-22-
market vale. E.g., McGuire v. Commissioner, 44 T.C. 801 (1965)
(prices paid at auction for art, furnishings, and other personal
property did not reflect fair market value in that the bidders at
auctions were generally wholesalers or dealers who were buying
for resale); cf. Stollwerck Chocolate Co. v. Commissioner,
4 B.T.A. 467, 471 (1926) (auction price determined to be fair
market value where evidence established that “There were some
twenty buyers present [at the auction], seven or eight of whom
made bids for the property.”). We also note as to the facts at
hand that the auction by Christie’s involved assets seized by
respondent to satisfy a perceived Federal tax obligation, which,
in turn, suggests that the auction at hand had an element of a
forced sale. A forced sale is inconsistent with the willing
seller requirement of fair market value and is not probative of
fair market value. See, e.g., sec. 20.2031-1(b), Estate Tax
Regs.
We also are mindful of Rev. Proc. 65-19, 1965-2 C.B. 1002.
As relevant herein, that revenue procedure applies to “certain
items of tangible personal property which, while generally
available to a member of the general public at retail
establishments, frequently are obtained by members of the general
public at a public auction”. Under this revenue procedure, the
Commissioner presumes for purposes of section 20.2031-1(b),
Estate Tax Regs., that the auction price of an item of tangible
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