Auction Terms and Conditions

§ 1 Scope
We auction objects on commission in our own name, but for the account of the submitting party whose identity will not be disclosed. Participation in any auction shall be deemed acceptance of these Auction Terms and Conditions.

§ 2 Establishment of Contract
After the highest bid has been called out three times, this bid is deemed to be accepted, and the bidder is under the obligation to accept the goods without delay. At our reasonable discretion, we are entitled to refuse acceptance of a bid or accept it only on special terms. If several bidders make a bid in the same amount, we are entitled to choose to accept a bid from any one of these at our reasonable discretion. The auctioneer is authorized to combine or separate numbered lots if there are important reasons, or to call them up in another order than listed in the catalogue, or to withdraw them. If a bid is conditionally accepted, its acceptance expires at the end of 4 weeks from the original acceptance date, unless we have notified the bidder of unconditional acceptance of the bid within this period.

Title to any goods shall only pass to the purchaser upon payment in full. Unless otherwise agreed, the purchase price shall be paid immediately by any purchaser present, at the latest within 20 days of receipt of an invoice in the case of bids submitted in writing or by telephone. Interest will be charged on late payments at a rate of 1 % per month.

Should the buyer seriously and finally refuse to accept the goods, we shall be entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract and demand compensation; we shall then be entitled to re-auction the goods and cover our loss in the same manner as in the event of late payment by the buyer, without the latter being entitled to any additional proceeds from the re-auction. Shipment will be effected as soon as reasonably possible after the auction, or as agreed with the buyer, and at his cost and risk. For shipments abroad, an export license which is in accordance to the German Cultural Property Law may be necessary. We cannot be held liable for delays in delivery caused by obtaining the export license or in case that export license will not be approved. It also has no effect on the buyer’s acceptance of the goods and payment in time.

The Buyer is obligated to provide all necessary identification documents (passports, excerpts from commercial register, etc.) required to comply with the Anti Money Laundering (AML) legislation.

§ 3 Bids, Floor Auction
Wherever possible, we shall take into consideration written or telephone or internet bids to the best of our ability and shall treat them in the same manner as auction room bids. We can only accept orders from collectors not known to us if a deposit is lodged, or if references are quoted. Written bids will only be taken into consideration if received 24 hours before commencement of the auction at the latest; telephone bidders must lodge their application to participate two working days before the auction at the latest.

We shall be entitled to exceed any limits by 3 to 5 %. Bids below 80 % of the estimated price will not be taken into consideration.

§ 4 Bids, eLive Premium Auction (Online Auction)
Every submission by a customer within the scope of an eLive Premium Auction constitutes a binding offer to enter into a purchase contract. This offer shall remain in force until a higher bid is received, or until the eLive Auction is closed without acceptance of any bid.

Offers may be made before an online auction through the website www.elive-auction.de, as soon as access to the online auction has been facilitated. During the auction, “live bidding” will continue until final virtual acceptance.

In order to be able to bid, the bidder will require access to myKünker, which can be established through www.kuenker.de. For technical reasons, new registrations or password changes are not possible after the start of the auction. Since we require a security deposit or references from collectors not known to us, new registrations must be completed at least 48 hours before the start of the auction through www.kuenker.de.

In addition, we shall allow for written bids (via letter, e-mail, fax or telephone) to the best of our ability. Written bids cannot be accepted later than 24 hours before the start of an auction.

During processing of written bids, any identical bid received via www.elive-auction.de will be given priority. In the event of receipt of several equal written bids, the fi rst one received will be accepted.

We shall be entitled to exceed any limits by 3 to 5 % in cases of bids submitted in writing. Bids below 100 % of the estimated price will not be taken into consideration in the eLive Premium Auction.

§ 5 Transmission of Bids
Instructions without a quoted limit are not dealt with unconditionally. Written, telephonic and internet bids shall be executed by us without any additional commission payment. Such bids must state the object with catalogue number and bid limit, net of all premiums and taxes and shall be binding. Unclear or inaccurate instructions are the bidder’s responsibility. We do not accept any liability for such bids, in particular no liability for occurance and persistance of transmission errors, nor for any failure or delays caused by maintenance and restoration of any servers, or breakdowns, or problems occurring during internet communication, due to force majeure and any other disruptions occurring for reasons beyond our control. This does not apply in cases where we are accused of gross negligence or malicious action.

§ 6 Bidding Scale, Floor Auction
The minimum bid scale is set out below:

§ 7 Bids, eLive Premium Auction (Online Auction)
The minimum bid scale for online-bidding is set out below:

§ 8 Payment and Premiums
The accepted hammer price shall be the reference amount for the premium to be paid by the buyer.

The following terms apply to EU buyers: A premium of 25 % (statutory Value Added Tax included) is levied on private clients.

If bidders are companies within the meaning of the VAT legislation, for differentially chargeable items a premium of 25 % is levied (statutory VAT included). Tax-free goods and goods subject to regular taxation are underlying a premium of 20 % (for regularly taxable items plus statutory VAT on the total of bid price and premium).

Institutional buyers (registered coin dealers) with a valid VAT number registered in an EU member state can apply for VAT reimbursement, if they provide us with the requisite statutory registration documents. These documents comprise the VAT registration number and the acknowledgement of receipt from the territory of the EU member state in which the VAT registration was issued. Should we ourselves effect the export of any items, and provided a valid VAT registration document was submitted to us before purchase, VAT will not be charged.

For buyers, who are residents of non-EU countries, the following rules apply: The premium shall be 20 % (where the goods are exported to a non-EU country by the buyer himself or by a third party, the statutory VAT will be charged but reimbursed on presentation of the statutory evidence of export. If we ourselves effect the export to non-EU countries, no VAT will be charged).

We are not able to ship items to Russia and the CIS-States. When submitting a bid, customers from these territories shall issue a declaration that the items acquired at the auction will be collected in person or by courier in Osnabrück, where the statutory VAT will become payable. If we are in possession of the statutory documentation proving export, Value Added Tax paid will be reimbursed.

Any import (and/or turnover) tax and duty payable abroad is on buyer’s account in every case. Any shipping costs shall be charged to the buyer as incurred.

§ 9 Liability for Defects
Catalogue descriptions do not constitute contractually agreed warranties within the meaning of § 434 German Civil Code (BGB) and serve merely for identification and definition of the goods. The description of condition is based strictly on the customary gradings applied by the German Coins Trade and is subject to personal verification. Items are warranted as genuine, unless information to the contrary is provided in the catalogue or during the auction. Here our liability to the buyer is limited to the purchase price. We accept no further liability statutory or other in respect of any item included in the catalogue.

We afford potential buyers an opportunity to verify the condition of any item before an auction. Defects already apparent from illustrations do not entitle a bidder to complain. Buyers who are present at the auction buy on an “as seen” basis as a matter of principle. In the case of lots that comprise several items, the numbers are approximate only. Warranty claims on grounds of material or legal defects or accidental attribution are excluded. However, justified complaints by the buyer about defects on substantiated grounds lodged within the statutory time limit will be passed on to the party that has submitted the defective article. At our choice, we will either assign any rights on grounds of breach of the commissioning agreement against the party submitting an article to the buyer, or we will indemnify the buyer through rescission of the purchase agreement. Any claims the buyer may have that exceed the purchase price are excluded.

The place of rescission is Osnabrück.

§ 10 Handling with Grading-Companies
We do not accept any responsibility for acceptance by the so- called Grading-Companies nor for a similar assessment of the condition of goods. Complaints based on a different quality assessment by a Grading-Company do not entitle the buyer to rescind from the purchase transaction.

For pieces consigned to us in so-called „slabs“ (plastic holders from grading companies) the stated Künker warranty of authenticity is not applicable. Also we are not liable for defects such as rim damages, traces of mounting or filing etc. that are covered by the plastic holder.

§ 11 Limitation of Liability
Claims against us by a buyer for any legal reason whatsoever are excluded. This does not apply in cases of malicious or grossly negligent action by us, by our legal representatives or agents, or caused by a breach of cardinal contractual obligations. However, in the latter case our liability shall be limited to the foreseeable typical loss under the terms of contract. Our liability for loss of live, bodily injury or damage to health remains unaffected.

The buyer has no offsetting rights, unless any claims he may have against us have been legally established, are undisputed, or have been accepted by us. The buyer shall have no lien to the goods, provided he is not a company within the meaning of § 14 BGB and his counter claim is based on the same contractual relationship.

§ 12 Applicable Law, Place of Jurisdiction
The law of the German Federal Republic is exclusively applicable. The UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CSIG) does not apply. The place of performance generally and the exclusive place of jurisdiction for companies within the meaning of § 14 BGB for all disputes arising from, or in connection with the contractual relationship is Osnabrück. Should any term or condition be or become and remain partially or wholly inapplicable, this is without prejudice to the remaining terms. Any ineffective term or condition shall be replaced by an effective one with which the intended economic effect and purpose comes closest to that of the ineffective term or condition. The same applies to any omissions. Where these Auction Terms and Conditions are issued in several languages, the German version shall be the binding one.