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Aste Bolaffi is a Bolaffi group company that holds auctions of collectors' items.

The auction house was established in the early Nineties, but the connection between the name Bolaffi and the world of collecting is far older and covers more than a century of history. It is a story that begins in 1890, when a young Alberto Bolaffi Sr., who had an eye for the customs of the time and collector's tastes, transitioned from the exchange of stamps to the purchase and sale of stamps, opening a philatelic business in Turin. It was the beginning of an entrepreneurial adventure that continued seamlessly until the third millennium, with the fourth generation at the helm. Auctions were a natural progression from that commercial philatelic business, soon expanding into the numismatic sector and then vintage posters, and quickly becoming a point of reference for the national market.

Today, almost 130 years later, Aste Bolaffi examines, advises, and sells with the same passion and attention to detail that defined it from the outset, with the addition of careful monitoring of the international market, solid expertise developed over decades of study and important sales, an eye for trends in the most varied fields of collecting, and the use of the latest digital technology.

The history of Aste Bolaffi is studded with record-breaking sales: just one year after the first philatelic auction in 1990, during the sale of the prestigious 'Pedemonte' collection, the Tre Lire Faruk, one of only two examples in the world of the extremely rare stamp from the Provisional Government of Tuscany on the 'Faruk' cover, sold for 800 million lire.

In 1996, the vintage poster department opened, which has made a name for itself over the years with historic sales such as the 'Fiat in pista' poster by Plinio Codognato, which sold in 1999 for 220 million lire (113,600 euros).

Coins arrived on the auction block in 2002: from Roman Aurei to Marenghi from the Kingdom of Italy, numismatic auctions became an unmissable appointment at the auction house in Turin, with record-breaking sales such as the 10 Scudos of Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, which sold for 220,000 euros in 2007.

In 2008, the first autograph auction was held; these unprecedented glimpses of the past attracted enthusiasts and collectors and made their mark, such as the correspondence of approximately 170 letters between the main Italian Verismo writers – Verga, Capuana and De Roberto – which sold for 180,000 euros in 2012. The department of antique books and manuscripts was opened immediately afterwards and it wasn't long before history was being made here too: the highest earnings at an Italian auction for Somma di arithmetica, geometria, proporzioni e proporzionalità by Tuscan mathematic Luca Pacioli, printed in 1494 in Venice and sold for 530,000 euros.

In the last decade, Aste Bolaffi has further increased its offer for collectors of wine, photography, jewellery, watches, art and design, selecting a group of highly qualified experts for each sector, who collectively have over 250 years of experience in evaluating, estimating and selling collector's items between them. The new departments have already had great success on the international market and established new records, such as the sale in September 2016 of the top lot in Aste Bolaffi history, the rare 'Very light pink' 7.44-carat diamond that sold for 700,000 euros.

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