Officer obtains old item in auction
I believe the answer is:
lot
'item in auction' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'officer obtains old' is the wordplay.
'officer' becomes 'lt' (I've seen this in other clues).
'obtains' is an insertion indicator.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'lt' placed around 'o' is 'LOT'.
(Other definitions for lot that I've seen before include "Portion in life" , "In the Bible, his wife was turned into a pillar of salt" , "Kismet" , "He left his wife without a backward glance" , "one whose wife should be remembered" .)