About MJD Auctions
The World's Largest Marketer of Antique Tools
Since 1983, Martin J. Donnelly Auctions has connected serious collectors with antique tools, related antiques, and historic collections through trusted auctions and deep market knowledge.
1983
Business began
Tools yearly
Avoca, NY
World headquarters
From a Yard Sale to a Worldwide Antique Tool Market
Martin J. Donnelly Auctions is the largest marketer of antique tools in the world. Through the medium of Martin J. Donnelly Auctions, a total of nine auctions containing approximately 120,000 total antique tools are held each year.
Our auction locations of Nashua, New Hampshire and Indianapolis, Indiana had been antique tool auction locations for many years before our business began. In addition, we conduct a massive three-day auction at our Avoca, New York World Headquarters Complex that attracts hundreds of people as we sell more than eighty tons of tools over the course of the event.
A Business Built in Public
Four Decades of Antique Tool Auctions
1983: The Yard Sale
Martin J. Donnelly Auctions began in 1983 when Martin, then twenty-nine years old, held a yard sale to test the possibility of selling tools as a business. The sale was scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m.; by 6:30 a.m., every tool had already been sold.
Guides, Shows & Records
From that small beginning, the business grew first as a single-person operation at shows throughout the country, then as publisher of The Catalogue of Antique Tools, the recognized preeminent value guide to antique tools from 1993 to 2002.
Auctions Take Shape
Martin J. Donnelly Auctions began in Nashua, New Hampshire in September 2000, expanded to Indiana in 2002, and added the Avoca, New York location in 2003. The result is a national auction presence rooted in decades of collector relationships.
Our Promise
Customer Service and Free Information Remain the Standard
We are committed to being the very best at what we do, and our commitment to customer service is an essential element of our business. Whether to those who consign tools to our sales, those who attend the auctions, or those who participate by secure online bidding, the satisfaction of all is our highest priority.
Our longstanding promise that “information is free and given freely” remains a guiding principle. As our sales have grown, we have also begun including other types of antiques, from firearms, sewing machines and cast iron banks to fishing tackle, surveying instruments, kitchen collectibles, lighting, engines, musical instruments, nautical collectibles, railroad memorabilia, locks, advertising items, and more.
Our strength is in marketing, and we can reach buyers worldwide.
“Information is free and given freely.”
A guiding principle for collectors, consignors, auction attendees, and online bidders.
Join Us at an Auction
We invite those who read this to join us at one of our auctions and participate in the goodwill and camaraderie shared by people interested in antique tools. The only problem is that once you attend one of our sales, you may not want to miss another.