ЕЛЕКТРОННІ АРХІВИ НУМІЗМАТИЧНИХ АУКЦІОНІВ У НАУКОВИХ СТУДІЯХ
ELECTRONIC ARCHIVES OF NUMISMATIC AUCTIONS IN SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

Summary/Abstract: The global pandemic and martial law in Ukraine first led to the closure of museums and archives, and later to their forced evacuation. This made it difficult or even impossible for researchers to study the most reliable sources in numismatics - coins and art medals - in order to make new discoveries in the history of money circulation in Ukraine. In such circumstances, the archives of electronic numismatic auctions come to the rescue, where lots can often relate to the history of Ukraine, be minted in Ukraine, or be related to Ukrainian studies. The purpose of the study is to determine the scientific potential of using the data of electronic archives of numismatic auctions in research on numismatics and the history of monetary circulation. Conclusions. The websites of official numismatic auctions in Europe and America have a number of advantages, and the use of their archives has significant potential. Information about the lots put up for sale, which is stored in the archives of numismatic auctions, contains high-quality images of the obverse and reverse of the coin suitable for printing in printed publications, as well as descriptions of the images, specifications of size and weight, coin metal, information about similar varieties in popular coin catalogues, and the origin of the sold numismatic item. Auction lots also contain the initial expected price and the sale price. All of the above components of an auction lot give researchers the opportunity to study the stamp varieties of coins, their typology and metrology, as well as the history of collections. Data from online coin auction archives are valuable for assessing the value of coins in art history expertise, and are used as markers for evaluating sales of similar coins of varying degrees of preservation for value assessment. The data on coins sold at numismatic auctions stored in electronic archives has its advantages and disadvantages as a source of information in numismatic research. On the one hand, we no longer know the exact data on the discovery of the coins, as well as their current status - in the collections of which private person or museum institution they are, as the same coins may have been resold several times over the past decades. The coins stored in the archives of numismatic auctions are useful for researchers in studying the typology of coins, identifying their varieties not published in numismatic catalogues, as well as studying such popular and important aspects of numismatic research as the history of collecting and the formation of numismatic collections, and pricing policy in the numismatic market. Also, data on sales at numismatic auctions allow researchers to regulate the degree of rarity of coins and track changes in the collecting market. The disadvantages of numismatic auction archives include the fact that some of them use historically unreliable identification of coins minted in Ukraine, often treating Ukrainian coins as Russian. Numismatic auctions also practically do not provide information about the origin of coins, which guarantees the legality of the sale, and do not provide information about the place of discovery and the circumstances of the discovery of coins, which is a significant drawback for scientific research. The article describes a methodology for searching for lots in auction archives that have scientific potential for studying the history of monetary circulation in Ukraine. To cite and reference auction materials, it is necessary to indicate the name of the auction, the auction number, as well as the title if the auction is dedicated to an event or person, or is an anniversary, as well as the date of the auction and the lot number. By reviewing the electronic archives of numismatic auctions using auction search generators during 2022-2024, we were able to identify a number of interesting lots that have significant scientific potential for studying the history of money circulation in Ukraine. Among the lots sold at numismatic auctions, we discovered a rare large-format dolphin of Olbia and new data on the minting of princely coins, including the refutation of inaccurate data and misidentifications. By studying the archives of electronic auctions, we were able to introduce new data on the numismatics of Red Russia, the Genoese colonies of Caffa and Tana, the Bryansk and Chernihiv principalities, and to record a rare double ducat minted in Lviv and the insurgent coins of Ferenc Rakoczy in Mukachevo. For the first time in the national scientific literature, a unique coronation token of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv of 1751 and a unique silver half of the Crimean khan Shahin Giray (1777-1783) were introduced into scientific circulation. In the archives of numismatic auctions, among the lots of the imperial era, our attention was drawn to several private metal coupons of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, in particular a Lviv token of a unique, according to our observations, purpose - for the purchase of ice cream in a well-known and popular restaurant. Numismatic auction lots can also provide an opportunity to study trial and uncirculated coins, as well as to find and record rare modern coins of foreign countries in honour of Ukraine, which, due to their small circulation, may not be available on the Ukrainian collector's market and may not be noticed by our numismatic community. An important block of sales at numismatic auctions is represented by artistic tabletop medals, among which we drew attention to foreign medals commemorating the victory of the Allies in the Crimean War of 1855, which are still unpopular in Ukrainian science, minted in France, England and Turkey. In addition to coins and tabletop art medals, the archives of numismatic auctions may contain no less interesting lots: artefacts related to money circulation, trade and treasure hunting, such as scales and weights, as well as, in the rarest case, the sale of a whole hoard of coins with a pot. The rarest specimens of coins of a particular numismatic theme can be found not only in museums, but also at auction sales. Also, according to our observations, new discoveries in numismatics often occur after an unknown coin has been sold and bought at auctions. Thus, based on the above, electronic archives of numismatic auctions have a significant scientific potential for numismatic research.

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