RARE CHANGE / HOW WE PRICE
How we price, and what we leave out
Every figure on Rare Change is a real sale at a public Australian auction. Here is exactly where the numbers come from and how we decide what to show.
Where the prices come from
We read the published results of Noble Numismatics and Downies auctions. Both houses publish what each lot sold for after the auction closes. We only read public pages, and we follow each site's rules for automated visitors.
- Downies: latest auction read 24 Oct 2026.
- Noble Numismatics: latest auction read 28 Jul 2026.
Hammer prices
The prices are hammer prices: what the winning bid was, before the buyer's fee the auction house adds. Noble's results pages say their prices exclude buyer's and vendor's premiums, and Downies adds its fee on top of the hammer price. A buyer pays more than these figures; a seller receives less after the seller's fees.
Which sales count
- One item at a time. Lots of several coins, sets and bundles can't be priced per item, so we leave them out.
- The right type. Each lot description is checked against the type's own rules, then by an AI classifier. A lot counts only when the classifier is confident it's exactly one of that type. We checked a hand-labelled sample when setting that bar.
- The last 10 years. Older sales reflect a different market.
- A stated condition. We sort each sale into a condition band from the grade the auction house gave it.
Condition bands
- Heavily worn (Good to Very Good)
- Worn (Fine)
- Lightly worn (Very Fine)
- Barely worn (Extremely Fine)
- Never used (Uncirculated)
- Proof (Made for collectors)
When we show a price
A condition shows a price only when at least 5 sales back it. Below that, one unusual sale could swing the figure, so we say there are too few sales instead. The headline price is the condition with the most sales, which is usually the condition most coins people find are in.
For each condition we show the median (half sold for more, half for less), the middle half of sales, and the lowest and highest sale.
What we don't use
- Asking prices from online listings or shops, which are often far above what coins sell for.
- eBay or marketplace data.
- Guesses for coins without enough sales.
What a price can't tell you
Rare Change can't tell you if a particular coin or note is genuine, and we don't buy or sell anything. For a valuable find, ask a professional numismatist or a grading service.
Updated 30 Oct 2026. Prices refresh after every new auction result.