One private dealer says he has seen more than a few advisers who try to double-dip, or be paid by both buyer and seller.

FORBES: Who's Watching The Watchdog?

The fact that these volumes were owned by such a famous man means they might fetch prices roughly double that of books lacking such a provenance, says Jonathan Hill, a rare-book dealer in New York.

FORBES: Watt's Up

"As traders say goodbye and probably good riddance to 2011, a year that saw most of the European and Asian indices recording double-digit losses, traders may not be so welcoming to 2012 either, " said Jonathan Sudaria, a dealer at brokerage Capital Spreads.

BBC: World stock markets end a tumultous year well down