PART 1 - The Beginning of Misery

"Auctions have been around since Roman times", or so agents say in an effort to make them seem respectable. But the length of time something has been around does not make it respectable. History shows that it would be more correct to compare auctions with domestic violence than respectability.

Auctions began with the abuse of women. About 2500 years ago (in Ancient Greece, not Rome), men formed a circle round groups of young women who were rounded up for annual village sales. The most attractive ones were sold first, usually to the wealthier men. This was all legal. But unlike today, the law in those early auctions required a "guarantee". If a man did not like the woman he bought at auction, he was entitled to a refund of his purchase price.

Auctions have always been associated with misery. When Roman armies went into battle, the old style auction agents followed them. After the battle, the agents would auction captured prisoners who were to be used as slaves. They would also sell captured goods. These auctions were known as sub hasta - Latin for "under the spear". Hence the origin of the term "under the hammer".

Dummy bidding existed in ancient auctions. The Roman statesman Cicero felt it was necessary to "revise the whole way of thinking" of some business people. He said "trickery and misleading arguments" hurt society because they were contrary to one of the essential components of a healthy society - "moral goodness". Cicero opposed dummy bidding, saying "a vendor must not employ a puffer to raise the price".

In 193 AD, 236 years after Cicero died, the entire Roman Empire collapsed and was auctioned as one lot. There were only two bidders. It is not known if one of them was a dummy bidder. Auctions disappeared for almost 1400 years.

It was misery once again that saw their revival in France in 1556. A group of "bailiff" auctioneers had the exclusive rights to sell the property of people who had been executed. These auctioneers, who all wore black, were often caught selling property at low prices to their friends.

When King Charles 1 of England was beheaded in 1649, the government auctioned his art collection which was bought at bargain prices by foreign investors and collectors.

The slave traders who captured Africans and shipped them in chains to America needed a quick return on their "investments". The treatment of these people - or "chattels" as they were often called - was brutal. Prior to being sold at auction, they were split into groups based on age, sex and condition. As screaming family members were being separated forever the auctioneer would yell, "Bring up the niggers."

The early auctions mostly involved misery, trickery and low prices. Auctions were a business of exploitation and sudden opportunity. They were rarely a serious part of traditional business.

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Part 2 - Auctions in Business (coming soon).

This five part series is an extract from the book, Don't Sign Anything! by Neil Jenman.