Key Date Coin, an Oklahoma house, has been named “most improved” on Proxiblog, with owner Eddie Caven not only learning the portal ropes but also working diligently to master the fine points of numismatics.

You can read his “On the Block” here.

He has spent the year trying to find the right mix of consignments, buyer’s fees (as low as 14%) and specials, going through a period of high opening bids before concluding that low ones trigger competition (now opening at $5 per lot). He has mastered online advertising, keeping his newsletters pertinent, brief and newsworthy.

His digital photography, combined with numismatic lot descriptions (including VAMs), rank among the best on Proxiblog.

He has earned the “Most Improved” status because Eddie is not afraid to experiment to find the right Proxibid ingredients to spark competition while providing fair and informed descriptions of quality well-photographed coins described numismatically. His shipping is fast, usually within a week, and he sometimes even cuts costs if a bidder wins one inexpensive item–a $15 Franklin half, for example.

We hope that bidders reading this post will visit his auction (the next is scheduled Jan. 7, 2012) to verify much of what we have praised. Other auctioneers might send him a congratulatory note in the spirit of NAA collegiality.

We applaud Eddie in winning this award. He had stiff competition from our Honorable Mention houses in this category, which include Auctions Unlimited, Arneson Auction, Culpeper Auction, Engstrom Auctions, Meares Auction and Rolling M. Auction.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.