R E C E N T surveys of the economic literature on auctions1 indicate that there has been a great deal of theoretical work on the properties of equilibrium behavior in auctions and on the design of auctions to maximize the seller's revenues in the presence of optimizing bidders. However, there has been very little empirical work, using field data, that attempts to test various behavioral theories or, indeed, to see whether they are of any practical interest. There has been some good experimental work2 but the relatively small stakes involved in these experimental games, and the relative inexperience of the subjects (given the potential complexity of equilibrium strategies), leave a useful role for the careful study of a detailed field data set. This article analyzes such a data set, the first-price, sealed-bid auctions of drainage and development leases on federal land in