Audit Certificate for Hammer Prices Above 50,000 Euros: Professionalism Has Absolute Priority
The topic of possible “sham bids” in stamp auctions repeatedly stirs the philatelic market. These refer to supposedly exceptionally high prices whose credibility may be questioned for various reasons. We do not allow such doubts to arise in the first place.
Complete Transparency in All Business Processes
At the Heinrich Köhler auction house, the authenticity of all hammer prices exceeding 50,000 euros is confirmed by an independent third party. For Germany’s oldest stamp auction house, this is a matter of honor and further proof of the complete transparency of all business operations. “Hidden reserves” and “sham bids” do not exist in Wiesbaden. But what exactly lies behind these dubious terms?
Insiders are familiar with the strategy employed by a small number of operators in the philatelic auction market: luring bidders with low starting prices while setting undisclosed "hidden reserves" on those lots. Bidders are then driven up against a non-existent shill bidder until the reserve is met or exceeded. If the last remaining genuine bidder drops out below that reserve, a "phantom hammer" falls in favour of the fictitious "book bidder" — who does not exist. The sale is, in other words, entirely simulated.
But why would an auction house operate this way rather than simply selling the lot at the price genuinely achieved? One possible motive is strategic: by pointing to these purportedly high and record-breaking prices, the house attempts to persuade prospective consignors to entrust their collections to the firm. In addition, the philatelic rarity in question can subsequently be re-offered at even higher prices, with the already "achieved" result cited as justification. Whenever the same top-tier item appears repeatedly within a relatively short period — each time at a higher price, each time allegedly sold — a degree of healthy scepticism is entirely warranted.
Payments and disbursements correspond precisely to the hammer prices recorded at auction.
We guarantee that both sellers and buyers are on safe ground with us: the experts at BDO, the internationally recognised auditing firm based in Hanover, prepare an annual report covering every hammer price in excess of €50,000 recorded in Heinrich Köhler's results lists.
Verified:
- the existence of the consignment, as evidenced by the consignment agreement
- the regularity of the hammer fall, e.g. by reference to the auction protocol
- that an invoice has been issued to the buyer
- that payment has been received
- that settlement has been made and the proceeds disbursed to the consignor
The annually recurring finding reads: "Payments received from buyers and disbursements made to consignors for hammer prices in excess of €50,000 correspond precisely with the auction results published in the results lists."
What happens next? The choice is yours.
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