A mail bid sale is an auction where all bids are submitted in writing.

The mail bid sale helps the collector to better determine the value of a coin, which benefits both buyer and seller, as the coin’s selling price is the result of input from thousands of participants and not just the opinion of a single specialist.

DATES :
Cutoff for consigments was October 30th 2003 ; bid sheets must be received by no later than the close of business on January 29th, 2004 ; notification of successful bidders and list of prices realized will be sent to bidders on February 4th, 2004. Settlement to consignors will occur on March 4th 2004. Unsold lots will be offered at their opening prices till February 28th, 2004.

LOT VIEWING :
The coins in this sale will be available for viewing as soon as the catalogues have been shipped. Viewing will be at 36, rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris, and is by appointment only.

THE CATALOGUE :
PHOTOS depict the actual size of the coins, and are shot under normal lighting conditions. All enlargements are specified as such.
All DESCRIPTIONS have been made in good faith. We have included all the information we thought helpful - not only to the collector but to the scholar as well. This sale contains coins that range from rare to extremely rare. After the sale, the coins will have dispersed in your various collections, but the data will remain available to everyone.
GRADING has been strict and realistic.
REFERENCE books have been chosen for each coin to help each collector to attribute every coin with precision. A BIBLIOGRAPHY is provided with a listing of all books used in the preparation of this catalogue.
The OPENING BIDS have been determined in consultation with each consignor, and constitute the minimum bids that will be accepted.

ESTIMATES are, in our opinion, the approximative values of each lot. Of course, this evaluation can only be accurate for coins that appear often enough on the market to satisfy collector demand. As many of the coins in this sale have not been offered for years, estimates for many items may be somewhat conservative. The rarer the coin, the farther off our estimate may be. In any case, it is never intended as a maximum.

BIDS :
SUBMITTING THE BID SHEET
Write your bids as clearly as possible on the bid sheet. Please follow your own preference order. Do not forget to give your mailing address, daytime phone and fax numbers. Please specify if your bids can be increased by 10, 20 or 30% if necessary, in order to obtain the lots you want. You may submit as many bids as you wish and you may set a total spending limit amount cutoff. No bids will be accepted for less than the opening bids. Any bids under these amounts will be ignored as well as cents in bids including cents of euros. Submission of a bid constitues a guarantee to pay for all lots won. All bidders are responsible for the bids they submit, including bids made on the behalf of third parties. This is not an approval sale. Don’t forget to sign your bid sheet !

SENDING YOUR BIDS : send us your bids any way you want but the sooner the better due to slow mail delivery. To avoid any delay, please fax a copy of your bid sheet to +33-1-42 36 66 38 or + 33-1-40 26 42 95 or send by e-mail : vso@cgb.fr. If you wish to be sure your bids remain unknown until the close of the sale, please specify so on the envelope (CGF/ VSO ORDRES, 36, rue Vivienne 75002 PARIS) and include only your bids in the envelope.

WINNING BIDS :
Each lot will be won by the highest bidder but he will only pay at the second best bid plus :
- 5 euros for coins bringing less than 150 euros
- 15 euros for coins bringing between 151 and 1.000 euros
- 50 euros for coins bringing between 1.001 and 1.500 euros
- 100 euros for coins bringing over 1.501 euros
An exception will be made in the case where the difference between the highest and second highest bid would be less than the normal increment.

If a lot receives only one bid, it will be sold at the opening bid regardless of the amount bid.
If two identical bids are received on one lot, the bid reaching us first will win the lot.
Coins not sold will be available at their opening prices till February 28th, 2004.
The computer takes all bids to figure out the final price, even if some bids are void due to completed budget.

RESULTS
The realized price list (including unsold lot numbers) is sent to the bidders and to collectors who paid for the catalog. The realized price list includes the realized prices and the highest bid registered for each lot.

EXPORT:
Coins sent to countries within the European Union require no formalities. Time and care are needed for coins exported outside of the European Union. We thank you in advance for your patience. Customers wishing their coins exported would help us greatly if they would state clearly and in detail how and where they wish to receive their coins, and what, if any, insurance they might have for such shipments. Actual costs (minimum 10 euros and maximum 50 euros) for shipping and export will be added to your invoice.

PAYMENT:
A detailed invoice will be sent to successful bidders including a charge of 10 euros to cover shipping and insurance. This charge does not apply to coins picked up at our premises by the buyer. Upon receipt of payment, coins will be sent registered or by declared value shipment.

GUARANTEE:
We guarantee the authenticity of all coins sold without time limit up to the price paid for the coin. We further guarantee complete confidentiality. The identities of the bidders and the amount of their bids will not be revealed but the highest bids for each coin which will be included in the realized price list.
The auctioneers reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to refuse any item for sale and to refuse any bid.

DISPUTES:
Any disputes regarding any item in this auction must be received by us within five days of receipt by the buyer. Submission of a bid constitutes full acceptance of the mail bid sale terms.

COURT OF JURISDICTION is Paris. Submission of bids constitues absolute acceptance of these conditions of sale. The French text is the only text having legal force. This translation is only to serve as a guide to English-speaking clients.

PRICE OF CATALOG: Until the 29th of January 2004 the price of the catalog is 10 euros, and 20 euros afterwards, including the realized price list.