Asset class
Collectible assets in Germany
Ownership of physical collectibles in Germany rests on possession and documentation, not on a public register. Metals, wine, watches and cars pass through custody chains where the paper trail is often thinner than the sale contract suggests. When a scheme fails or a counterparty refuses to perform, what matters first is which document actually proves who holds the asset, and where.
Register and custody layer
Germany has no general public register of ownership for bullion, wine, watches or cars held as private investment stock. Vehicles are registered for road use, not as investment title. Bonded warehouses, private vaults and storage operators keep their own custody ledgers, and those ledgers are the operative record for who owns what. A purchase confirmation from a dealer is not the same document as the custody statement issued by the facility physically holding the asset. Where a foreign document needs to be relied on in a German proceeding, legalisation by apostille applies to Germany, though a reservation and notification have been declared against it, which can affect which documents from which states are accepted without further steps. Where the file involves a foreign vault or foreign seller, this detail is checked before anything else.
The document rarely handed over
Most investors receive an invoice, a certificate of authenticity, or a subscription agreement. Few receive the underlying custody or storage contract between the seller and the facility that actually holds the metal, the bottles, the watch or the car. That contract is what defines the investor's legal position against the custodian, separately from the position against the seller. Without it, a claim against a seller who has stopped performing may not translate into any claim against the entity physically in possession of the asset. This gap is where a number of refusal-to-perform disputes actually originate, and it is examined in more detail in the analysis of how collectible asset ownership is actually recorded.
What belongs in a pre-deal report
A pre-deal report on a tangible asset structure checks specific, verifiable items rather than the seller's marketing claims. It should cover:
- The identity and location of the entity physically holding the asset, distinct from the selling entity.
- The custody or storage contract, not just the sale invoice.
- Whether the custody statement is issued periodically and whether it is currently current.
- Whether any foreign-issued document relied on requires legalisation before it has evidentiary weight in Germany.
- Insurance coverage on the asset while in storage, and who the beneficiary is.
A paid initial assessment reviews these points against the specific contract and custody documents in hand before deciding what, if anything, should be sent to the counterparty. It does not estimate an outcome. It establishes what the file currently shows, which is the basis for the broader review of collectible asset structures and for any next step.