SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG

What SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG does

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG is a privately held, Zurich-based specialist auction house founded in 2011 by Jürg Richter. The company conducts semi-annual international auctions in May and October featuring rare coins, medals, banknotes, orders and decorations, supplemented by ongoing buy/sell and expertise/appraisal services. Operationally, SINCONA relies on a proprietary web-based auction platform (auktionen.sincona.com) integrated with third-party bidding services NumisBids and Sixbid, alongside live floor bidding at its Limmatquai 112 headquarters; supporting infrastructure includes standard CRM/ERP systems rather than disclosed proprietary technology.

The firm's commercial architecture is multi-entity: SINCONA AG (auction and expertise), SINCONA TRADING AG (precious metals trading and bank-vault storage), SINCONA Deutschland GmbH (EU import, customs and VAT handling for buyers in DE/BE/FR/IT/LU), Frankfurter Münzhandlung Nachfolge GmbH (EU-market auction services), and Münzen Gut-Lynt GmbH (online auctions). Revenue is generated primarily through a 20% buyer's premium on hammer prices (23% on margin-taxed lots under Swiss VAT Art. 24a), plus consignment commissions, precious metals trading, and secure-storage fees. Customers include private numismatic collectors (primary), professional coin and medal dealers, and museums/institutions; distribution is supported by attendance at international coin fairs across Europe, North America, and East Asia, the SINCONA Magazine (since May 2024), and an email newsletter.

Go-to-market is event-driven around the biannual auction cadence combined with relationship-led consignment acquisition, where experts travel to meet clients at fairs and provide personal consultation. Multi-language coverage (DE/EN/FR/RU) and membership in IAPN/VSBN support international consignor and bidder reach. The company is founder-owned with no disclosed external institutional backing.

Name

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG

Legal name

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG

Website

https://sincona.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG is a Zurich-based specialist auction house founded in 2011 that runs biannual international numismatic auctions and offers appraisal, consignment, and precious metals trading services to collectors, dealers, and museums worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Numismatic Auction Services

akta.pro primary industry

Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry) (CRAKAKAF)

Keywords

• Numismatic auction services
• Rare coin auctions
• Medal auctioneering
• Banknote auction services
• Numismatic appraisal services

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Auction Buyer's Premium: SINCONA charges a buyer's premium of 20% on the total hammer price of auction wins. For lots subject to margin taxation under Swiss VAT Art. 24a MWSTG, the premium is 23% including Swiss VAT. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Consignment Commission: Sellers consign items to SINCONA auctions; the company earns commission on successful sales. The company handles international auction sales for consignors with expertise and high-quality catalogues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG is a specialized auction house founded in 2011 in Zurich that conducts semi-annual international auctions (May and October) featuring rare coins, medals, banknotes, orders and decorations from around the world and Switzerland. The company also offers buying/selling facilitation services and professional numismatic appraisal and valuation expertise through its team of numismatists and auctioneers.

Product overview

SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG operates as a specialized auction house offering a unified platform for numismatic collectors and investors. The core offering consists of biannual international auctions in Zurich (held in May and October) featuring coins, medals, banknotes, orders, and decorations. Supporting services include buying/selling facilitation, professional expertise and appraisal services, and the SINCONA Magazine publication. The company operates affiliated brands SINCONA TRADING AG (precious metals trading and secure storage) and SINCONA Deutschland GmbH (EU market services), all accessible through an online auction platform integrated with third-party bidding services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SINCONA International Numismatic Auctions

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Corinphila Auktionen AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Corinphila Auktionen AG, the oldest auction house for stamps in Switzerland. Both are part of the Swiss auction ecosystem, serving complementary collecting categories.
• Weinboerse (Swiss Wine Auctioneers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with Weinboerse, the leading Swiss auctioneers for fine wines conducting four auctions per year. Both companies share expertise in specialized collectibles auctions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger Münzhandlung: Frankfurt-based traditional numismatic auction house with multiple annual sales covering ancient and modern coins. Comparable European auctioneer scale, catalogue tradition, and consignment-driven model to SINCONA.
• Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH: One of Europe's largest numismatic auction houses based in Osnabrück/Berlin, holding multiple auctions per year across ancient, world and German coins. Closely comparable event cadence, consignment model, and buyer-curator approach to SINCONA.
• Stack's Bowers Galleries: Long-established U.S. rare coin auctioneer hosting signature U.S. and world coin sales with online live bidding. Directly comparable to SINCONA in numismatic specialization and consignment-driven revenue model.
• Numismatik Lanz Numismatik AG: Munich-based auction house specializing in ancient and modern numismatic objects, conducting regular international auctions. Directly comparable to SINCONA in focus area (coins, medals) and event-driven auction business model.
• Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung GmbH: Munich-based numismatic auction house conducting several major sales annually covering ancient, medieval and modern coins. Direct peer to SINCONA on auction format, product mix, and international collector/dealer clientele.
• Heritage Auctions: U.S.-based global collectibles auction house with a major numismatics department offering rare coins, medals and currency at auction. Comparable transaction-fee revenue model and buyer pool; broader scale and category breadth than SINCONA.
• Classical Numismatic Group (CNG): U.S./UK-headquartered numismatic firm specializing in ancient and world coin auctions with regular printed catalogues and electronic sales. Comparable event-driven auction format and catalogue-driven brand approach to SINCONA.
• Auktionshaus H.D. Rauch GmbH: Vienna-based traditional auction house holding multiple numismatic coin and medal sales annually. Comparable mid-sized European numismatic auctioneer profile to SINCONA.
• Münzen & Medaillen AG / Monnaies & Médailles SA: Basel-based Swiss numismatic firm trading in and auctioning rare coins and medals. Direct competitor in the Swiss domestic market with overlapping collector base and Swiss-specialist positioning akin to SINCONA.
• Leu Numismatik AG: Swiss-based international numismatic auction house based in Winterthur near Zurich. Most locally adjacent direct peer to SINCONA, competing for Swiss and international consignors and buyers in the same auction categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sincona

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 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 SINCONA Swiss International Coin Auction AG