I was aware that wives in 18th and 19th century Britain were legally essentially property of the husband, I was not aware that they were auctioned as livestock. [www.youtube.com] (you can skip over 2 minutes of advertisements at the start)

A troublesome wife was led on a halter to the local market and auctioned off to the highest bidder. The wife did have the right to refuse if she did not like the high bidder, in which case she was reauctioned (presumably at a lower price). Apparently the practice continued into the early 20th century.

"The Stone Age did not end for lack of stone, and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil"

-- Sheikh Zaki Yamani