Auction Rules

1. Introductory Provisions

These auction rules are issued for the purpose of organising the sale of entrusted movable items by means of auctions. Auctions are governed by the applicable laws of the Czech Republic and the relevant decrees. The auction rules are binding on all persons participating in the auction, and by participating in the auction persons undertake to comply with them.

2. Definitions and Interpretation of Terms

Auction: A method of selling an item through the auctioneer, whereby the item is sold for the highest price offered by a bidder. The auctioneer announces the holding of an auction at its discretion in the usual manner, for example in the auction catalogue, on its website, in the media, etc.

Auction platform: An electronic system that facilitates the real-time bidding process over the internet. Platforms such as LiveBid.cz or Auex.de allow registered and logged-in users to participate in auctions by placing bids online. These platforms provide functions for setting online limits before the start of the auction and display current limits immediately. Bidding is permitted only for registered users via the LiveBid.cz or Auex.de systems (hereinafter the “Auction System(s)”, “Auction Platform(s)” or “Online Auction System(s)”) in real time.

Floor (hall) auction: An auction held on a predetermined date and time at a designated place stated in the auction catalogue. This auction is held in a hall, conducted by an auctioneer, with bidding by participants in the hall (or by telephone) and by online participants in real time via the Online Auction System. Online limits may be set in the Auction Platform system before the start of the floor auction and current limits are displayed immediately.

Purchase contract: A purchase contract concluded between the auctioneer as the seller (usually on the basis of a commission, mandate or brokerage agreement with the owner authorising the auctioneer to offer the item for sale to participants through the auction and to arrange the sale on the owner’s behalf) and the bidder as the buyer. This contract is concluded at the moment the item is knocked down to the bidder (by the hammer).

Item/Lot: A work of art and/or an object of collector or historical value sold through the auctioneer. It may be owned by the auctioneer or by another owner.

Auctioneer (caller): A person designated by the organiser to manage and conduct the auction, who performs all related acts on behalf of the organiser, in particular opens and conducts the auction, organises the placing of bids by prospective buyers and grants the hammer.

Owner: A natural or legal person who owns the item offered by the auctioneer in the auction; this may also be the auctioneer itself.

Auction participant / Bidder: A natural or legal person who has registered in the LiveBid.cz system, filled in all the necessary details and whose registration has been approved by the administrator. After logging in, registered bidders may place limits on specific lots in the auction via the auction system or bid in real time in the live auction. A person attending a floor auction in person must register with the auction organiser, where they receive a bidding number. Bids in the hall are placed by raising the assigned number. A prospective buyer not yet registered in the Auction System must first register, which can also be done at the auction venue with the organiser.

Access to auctions: Auctions are accessible only to auction participants and to other persons only with the auctioneer’s consent, i.e. the auction is not public.

Successful bidder: An auction participant who offered the highest price, which was publicly confirmed by the auctioneer with the hammer.

Hammer (knock-down): The act by which the contract between the offeror and the successful bidder is concluded. Technically, the hammer may be a declaration or another act (e.g. a strike of the gavel). It means the end of bidding and confirmation of the highest bid placed. The hammer will be granted to a participant if their highest bid has been called three times and no higher bid has been placed. The hammer, performed by the auctioneer, binds the successful participant to take over the auctioned item and pay the purchase price for it.

3. Course of the Auction

The auction begins on the designated date and time; only a registered and logged-in bidder may bid on the lots offered. Bidding is in Czech crowns (CZK) from the starting price, or from the level of the second-to-last limit. The amount of bid increments is set by the table of bidding increments. The auction is anonymous; bidders in the hall place bids by raising their assigned number, while online bidders place bids via the auction system by clicking the “Bid” button. Bidding continues as long as auction participants place higher bids. A higher bid cancels a lower one. The auction is ended by the granting of the hammer. A participant is bound by a knocked-down bid. If no minimum bid was made in the auction, the lot remains unsold and the next lot is auctioned. The auction ends with the knocking down of the last offered lot. Auction participants are obliged to follow the organisers’ instructions and not to disrupt the course of the auction in any way.

The sale price of a lot and the specific successful bidder are conclusively determined only in the floor auction or in the live internet auction. A placed limit takes precedence over a hall bid of the same amount. A bidder in the hall or in the live auction must therefore always offer a higher amount.

The organiser reserves the right to cancel the auction of an item or to change its date for technical reasons and/or in the event of any other obstacles not caused by the organiser. In such a case it bears no liability for damage.

4. Payment of the Hammer Price

The successful bidder is obliged to pay the achieved purchase price, which consists of the highest bid price (hammer price) and a buyer’s premium of 20% (including VAT) of the hammer price. If the successful bidder uses an auction system other than LiveBid.cz, an additional handling fee of 3% is charged on top of the buyer’s premium. Payment for auctioned lots is accepted in cash at the AUREA Numismatika store, by bank transfer, by post within the Czech Republic by cash on delivery, or by other means. Auctioned lots may, after prior payment, be collected in person at AUREA Numismatika, a.s., sent by post, sent by post with cash on delivery within the Czech Republic, or handed over by another pre-agreed method. The method of payment and of collecting the auctioned material must be set individually through the respective auction systems. The hammer price cannot be reduced subsequently. The successful bidder is also obliged to pay all costs associated with the packaging and transport of the auctioned item by a third party, whereby the auctioneer bears no damage arising during transport. The transported item is not covered by the organiser’s insurance; the shipment will, however, be insured during transport.

If the successful bidder does not pay the hammer price including the buyer’s premium within 7 calendar days from the day the item was knocked down, the auctioneer is entitled to demand from the successful bidder a contractual penalty in the amount of the buyer’s premium plus the costs of recovering the amount owed. In the event of default in payment of the contractual penalty, the auctioneer is entitled to charge the successful bidder default interest of 0.1% of the amount owed per day.

In the event of the successful bidder’s default in paying the purchase price, the organiser is entitled to notify the successful bidder of this fact. The auctioneer is entitled to hand over the recovery of the amount owed to a legal representative. A delay in payment of the purchase price of more than 3 working days is considered a material breach of the purchase contract, and in such a case the organiser acquires the right to withdraw from the purchase contract immediately. Withdrawal from the purchase contract is effective upon delivery of a written notice of withdrawal to the buyer at the address (or e-mail address) provided upon registration for the auction.

The successful bidder acknowledges that they bear all costs associated with recovering the amount owed, including any costs of legal representation. The contractual penalty does not affect the auctioneer’s claim to full compensation for damage.

If the successful bidder does not pay the full amount of the purchase price, the successful bidder does not acquire ownership of the auctioned item and the auctioneer is entitled to demand from the successful bidder a contractual penalty in the amount of the auction commission. Payment of the contractual penalty does not affect the auctioneer’s claim to full compensation for damage in addition to the contractual penalty paid.

The auctioneer further reserves the right to block the registration of a successful bidder who frustrated the auction from future auctions (i.e. to block the account in the LiveBid.cz system). A bidder thus blocked has no right to be registered again, even under a different ID, nor may they ask another person to register and bid on their behalf. Such conduct could be considered fraudulent conduct with all the legal consequences associated with it. The auctioneer also reserves the right to block the registration of any other person who participated in frustrating the auction.

The auctioneer may decide to unblock an account in the LiveBid.cz system at its own discretion, whereby it is entitled to require the deposit of a security (cash advance) as a condition for allowing participation in the auction, in the amount of up to 100% of the starting price of the auctioned item. The security will be returned to the client to their account after the end of the auction. If a lot is won, the security is returned only after payment; in the event of non-payment by the due date, the security may be used to cover all or part of the amount owed or other claims of the auctioneer against this client.

5. Acquisition of Ownership of the Auctioned Item

The purchase contract is concluded by the hammer. Until the auctioned item is handed over to the successful bidder, the auctioneer has the rights and obligations of a custodian of the item. If the successful bidder pays the hammer price including the stipulated 20% premium and any additional handling fee of up to 3%, where relevant, within the stipulated period, they become the owner of the item auctioned in the auction.

An auction held under these rules is a public auction — it is publicly accessible, participation in it is not denied to anyone under any conditions, and before the hammer is granted the participant merely identifies themselves with a valid identity document in order to confirm the purchase contract. The purchase contract is concluded by the auctioneer’s hammer. Because it is a contract concluded at a public auction, the consumer’s right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days under Section 1837 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, does not apply.

A physically present successful bidder is obliged to confirm by their signature on a copy of the document of acquisition of the item at auction the fact that the auctioned item has been taken over. Other successful bidders will be sent the document of acquisition of the item at auction together with the auctioned items in a postal shipment.

6. Complaints

Caveat emptor.

The authenticity (genuineness) of all lots in the catalogue is guaranteed. Given the possibility of inspecting the auction material in advance, bidders present at the floor auction buy goods “as they stand”, and therefore any claims of theirs from defects of the goods relating to their condition and quality are excluded.

An auction participant acknowledges and, by participating in the auction, confirms that each item is auctioned in an “as is” condition (caveat emptor), that they had the opportunity to inspect it in advance or to acquaint themselves with its detailed photographic documentation, and that they are aware of its condition. The amount of the hammer price is neither a defect of the item nor a reason for refunding the purchase price; the resulting price is a consequence of the competitive nature of the auction.

Claims of bidders who did not participate in the auction in person will be accepted only in the case of obvious defects that were not described in the catalogue of lots and were not otherwise visible. Bidders who collect the goods in person are obliged to point out these obvious defects directly on the spot upon taking over the goods; others are obliged to point out these obvious defects within 7 days from the day of delivery of the goods.

Claims due to a dispute regarding the level of preservation of the goods will not be accepted. The claimed item must be returned in the same condition in which it was handed over (and must not be encumbered by the rights of third parties). A complaint must contain the order number, a copy of the invoice and a detailed description of the defect found.

Claimed items are returned in registered insured mail without cash on delivery, insured for the value of the shipment, and the reasons for the complaint must be stated. The auctioneer decides on the justification of the complaint. The owner is liable for defects of the auction item which were or should have been known to them and which they failed to point out to the auctioneer in time. In the case of an accepted complaint, such a lot is regarded as unsold. This lot will be returned to the owner, who is obliged to return without delay the sum already paid out for this item.

The organiser allows all interested parties a personal inspection of the items before the auction. Defects of condition and quality that would be obvious during such an inspection are therefore considered obvious and cannot be claimed after the auction (caveat emptor). A claim for a refund of the paid purchase price without undue delay arises only upon proven non-authenticity of the item (authenticity is guaranteed under paragraph 1), or in the case of a defect that could not be detected even during a proper personal inspection and that was not described.

The auctioneer decides on the manner of handling a complaint without undue delay, but no later than 30 days from the day the complaint is filed.

The successful bidder acknowledges that coins and medals may be devalued even by mere careless touch, a fall, improper handling or storing them other than in the usual manner. The auctioneer therefore recommends not removing them from the packaging and handling them with maximum care so as to avoid their damage and thereby their devaluation.

7. Final Provisions

Foreign auction participants are obliged, when exporting numismatic material abroad, to obtain a certificate under Act No. 71/1994 Coll., on the sale and export of objects of cultural value, as amended. Such certificates are issued, for example, by the National Museum in Prague or the Moravian Museum in Brno. A certificate is not required for the export of coins issued after 1953 and medals and decorations issued after 1918.

The list of registered bidders, written limits and personal data about those submitting items for auction are subject to the auctioneer’s trade secret, and neither auction participants nor anyone else is entitled to inspect them.

The auctioneer is entitled to exclude any auction participant, even a duly registered person, from the auction, in particular for breach of the rules set out herein, in the event of any suspicion of breach of legal regulations, for failure to observe the rules of decent conduct, acting under the influence of addictive substances, etc.

The auctioneer and bidders are obliged to fulfil obligations under Act No. 253/2008 Coll., on certain measures against the legalisation of proceeds of crime and the financing of terrorism, as amended.

These auction rules are valid and effective from 20 May 2024.