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Quiz about Going Going Gone
Quiz about Going Going Gone

Going, Going, Gone Trivia Quiz


A brief look at auctions, auction houses and things that come under the hammer.

A multiple-choice quiz by Christinap. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Christinap
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
335,489
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
686
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Auctions have been recorded as far back as 500BC in Babylon. What was offered for sale? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In 193AD the Praetorian Guard offered the entire Roman Empire for sale by auction. Who was the highest bidder? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Dutch auctions got their name from the sale of which items? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. In which country is the oldest auction house in the world? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Internet auctions are now big business. Who started eBay? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Since it started some strange things have been sold on ebay. Which of the following did they take offline, stating it was illegal to sell it? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Britain's oldest auction house is Sotheby's, founded in 1744. What were the first items it sold? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Thanks to television auctions are no longer regarded as only for dealers and specialists. Who was the first host of the BBC TV programme "Bargain Hunt"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In 2000 Christie's and Sotheby's were involved in what sort of scandal? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. There are specialist auction houses for all types of commodity. Of the following which specialises in bloodstock? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Auctions have been recorded as far back as 500BC in Babylon. What was offered for sale?

Answer: Women

Women were offered for sale as wives. The auction started with the most beautiful woman and worked down to the least attractive. The auctioneer stated a starting price and lowered it until it was accepted by a bidder. This system did mean that the family of an unattractive female could end up having to pay someone to take her rather than receiving a profit.

It was illegal for a family to sell their daughter for marriage outside of the auction system.
2. In 193AD the Praetorian Guard offered the entire Roman Empire for sale by auction. Who was the highest bidder?

Answer: Didius Julianus

Publius Helvinus Pertinax was Emperor for only three months. He felt the Praetorian Guard were out of control and tried to restore discipline, but they rebelled and killed him. They then offered the Empire to the highest bidder, which was Didius Julianus.

He is rumoured to have offered 6,250 drachmas per guard. It was not money well spent as he was beheaded some two months later when Rome was conquered by Septimus Severus.
3. Dutch auctions got their name from the sale of which items?

Answer: Tulips

Rather than start at a low price and go up until all bidders bar one drop out, a Dutch auction starts at a high price and goes lower until someone accepts a price. This practice was used for the auctioning of tulip bulbs in Holland. In the 1630s tulip mania swept Holland, with single bulbs of new species being auctioned for around ten times the annual income of a skilled worker.
4. In which country is the oldest auction house in the world?

Answer: Sweden

The Stockholm Auction House was founded in 1674 by Baron Claes Ralamb. In its time it has had several distinguished clients including Sweden's King Gustav III who acquired a Rembrandt, and King Charles XI who sold some hunting rifles.
5. Internet auctions are now big business. Who started eBay?

Answer: Pierre Omidyar

In September 1995 Pierre Omidyar sold the very first item, a broken laser pointer, on what was then called Auctionweb. By 1996 it had grown massively and Jeffrey Skoll joined the company. In 1998 it went public and both Pierre Omidya and Jeffrey Skoll became dot.com billionaires.
6. Since it started some strange things have been sold on ebay. Which of the following did they take offline, stating it was illegal to sell it?

Answer: A liver

A man tried to auction his own liver on ebay and bidding reached $3.7M before ebay deleted it, stating it was illegal to sell body parts online. All of the others are genuine ebay auction items. The bubble gum was alleged to have been spat out by Britney Spears and made $14,000.

The private Gulfstream jet made $4.9M, and the right to name an unborn baby went to the Golden Palace casino. The poor child now has to go through life named "Golden Palace Benedetto". We can only hope she thinks the $15,000 her mother got in the auction was worth it.
7. Britain's oldest auction house is Sotheby's, founded in 1744. What were the first items it sold?

Answer: Books

Founded by Samuel Baker, the very first sale at Sotheby's was the library of Rt. Hon Sir John Stanley, Bt. For approximately the next hundred years Sotheby's specialised in book sales, selling anything from whole libraries to single volumes. They handled the sale of books belonging to Napoleon, Prince Talleyrand and the Dukes of both Devonshire and Buckingham.
8. Thanks to television auctions are no longer regarded as only for dealers and specialists. Who was the first host of the BBC TV programme "Bargain Hunt"?

Answer: David Dickinson

"Bargain Hunt" and David Dickinson arrived on British day time TV in March 2000. The simple format of two pairs of contestants buying items at an antiques fair, with an expert giving them advice, and then selling them at auction and keeping any profit was an instant success, even though most of the contestants managed only to loose large amounts of money.

There have, however, been times when the purchases have exceeded all expectations, one example being a small Royal Worcester box bought for £140 which reached £800 at auction.
9. In 2000 Christie's and Sotheby's were involved in what sort of scandal?

Answer: Price fixing

In 2000 allegations were made of a price fixing deal between Christie's and Sotheby's. It was in fact Christie's executives who alerted the US Department of Justice to the collusion. In the subsequent investigation they were given immunity from prosecution when a long serving employee of theirs confessed and gave full co-operation to the FBI.

Many of Sotheby's senior staff were fired, and their largest shareholder and their CEO both received jail sentences.
10. There are specialist auction houses for all types of commodity. Of the following which specialises in bloodstock?

Answer: Tattersalls

Tattersalls is the oldest bloodstock auctioneer in the world, having been founded in 1766 by Richard Tattersall, who was the owner of the legendary racehorse "Highflyer". Their original auctions were held at Hyde Park Corner in London, and they later moved to Knightsbridge Green.

In 1977 they moved to Newmarket, home of English horse racing. They also hold several sales a year in Ireland.
Source: Author Christinap

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series Christinap's history quizzes:

A selection of history quizzes by Christinap, late founder and leader of Pi in the Sky.

  1. The Man In The Black Suit Average
  2. The Knights Templar Difficult
  3. Georgians on My Mind Average
  4. Going, Going, Gone Tough
  5. A Mouse at the London Palladium Tough

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