1 – Introduction
These general conditions regulate the sale at auction and/or private negotiations of the lots transferred to the Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. auction house (hereinafter “Harmers of London Auctions Ltd.”). Lots put up for auction are the property of the consignors, who have guaranteed their complete availability and legitimate and legal provenance. Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. acts exclusively as a representative of the individual consignors, in its own name and on their behalf. The consignor guarantees the authenticity of each lot offered in the catalogue, without hidden defects unless otherwise stated in the catalogue and/or by the auctioneer. Any indication of the state of preservation of the lots is not to be considered binding.
2 – Images
The copyright in all images, illustrations and written material produced by or for Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. relating to a lot or to a specific contents of this catalogue, is and shall remain at all times the property of Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. and shall not be used by the buyer, nor by anyone else, without Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. prior written consent.
3 – Participation in the saleroom
Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. reserves the right to request information from the participants in the bidding as regards their identity and bank references, as well as the right to refuse undesirable elements entry to the saleroom. If the participant is acting in the name and on behalf of another physical or legal person, a valid power of attorney must be exhibited prior to the auction.
4 – Participation by correspondence, telephone link, online
By signing and submitting the special forms, the participant agrees to participate in the auction referred to and undertakes to pay the purchase price hammered if his/her offer(s) should be successful. The participant also takes responsibility for ascertaining, after the auction, whether his/her offer has been successful, relieving Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. of any liability in that respect. Claims due to negligence or error in filling out written offers by mail will not be accepted. Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. has no liability toward those who participate in the auction by telephone link and/or online in case of failure to participate due to possible problems that may occur during or prior to the telephone and/or internet connection.
5 – Bids
Lots are awarded to the highest bidder. Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. –reserves the right to cancel the award in case of possible contestations. No bids will be accepted for any lot below its starting price. No “without limit” bids, or “upon examination” bids or bids which combine two or more lots will be accepted. The starting price is the price indicated as the base price, unless different, higher offers have been received, in which case the starting price will be that of the increment subsequent to the next to last offer. (In case of identical commission bids, the first to arrive will receive precedence, and in any case these take precedence over equal offers made in the saleroom). The size of increments will be regulated at the auctioneer’s discretion. The minimum increment will be €25. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw, add, group or divide lots, as well as the right to refuse a bid in the saleroom or a commission bid.
6 – Purchase price
A commission in favor of Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. will be charged to the buyer, in addition to the hammer price, as follows:
Numismatic and philatelic auctions: The Buyer shall pay a premium of 20%+VAT on the hammer price (the price at which a lot is knocked down) V.A.T. Included.
Lots purchased online through platforms different than Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. will have additional commissions shown on the websites during the registration and in the online conditions of sale. Purchases made through Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. website follow the standard commissions.
The symbol T after the starting price indicates its Temporary import status within UK. Lots purchased under the Temporary import regime cannot be collected in the UK immediately by the buyer, because the closing of the Temporary import procedure, directly managed by the auction house, needs to be per- formed. If the buyer is a UK resident import taxes (Customs’ duties) of 5% on the hammer price will be added to the invoice and paid by the buyer. Instead, if the lot is being sold outside the UK, no import taxes will be added to the invoice, subject to delivery outside the UK territory
7 – Lots with additional vat Δ
Lots with Δ symbol are invoiced differently and have a different buyer’s premium on hammer price (for regular lots see paragraph 6)
Hammer price will be increased by:
1. Buyer’s premium of 18%
2. VAT on hammer price at the following rates:
books 4%
stamps 10%
all other categories 22%
3. VAT payable at 22% on buyer’s premium
VAT REFUNDS
Private clients residing outside Europe may obtain a refund of the VAT at the rate indicated in paragraph 7.2 on the hammer price by presenting an official document (customs form) that proves that the goods will leave the European Union within 90 days of delivery. Non-resident clients required to pay VAT, who reside in other EU countries or outside the EU, may request a refund of the VAT at the rate indicated in paragraph 7.2 on the hammer price, as well as of the VAT at 22% calculated on the auction commissions, by presenting an official document (CMR or customs form) proving that the goods will leave Italy or the European Union within 90 days of delivery. In case of shipment of the goods outside Italy by the auction house, the refundable VAT as detailed above will not be included in the invoice.
8 – Payment
Upon sale of a lot, if present in the saleroom, the buyer shall pay the purchase price promptly to Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. on delivery of the lot. If bidding via telephone, written form, or online, the purchase price shall be paid within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. Payments may be made in cash, within the limits established by law, by certified and/or personal check or credit card. Payments will not be accepted from parties other than the buyer. Interest will be charged on delayed payments at the rate of 0.5% monthly, subject to variation, on all amounts not paid within the regular terms.
Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. may grant possible extensions of payment terms on the basis of agreements which will have to be formalized, in any case, prior to the auction. If the buyer fails to make payment within thirty (30) days end of month payment term, the auction house shall be entitled to rescind the sale in accordance with the art. 1456 of the Civil Code by giving written prior notice to the purchaser, with reserve of any further right and action for compensation for any damages arising from non-fulfilment. Any amount paid by the purchaser as part of the total price prior to the cancellation of the sale will be applied by the auction house as a compensation in accordance to the art. 1526 of the Civil Code, with reserve of any further damages.
9 – Storage and Shipment
Until the full price has been paid and until delivery, lots are held in storage on the premises of Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. and insured with adequate coverage at the expense of Harmers of London Auctions Ltd.. On request, after payment has been made, lots can be shipped by insured parcel post at the risk and expense of the buyer. The possible export duties are also for the account of the buyer.
10 – Condition reports
The lots are sold “as is”. Catalogue descriptions as well as any other indication or illustration regarding the lots, are purely statements of opinion and are not to be relied upon as statements of warranty. Potential buyers are encouraged to inspect the lots in person or through a knowledgeable representative during the pre-auction viewing in order to assess their authenticity, preservation, provenance, quality and any defects. On request and for guidance only, Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. provides condition reports that can add more information to the catalogue descriptions.
11 – Extensions/Expertise
The auctioneer shall have the right at his absolute discretion to accept or refuse any request for certifications of authenticity . It should be noted, however, that extensions are not accepted for lots if the description in the catalogue mentions that they are accompanied by photographic certification. We further specify that any concession of extensions/expert appraisals does not alter the terms of payment detailed in section 8.
12 - Catalogues
Numismatic auction: Classifications refer to the following catalogues:
Bol. (Bolaffi Catalogue of coins and banknotes – Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Italy, and Italian Republic), Bol. Vat. (Bolaffi catalogue of city of Vatican coins) Bab. (Babelon), Bartolotti, Biaggi, Bohering Calciati, Casolari, B.M.C. (British Museum Catalogue), Ciani, C.N.I. (Corpus Nummorum Italicorum), Cra. (Crapanzano/Giulianini), Cra. Vol. II (Crapanzano/Giulianini vol. II), Crawf. (Crawford), Coh. (Cohen), Crippa, Dav. (Davenport), Di Giulio, D.O.C. (Dumbarton Oaks Collection), Friedb. (Friedberg), Gad. (Gadoury), Galeotti, Gig. (Gigante), Gav. (Gavello 1996) Guadàn, Gulbenkian, Haeb. (Haeberlin) Heiss, Herzfelder, Jenkins e Lewis, Krause, Mesio, Müller, Mont. (Montenegro), Mont. Ve. (Montenegro Venezia), Muntoni, M.zu.A. (Miller zu Aicholds), Pag. (Pagani), Pozzi, Rav. (Ravegnani Morosini), R.I.C. (Roman Imperial Coinage), Rizzo, Seaby, Sears, Schl. (Schlumberger), Sim. Simonetti.
Philatelic auction: Catalogue numbers and values indicated at the end of each description refer to the following catalogues: Bolaffi and Sassone for Italy and Italian Area: Yvert Tellier and Catalogo Unificato for Europe and Yvert Tellier and Stanley Gibbons for all other countries. Other references are specifically quoted.
13 – Catalogue Terms
Philatelic auction:
K mint
L hinged
I without gum
D cancelled
N piece
O front cover
A cover
Numismatic Auction:
Ac (Acmonital) Ae (Bronze) Ag (Silver) Al (Aluminum) An (Antimony) Au (Gold) Ba (Bronzital) Cn (Nickel-copper) Cu (Copper) El (Electro) It (Italma) M.b. (White metal) Ma (Silver plated metal) Md (Gilded metal) Mi (Mixture) Ni (Nickel) Ott. (Brass) Pb (Lead) Pe (Pewter) Pl (Platinum) Sn (Tin) Zn (Zinc)
14 – Resale royalties “Droit de Suite”
Legal obligations concerning the “Droit de Suite” (D.lgs. 118 of 13/02/06) are accomplished by Harmers of London Auctions Ltd.
15 – Conditional sale
The lots are sold by the auction house with conditional sale in accordance to art. 1523 of the Civil Code and therefore the buyer will not acquire title to the lots until the full payment of the purchase price. The risk of deterioration and of damage of the lots will pass to the buyer upon delivery of the lots. The delivery of the lots will only occur upon the full payment of the purchase price.
16 – Claims
Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. will consider only those claims regarding disputes over authenticity of lots, the existence of serious flaws or concealed defects and/or the non-conformity of the lot purchased to that described in the auction catalogue and available for pre-auction viewing. In this connection, defects that the buyer should have been aware of at the time of purchase will not be considered defects of conformity as the buyer, having had the opportunity to view the lot in the catalogue or during its showing prior to sale, could not have failed to observe it making use of ordinary diligence. Possible claims should be sent by registered letter within 15 (fifteen) calendar days:
(i) from the date of the delivery of the lot following the auction, in the case of purchases by persons present in the saleroom, including those represented by agents, commission agents or intermediaries;
(ii) from the date of the receipt of the lot delivered by courier, in the case of purchases by offers via correspondence or by telephone or online;
Claims are not accepted in any case:
(a) pertaining to flaws or defects expressly described in the catalogue and easily discernable in photographs of the lot during the pre-auction viewing;
(b) pertaining to multiple lots such as collections or accumulations of any kind;
(c) pertaining to assorted lots of stamps or coins not described individually;
(d) pertaining to lots explicitly described in the auction catalogue as “to be examined”;
(e) pertaining to the state of conservation of lots, the evaluation of such state being subjective and sales subject to the clause “as seen and found acceptable”;
(f) pertaining to flaws and defects attributable to the purchase’s actions subsequent to delivery of the lot.
(g) After 60 days have passed from the auction date.
Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. will respond in writing to the claim within 60 days of receipt.
Harmers of London Auctions Ltd. will honor claims only when the lot is judged by two experts named by each party to be unauthentic, affected by serious flaws or hidden defects and/or not conforming to the description in the auction catalogue. In such cases the purchaser will be refunded only with the amount corresponding to the purchase and to the shipping cost. Any other refund or reimbursement is expressly excluded, except in case of fraud or serious negligence.
BY SUBMITTING A PURCHASE ORDER OR BIDDING IN THE SALEROOM, THE BUYER FULLY ACCEPTS ALL THE CONDITIONS OF SALE DETAILED ABOVE. THE LONDON COURT HAS JURISDICTION FOR ANY DISPUTE.