Coin Terminology and Glossary

The Coin Collecting Dictionary includes 546 titles used widely in the coin collectors community, and has received over 1019913 search inquires.

Selected title: Shill Bidding
Explanation: A 'shill' is someone working for the house, whether a casino, auction house, etc. The shill's function is to increase the action ( = $$) at that place. In an auction, a shill would drive up bids by actively bidding. However, should the shill 'win' a lot, of course they would not pay for it.

This is strictly unethical, probably illegal (fraud?) but certainly occurs occasionally. There's no easy way to know a shill as many auctions have the same people turning up regularly. Best thing to do with auctions is:

  • Preview auction material closely so that you know what you're bidding on.
  • Decide in advance the most you'll pay, taking into account any bidder's premium (typically 10-15% on top of the bid) and
  • Stick to your game plan on bidding.

That way you'll purchase things at a price you are comfortable with. Better to lose some thanpay way too much.

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