HOW NOONANS APPROACHES THE BUSINESS OF AUCTIONS

Rather like the BBC which celebrates its centenary later this year, Noonans believe that a good auctioneer’s remit should be to inform, educate and entertain in addition to presenting consignments to full advantage for sale.

“Collecting is all about enthusiasm, a hunger for knowledge and an appreciation for craftsmanship, artistic talent and the accomplishments of others,” says chairman and CEO Pierce Noonan.

 

“That means building business around outstanding expertise in any given discipline and providing the best support services to ease the path for sellers and buyers.”

Just as auctioneers improved cataloguing and provenance to broaden their appeal beyond dealers to the wider public in the late 1980s and 90s, technology has opened provincial as well as national businesses up to global markets in the 2000s.

“That brings new advantages but also fresh challenges in areas such as compliance and fulfilment, so it is essential to have the bedrock of all-round effective and reliable service to win new clients and keep them,” says Noonan.

Recent successes reflecting this approach include the sale of the Duchess of Norfolk’s presentation Coronation Brooch from Her Majesty the Queen for £180,000, and the £60,000 taken for an Art Deco diamond brooch formerly owned by the late Princess Margaret.

Similarly exceptional prices have come for rare medal groups, including £90,000 taken in June for the Peninsula War group awarded to Lieutenant-General Sir John Cameron KCB.

Just announced is the Indian Mutiny, Siege of Lucknow V.C. award to Thomas Henry Kavanagh, the first civilian V.C. ever awarded, which will come up for sale on 14 September.

“We take a curatorial approach to the research and cataloguing of lots to ensure that we treat them with the care and respect they are due, and this pays off by recapturing the fascination and detail of their unique stories,” says Noonan.

“In turn, this effort feeds into the enthusiasm of established collectors while engaging the interest of a whole new generation with whom we hope to do business for years to come.”

The team of staff and consultants Pierce and his fellow directors have built around them includes Nigel Mills, whose leading reputation for supporting the standards of the Portable Antiquities Scheme has encouraged best practice among metal detectorists.

“Nigel’s unique contribution to this field has helped us win a stream of amazing finds, all properly recorded under the PAS,” says Noonan. “In June we were delighted to work closely with the team who discovered the Vale of Pewsey Hoard, as well as with Phil and Joan Castle, who uncovered the Romney Marsh Hoard of Edward III.

“In July we were able to offer the Richard III Angel found by Mariusz Ciepluch in April in Hampshire.”

Pierce is just as impressed by the way other departments are blossoming.

“We have been developing our interest in jewellery and watches alongside our traditional areas of expertise in coins and medals and have been delighted with the reaction from consignors and buyers alike, as the royal jewellery has shown.”

Banknotes, a department that has come into its own over the past few years, now has the addition of the much-respected Barnaby Faull to complement the expertise of Andrew Pattison and Thomasina Smith.

“Their inspired idea to create a sale around the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee attracted a lot of admiration and allowed us to publish a special booklet dedicated to the subject – adding to scholarship in an accessible way likely to encourage further interest; this is what we’re all about,” says Noonan.

The Coin department’s upcoming auction of Irish coinage on 27 September is another fine example of digestible scholarship in a single catalogue.

Further dedicated sales of East India Company coins and English Groats will provide two more examples of this approach.

“As business becomes more complex in today’s world, it is essential to keep reminding ourselves of why we do what we do and also what matters to the clients we serve,” says Pierce.

“If you prioritise the highest standards of scholarship and expertise and keep the process of buying, selling and delivery secure and simple, people will want to use your services and you will win more and better items for sale.

“Our new website, with its additional news and information, is a developing resource which we are using to underpin this approach for the benefit of established and new collectors alike.”