Conditions of Auction
The following conditions of auction, which are deemed to be accepted in full upon submission of a written, electronic, verbal or telephone bid, apply to SINCONA auction 12-16:
1. The auction is carried out voluntarily and publicly in the name of SINCONA AG for the account of the consignor(s), who remain(s) anonymous.
2. Bidders who are unknown to SINCONA AG (hereinafter referred to as "Auctioneer") are asked to prove their identity prior to the auction. In addition, the Auctioneer reserves the right to deny individuals access to the auction premises, at its own discretion and without stating a reason.
The Auctioneer is entitled, with the approval of the auction monitor, to deviate from the designated order in the catalog and to combine lot numbers. Lots may not be divided up. In case of disagreement, the Auctioneer may re-offer a lot. The auction is conducted in German and partly in English.
3. Only SINCONA auction 12: The following auction lots marked in red require an enhanced due diligence of the customer before any bids (written, by mail, fax, telephone or personally in the auction room) to be accepted and approved: Lots 4, 8, 31, 42, 114, 143, 161, 219, 383, 399, 406, 407, 423, 429, 533, 534, 718, 740, 748, 793, 901, 904, 924, 941, 994, 1530, 1531, 1578, 1622, 1778.
Please contact SINCONA AG before the sale by no later than 5 October 2013 if you would like to bid for one of these lots using any of the above methods. If SINCONA AG has not received your request in time, bidding for these lots will strictly NOT BE POSSIBLE!
4. The Auctioneer executes written orders and telephone orders diligently and in the interests of the consignor, however without liability. Writ-ten bids (and bids submitted electronically) can only be considered if they are received no later than 24 hours prior to the auction (or 12 hours for bids submitted via an Internet platform). Telephone bidding is only possible in exceptional cases and for items with an estimated value of over CHF 3,000, and bids must be placed at least 48 hours be-fore the auction begins.
5. The award takes place following a call for the highest bid, which commits the highest bidder to purchase the lot. If equally high written bids are received, the first received bid has priority. Bids that are lower than the estimate can not be taken into account. "Either / or" orders and order limits can only be executed or considered conditionally. The Auctioneer may reject a bid, without stating a reason and without li-ability. The risk passes to the buyer with the fall of the hammer. Each successful bidder is personally liable for his purchases and can not claim to have bought for the account of third parties.
6. If the highest bidder is present in person, a premium of 15% is payable on the hammer price. For written or electronic bids, the amount of the premium is 18% of the hammer price; for telephone bids, this amount is 20%. After the knockdown has taken place, the auction invoice is due for immediate payment in the Swiss currency.
7. For platinum, silver and copper coins and all medals, banknotes, decora-tions, antiques etc., statutory value added tax at the rate of 8% is charged on the total of the auction invoice (i.e. hammer price plus buyer's premium and any shipping costs and insurance premiums).
Value added tax is not charged for state-embossed gold coins and the associated premiums.
Value added tax is not payable if the Auctioneer ships the auction lots abroad. Value added tax is initially charged to buyers residing outside of Switzerland to whom the auctioned lots are handed over in Zurich; however this is refunded in full by the Auctioneer once the definitive tax assessment decision of the Swiss Customs is to hand.
8. The auction invoice is due for payment immediately upon receipt, however by no later than 10 days after the end of the auction. After expiry of the payment period, the buyer automatically falls into ar-rears and the Auctioneer is entitled to demand interest at the rate of 10% p.a. If the buyer is in default of payment or refuses to accept the auctioned lot, the Auctioneer reserves the right to sue the buyer for either fulfillment of the contract or for compensation for losses result-ing from non-fulfillment, or to withdraw from the contract.
9. In principle, the auction lots are only handed over or shipped after full payment of the auction invoice. It is at the sole discretion of the Auc-tioneer to hand over lots on account. Costs incurred abroad, such as customs duties and taxes, as well as the associated shipping costs and insurance charges, are borne solely by the buyer.
Due to current foreign legislation, shipment of the following items to the following countries is not possible at present:
- USA: Antique coins
- Russia: All numismatic items
- France: All numismatic items
10. The auction item remains the property of the consignor until the auction invoice has been paid in full.
11. Compliance with foreign customs and exchange regulations etc. is the responsibility of the buyer. The Auctioneer expressly disclaims respon-sibility for any consequences that may arise from contravention of such regulations.
12. The lots to be auctioned are described to the best of our knowledge and belief and with great care. Bidders have the opportunity to inform themselves about the condition of the lots, in person or through a rep-resentative, during the viewing days listed in the catalog.
Justified complaints regarding the condition of the auctioned item must be received by SINCONA AG by registered letter by no later than 15 November 2013 (date of postmark). Claims due to disagreement about the level of conservation of a lot are not accepted. Lots which contain more than one piece are excluded from claims of any kind.
13. The authenticity of the auction items is guaranteed. The guarantee expires one year from the date of delivery of the auctioned item to the buyer, even if a defect is discovered later. The right to claim war-ranty is granted to the buyer only and can not be assigned to third parties. The assertion of the warranty claim requires the buyer to give notice of defect to SINCONA AG by registered letter immediately after discovery of the defect (SINCONA auction 12: but by no later than 29 November 2013 [date of postmark]) and the forged auction item must be returned to SINCONA AG in the same condition as it was handed over to the buyer, unencumbered by third party claims. The buyer must, at his own expense, provide proof that the auction item is a for-gery. SINCONA AG may require the buyer to seek the opinion of two independent experts recognized in the field, at the buyer's own ex-pense; however, SINCONA AG is not bound by such opinion and re-serves the right to seek additional expert advice at its own expense.
14. For coins in so-called "slabs", any warranty is void as soon as these are opened.
15. Justified claims of the buyer against SINCONA AG concerning the condition or falsity of the auction item are limited to the refund of the purchase price and the premium paid by the buyer (including any VAT). Further or other claims of the buyer against SINCONA AG or its employees are excluded under any legal title whatsoever. Reim-bursement claims expire after one year from the date of delivery of the auction item to the buyer. Reimbursement claims for unjust en-richment expire after one year from the origination of the claim.
16. The lot descriptions printed in the auction catalog are definitive for the auction. The auction catalog published on the Internet is for in-formation purposes only.
17. The names of the consignor and the buyer are not normally disclosed. The Auctioneer is entitled to exercise all rights of the consignor against the buyer arising from the contractual relationship in its own name.
18. The place of fulfillment and the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Zurich 8001, Switzerland. In addition, Swiss cantonal and federal laws apply. The auction and all related legal transactions are subject exclusively to Swiss law.
19. The original German text is authoritative for the interpretation of the present conditions of auction in the German, French, English and Rus-sian languages.
Zurich, 14 August 2013