When you type in a search term, the site will return any item whose description matches your term, even if it is only a partial match.

Example: Typing in Hadrian will match auction lots for Hadrian and Hadrianus.

Note that the search engine will automatically search for any words that begin with the query term.

Example: Typing in den will match auction lots containing the words denar, denarius, denier, etc.

If you want to search for an exact phrase, just type the whole phrase into the search box.

Example: Typing in the legend IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG will match any lot description that contains that exact legend.

To make your searches more specific, you can use the and operator to include more than one search term. The search engine will find those terms located anywhere within the lot description.

Example: Typing in Hadrian and Liberalitas will match any lot that has both the words "Hadrian" and "Liberalitas" anywhere in its description.

To narrow this search even further, you could add additional terms with the and operator.

Example: Typing in Hadrian and Liberalitas and denarius will match any lot that has all three of those words anywhere in its description.

If you want to exclude a term or phrase, use the not operator before it.

Example: Typing in Hadrian and Liberalitas not aureus will match any lot description that has both the words "Hadrian" and "Liberalitas" anywhere in its description, but exclude those that have the word "aureus."

When you search the site, you're searching text from the original auction catalogs. So you need to remember that not all of the auctions are in English - most are in German, with some French, Spanish, and English. As such, spelling is very important, and you need to be careful when choosing your search terms. Try to use a term that will have a partial match in many languages.

Example: Typing in Hadri will match "Hadrian" (English spelling), "Hadrianus" (German spelling), and "Hadrien" (French spelling).

To maximize your search results, and to avoid problems with language differences, you might try using a unique or non-language specific search term. Consider the following language-independent items frequently used in auction descriptions:

We suggest that you use at least one of these universal search terms in your query - else your search might return far too many unwanted results. To find good examples of unique search terms, check auction catalogs to see how coins are attributed and cited.

Example: Typing in TRAIANO and RIC 292 will match any coin description with the Latin word "TRAIANO" in the legend and "RIC 292" as a reference. The language will have no effect on this particular search since both terms are language independent.

When using coin reference numbers in your searches, please note that coin firms tend to use different citation styles for reference works. To account for this, you might try separating the reference name and number with an and operator. For example, RIC and 235 will match lot descriptions that the query RIC 235 would not. This is because some firms put an RIC volume number between the title "RIC" and the coin's catalog number.