
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995                   TAG: 9505180002
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AUCTIONS THROUGH THE AGES

The first written account of auctions dates to 500 B.C. when the Babylonians used to auction off women as slaves. In 1000 A.D., the Roman Empire went on the auction block and in the 15th century, Henry VII required licensing for auctioneers.

The earliest auction on record in America was held in 1662 in New Amsterdam, N.Y., and it soon became a highly profitable and controversial form of marketing.

By 1844, anti-auction sentiment had ended and auctions became again, as in the early Colonial days, a means of disposing of personal property. Up to the Civil War, slave auctions were common; and in Virginia, tobacco has always been sold at auction.

The title of ``colonel'' is informally accorded auctioneers in America. This dates to Civil War days, when contraband was sold by an army officer of at least a colonel's rank. He was looked upon as a leader among men.

There are three basic categories of public auctions: (1) an ``absolute auction'' is one in which the property is sold to the highest bidder regardless of the price it brings. (2) At a ``minimum-bid auction,'' the auctioneer will accept bids at or above a disclosed price which is always stated in the promotional materials. (3) An ``auction with reserve'' means a minimum bid may or may not be posted and the seller reserves the right to accept or reject the highest bid within a specified time.

Payment of the item purchased generally is due on the day of the sale and it is the buyer's responsibility to remove the property from the auction premises.

\ Sources: "Early History of American Auctions" by R.B. Westerfield "Auctioneering" by Philip Engelmeir

by CNB