The first mention of 'auction', according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1595. Modern revival Ī late 19th Century auction at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris (painting by Albert Bettannier). In China, the personal belongings of deceased Buddhist monks were sold at auction as early as seventh century AD. įrom the end of the Roman Empire to the 18th century, auctions lost favor in Europe, while they had never been widespread in Asia. Didius was then beheaded two months later when Septimius Severus conquered Rome. Didius Julianus won the auction for the price of 6,250 drachmas per guard, an act that initiated a brief civil war. On 28 March 193, the Praetorian Guard first killed emperor Pertinax, then offered the empire to the highest bidder. One of the most significant historical auctions occurred in 193 AD when the entire Roman Empire was put on the auction block by the Praetorian Guard. For example, Marcus Aurelius sold household furniture to pay off debts, the sales lasting for months. The Romans also used auctions to liquidate the assets of debtors whose property had been confiscated. Slaves, often captured as the 'spoils of war', were auctioned in the Forum under the sign of the spear, with the proceeds of sale going toward the war effort. During the Roman Empire, after a military victory, Roman soldiers would often drive a spear into the ground around which the spoils of war were left, to be auctioned off. Īuctions took place in Ancient Greece, other Hellenistic societies, and also in Rome. Attractive maidens were offered in a forward auction to determine the price to be paid by a swain, while unattractive maidens required a reverse auction to determine the price to be paid to a swain. It was considered illegal to allow a daughter to be sold outside of the auction method. The auctions began with the woman the auctioneer considered to be the most beautiful and progressed to the least beautiful. According to Herodotus, in Babylon, auctions of women for marriage were held annually. The Babylonian Marriage Market, Edwin Long, 1875.Īuctions have been recorded as early as 500 BC. These contexts include antiques, paintings, rare collectibles, expensive wines, commodities, livestock, radio spectrum, used cars, real estate, online advertising, vacation packages, emission trading, and many more. Īuctions are applied for trade in diverse contexts. An auctioneer may announce prices, while bidders submit bids vocally or electronically. Participants bid openly against one another, with each subsequent bid being higher than the previous bid. The open ascending price auction is arguably the most common form of auction and has been used throughout history.

The branch of economic theory dealing with auction types and participants' behavior in auctions is called auction theory. Some exceptions to this definition exist and are described in the section about different types. An American auctioneer using auction chant at a livestock auction, November 2010Īn auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder.

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