Amoskeag Auction

What Amoskeag Auction does

Amoskeag Auction Company is a specialty firearms auction house headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, operating continuously since its founding in 1998. The firm conducts multi-auction-per-year sales of antique, collectible, and modern firearms, with reported catalog highlights including a Smith & Wesson sold for $253,000, a Savage Model 1899 at $87,725, and a Winchester 1866 at $26,620. Its customer base spans individual collectors, estate executors, insurance companies, and (as of 2025) institutional donors routed through the NRA's Firearms For Freedom program. The firm holds a Class III Special Occupational Taxpayer (S.O.T.) license, allowing it to broker NFA-regulated items such as suppressors and short-barrel firearms, an addressable category closed to non-licensed generalist auctioneers.

The underlying technology stack centers on a proprietary online live-bidding platform, Amoskeag Live, launched in March 2020, which is supplemented by syndication through third-party auction aggregators Proxibid and Invaluable to aggregate a national bidder pool. The company operates a nationwide consignment pickup service, removing geographic friction for sellers and effectively extending the firm's addressable consignor base beyond New England. Cataloging, authentication, and valuation are anchored in the domain expertise of principal auctioneer Jason Devine (35+ years of firearms auction experience) and co-founder Melissa Devine.

Amoskeag's revenue model combines a buyer's premium (21% standard, 17.5% for cash/check) with a seller commission (20% base, sliding scale down to 0% on high-value collections), producing a blended take rate of approximately 10%-15% of hammer price. The firm is privately held, founder-owned, and has not raised external capital; with 13 employees, it operates as a focused specialty incumbent rather than a venture-backed marketplace. Scheduled Auctions No. 150, 151, and 152 across 2026 indicate sustained throughput at a level consistent with a mature, stable specialty operator.

Name

Amoskeag Auction

Legal name

Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc.

Website

https://amoskeagauction.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Amoskeag Auction Company is a Manchester, NH-based specialty firearms auction house founded in 1998, serving individual collectors, estates, and institutional consignors with multi-auction-per-year sales distributed via its proprietary live-bidding platform and third-party aggregators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium: Standard 21% buyer's premium on all purchases. Discounted 17.5% premium for cash or check payments. Additional percentage may be added by supplemental platforms (Proxibid, Invaluable).
2. Seller Commission: Commission-based revenue from sellers. Base commission rate of 20% for firearms, with sliding scale where higher value items receive lower rates. 0% commission for particularly valuable and important collections.
3. Absentee/Telephone Bidding Services: Service fees from absentee and telephone bidders who cannot attend sales in person.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Amoskeag Auction Company operates a specialty firearms auction house conducting recurring live and timed online auctions of antique and modern sporting and military arms, edged weapons, sporting advertising, militaria, and related collectibles. Bidding is facilitated through a proprietary platform (Amoskeag Live) supplemented by Proxibid and Invaluable, with each firearm individually cataloged rather than bundled into lots. The firm also offers professional firearms appraisal services (insurance, legal/estate) and full-service nationwide consignment pickup and representation.

Product overview

Amoskeag Auction Company operates as a specialty auction house for sporting and military collectibles. The core offering consists of live and timed online auctions (via the Amoskeag Live proprietary platform) for firearms, edged weapons, militaria and related items, complemented by digital flipbook catalogs for bidder preview. Additional services include professional firearms appraisals and consignment services. The company also runs a special NRA Firearms For Freedom program through exclusive partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Auctions In-person and live-streamed auction events for antique and modern sporting and military arms, edged weapons, sporting advertising, militaria and related items, held multiple times per year at the Manchester, NH facility.
• Timed Online Auctions Online timed auctions featuring firearms, ammunition, optics and scopes, edged weapons, military collectibles, accessories and related items, running on the Amoskeag Live platform.
• Amoskeag Live Bidding Platform Company-owned online bidding platform supporting both live and timed auction formats, with absentee max bid functionality, proxy bidding, and the '+' bid system for tie situations.
• Digital Flipbook Catalogs Interactive digital flipbook catalogs for each auction (e.g., Auction No. 147, 148, 149, 150) allowing bidders to preview items before bidding.
• Firearms Appraisals Professional written appraisals for insurance purposes, legal-related purposes (probate, estate settlement, marital matters), and collector valuation, billed at fixed hourly rates with fees credited in full if the collection is later consigned.
• Consignment Services Full-service consignment program for firearms and collectibles including nationwide collection pickup with insurance, transportation, in-house cataloging, photography, and auction representation, with commission rates quoted on a case-by-case basis and a 20% base rate for firearms.
• NRA Firearms For Freedom Program Exclusive auction partnership with the NRA for their Firearms For Freedom program, selling donated firearms in dedicated sections of regular live and timed auctions with all proceeds supporting NRA, NRA-ILA, or affiliated 503(c)(3) organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Seller's check mailed within 20 business days after sale
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NRA Firearms For FreedomcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAmoskeag is the exclusive auction house for the NRA Firearms For Freedom program. Firearms donated to benefit the NRA are sold throughout the year in dedicated sections of regular live and timed auctions. All proceeds go to support the NRA, NRA-ILA, or one of four separate 503(c)(3) tax-deductible NRA-affiliated organizations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cowan's Auctions: Specialty auction house running dedicated firearms and militaria sales alongside broader historical collectibles. Comparable business model and collector customer base, with overlapping consignor pool in the antique and sporting arms segment.
• Rock Island Auction Company: The largest U.S. firearms auction house, conducting high-volume live and online sales of antique, modern, and NFA firearms. Directly comparable to Amoskeag in category, customer base (collectors, estates, dealers), and take-rate economics, but operates at materially larger scale.
• Bonhams: International auction house that handles fine and antique firearms within its sporting and collector arms category. Competes for trophy-lot consignments and high-net-worth buyers globally, offering international reach Amoskeag cannot match due to U.S.-only antique firearms shipping.
• Morphy Auctions: Specialty auction house with strong firearms, militaria, and antique advertising categories. Directly competes for high-end firearms consignments and offers similar live-plus-online auction formats to Amoskeag's collectors.
• Heritage Auctions: Major U.S. auction house with a dedicated firearms and militaria department running live and online signature sales. Competes for the same high-end consignments and collector buyers as Amoskeag, with broader category reach and stronger digital bidding infrastructure.
• Leland Little Auctions: Specialty auction house with a dedicated firearms and militaria category alongside fine art and estate sales. Comparable live-and-online auction model and overlap in collector and estate seller audiences.
• Briggs Auction Service: Auction firm handling firearms, estate, and antique collectibles. Comparable category mix and customer base, particularly relevant for estate- and probate-driven firearms consignments.
• Poulin Antiques & Auctions: Specialty auction firm focused on antique and collectible firearms, edged weapons, and militaria. Closely comparable niche and customer base to Amoskeag, competing for collector and estate consignments.

Broad incumbents

• Sotheby's: Global auction incumbent with selective firearms sales within its collectibles offerings. Overlaps with Amoskeag only at the trophy-lot tier and for high-net-worth consignors, but operates much broader categories with far greater scale and brand reach.

Emerging players

• GunsInternational: Online firearms marketplace that bypasses traditional auction houses by enabling direct buyer-seller transactions. Adjacent to Amoskeag's model and a potential disintermediation risk, particularly for mid-tier collectible firearms lots.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amoskeag-auction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amoskeag Auction