History of Auctions

According to Wikipedia, the term “auction” comes from the Latin word augeō which means “I increase” or “I augment.”  Although auctions were not all that common historically, they do date back to 500 B.C.  Early records from the Greeks indicate that auctions were used to sell women for the purpose of marriage. 

Later the Romans used auctions as a method to sell off the goods and property confiscated in battle or to sell prisoners of war into slavery.  The Romans were also one of the earliest liquidators and commonly used the practice to sell off the assets of debtors. 

By the seventeenth century auctions were becoming a common practice.  The Stockholm Auction House (Stockholms Auktionsverk) was the first auction house to open in 1674 in Sweden.  The renowned Sotheby's, presently the world's second-largest auction house was founded in London in 1744 and held their first auction for a collection of rare books.  Today’s largest auction house in the world is Christie’s, located in London, who published their first catalog in 1766.  

In America, the Pilgrims began the tradition of selling crops, imports, livestock, and property during the early colonization period back in the 1600’s.  It was an efficient method of converting assets into capital.  Fur was also auctioned off and Europeans traveled specifically to take part in the sale.  Later, auctions were common during the Civil War to sell confiscated goods.   

The 1950’s saw a rebound in auctions throughout the world.  The demand for goods was high and auctions produced quick results.  Today auctions have come a long way.  With the advancement of technologies on the Internet, auctions now have the ability to reach a far greater network of buyers throughout the world. 

Rabin Worldwide is an international company that specializes in creating liquidity for complex manufacturing facilities with idle or marginally productive assets.  Rabin’s operations include selling entire plants, multiple plant locations, or surplus individual items by auction or liquidation and much more. Past auctions include names such as Hostess, Braniff Airlines, Montgomery Ward, and the Railway Express Agency.  Please contact us to discover how we may assist with your asset liquidation process.

Sources:

auctioneers.org/education

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auction