging from under $100 to over $68,000 based on rarity and condition. The company serves two primary customer segments: coin and collectibles collectors (individuals/hobbyists) and numismatic dealers (professional and semi-professional sellers), with no enterprise or institutional customers identified. Marketing is conducted primarily through SEO, content marketing via the MA-Shops blog, organic social media, and email communications.
MA-Shops firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MA-Shops
- Legal name
- MA-Shops GmbH
- Website
- https://ma-shops.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- MA-Shops is a privately held online marketplace founded in 2005 that connects certified numismatic dealers with global collectors. The platform offers nearly one million coins, banknotes, stamps, and collectibles, earning revenue via transaction commissions and seller listing fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MA-Shops industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Collectibles Marketplace
- NAICS
- Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)
- SIC
- Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coins, Currency & Bullion Collectibles Retail (Numismatics) (CRALAGAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online Collectibles Marketplaces & Auction Retail (CRALAGAO), Collectibles, Trading Cards & Memorabilia Marketplaces (CRAFAGAE), Historical & Military Collectibles Retail (CRALAGAM)
Keywords
Where MA-Shops is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bocholt
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
MA-Shops business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Transaction Commission: MA-Shops charges dealers a commission or listing fee for each sale completed through the platform. Individual sellers like Lecoincollection, Numistro, and Germania Inferior Numismatics operate their own shops within the marketplace, with the platform taking a percentage of each transaction.
- Seller Subscription/Listing Fees: Dealers maintain shops on MA-Shops with their own branding, inventory management, and customer feedback systems, paying for their presence on the trusted marketplace.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Individual item pricing by certified dealers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
MA-Shops product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MA-Shops operates a multi-vendor online marketplace where certified numismatic dealers list and sell ancient and modern coins, paper money, medals, stamps, militaria, and other collectibles to collectors worldwide. The platform aggregates nearly 1 million items across hundreds of certified dealers, offering buyer protection through authenticity guarantees, MA-Cert badges, and integration with major grading services such as NGC, PCGS, and PMG.
Product overview
MA-Shops is a multi-vendor online marketplace for numismatic and collectible items, founded in 2005 by Joachim Schwiening. The platform aggregates hundreds of certified dealers offering nearly 1 million items across six main product categories: Coins (Ancient, Medieval, World, USA, Canada, Europe, Euro, Germany, Islamic, Holy Roman Empire, Error, Motif, Emergency), Paper Money (USA, World, Germany, France, Europe, Regional), Stamps (by region and era), Antiques & Accessories (Jewellery, Watches, Militaria, Coin Accessories), and Certified items (NGC, PCGS, PMG graded). The marketplace provides buyer protection, authenticity guarantees, insured shipping, and multi-currency support through its dealer network.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MA-Shops Marketplace Online multi-vendor numismatic marketplace connecting certified coin and collectibles dealers with collectors worldwide. Offers nearly 1 million items including ancient and modern coins, paper money, medals, stamps, militaria, and other collectibles, with buyer protection, authenticity guarantees, MA-Cert badges, money-back guarantees, and insured shipping.
- Certified Coins & Banknotes Marketplace category allowing collectors to browse and purchase coins and banknotes authenticated by the major third-party grading services NGC, PCGS, and PMG. Designed for collectors who require professional third-party grading as a condition of purchase.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 1 million collectibles available for purchase
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use MA-Shops
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MA-Shops technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
MA-Shops partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation)coreIntegration allowing buyers to filter and purchase NGC-certified coins. NGC certification badge and logo displayed on the platform with link to ngccoin.com.
- PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service)coreIntegration allowing buyers to filter and purchase PCGS-certified coins. PCGS certification badge and logo displayed on the platform with link to pcgs.com.
- PMG (Paper Money Grading)coreIntegration allowing buyers to filter and purchase PMG-certified banknotes. PMG certification badge and logo displayed on the platform with link to pmgnotes.com.
- American Numismatic Association (ANA)minorANA logo displayed on the platform footer indicating membership/partnership with the American Numismatic Association. Link to money.org.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MA-Shops competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Numisbids: Numisbids is an aggregator listing upcoming and past numismatic auctions worldwide, serving the same collector audience that browses MA-Shops for certified and ancient coins.
- VCoins.com: VCoins is a direct peer: a multi-vendor online marketplace for ancient, world, and modern coins operated by a network of professional numismatic dealers with similar listing and certification mechanisms.
- Heritage Auctions: Heritage Auctions is one of the world's largest numismatic auction houses, with fixed-price and timed-auction formats that overlap directly with MA-Shops' certified-dealer marketplace for rare coins.
- Stack's Bowers Galleries: Stack's Bowers is a major US-based rare coin auctioneer and dealer, competing for the same high-AOV certified-coin listings and collector buyers that MA-Shops serves.
- CoinArchives: CoinArchives is an online database and marketplace for ancient and world coins sold by professional dealers, directly comparable to MA-Shops' ancient and medieval coin verticals.
Emerging players
- Catawiki: Catawiki is a European curated online auction platform with dedicated coins and banknotes verticals, comparable to MA-Shops' multi-vendor marketplace model for collectibles dealers across Europe.
- LiveAuctioneers: LiveAuctioneers is an online auction aggregator for antiques and collectibles including coins and militaria, serving comparable SMB collectors who shop both auction and fixed-price marketplaces.
- WorthPoint: WorthPoint is a collectibles pricing and marketplace platform that overlaps with MA-Shops on coins, antiques, and militaria categories, providing price reference data to similar collector audiences.
Broad incumbents
- APMEX: APMEX is a large online retailer of precious metals and certified coins, overlapping with MA-Shops on the gold/silver/platinum bullion and certified-coin segments but operating a retail rather than multi-vendor marketplace model.
- eBay (Collectibles / Coins category): eBay operates a broad incumbent marketplace with a large coins and paper-money vertical; it shares MA-Shops' multi-seller collectibles model but offers far less numismatic-specific certification and trust infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses6 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MA-Shops social profiles
Digital presenceMA-Shops financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MA-Shops leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
MA-Shops funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MA-Shops M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MA-Shops
What does MA-Shops do?
MA-Shops operates a multi-vendor online marketplace where certified numismatic dealers list and sell ancient and modern coins, paper money, medals, stamps, militaria, and other collectibles to collectors worldwide. The platform aggregates nearly 1 million items across hundreds of certified dealers, offering buyer protection through authenticity guarantees, MA-Cert badges, and integration with major grading services such as NGC, PCGS, and PMG.
Is MA-Shops a public or private company?
MA-Shops is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was MA-Shops founded?
MA-Shops was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is MA-Shops based?
MA-Shops is headquartered in Bocholt, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does MA-Shops make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Transaction Commission is the primary driver. The others are seller Subscription/Listing Fees.
Who are MA-Shops's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Numisbids, VCoins.com, Heritage Auctions, Stack's Bowers Galleries and CoinArchives. Emerging players are Catawiki, LiveAuctioneers and WorthPoint. Broad incumbents are APMEX and eBay (Collectibles / Coins category).
Does MA-Shops have an API?
No public API is recorded for MA-Shops.
What industry is MA-Shops in?
MA-Shops's product category is Online Collectibles Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAGAF, Coins, Currency & Bullion Collectibles Retail (Numismatics), with a secondary code of CRALAGAO, Online Collectibles Marketplaces & Auction Retail. Its NAICS code is 45912 and its SIC code is 5945.