Auction News Network

$212,500 For 18th Century Flag Found In Trunk

Inherited trunks should be examined promptly. That would seem to be the lesson learned by the descendant of a Pennsylvania textile worker and decorator named Michael Patrick Patton (1870-1943). When he finally got around to assessing the value of an old flag in his great-grandfather’s trunk, he learned that it was a rare 13-star example from the 18^th century. Yesterday it sold at Freeman’s Auctioneers in Virginia for $212,5000, right in between its $175,000-$250,000 estimate.

Rare Winchester Sells For $333,500

When automotive magnate John F. Dodge ordered a firearm he didn’t go halfway. A case in point is the Lightweight Model 1886 Takedown Lever Action rifle that Winchester created for him. With a custom carved stock of English walnut, the gun features elaborate engravings by John Ulrich. On the receiver’s left side are a gold inlaid white tail buck, doe and fawn; on the right are a gold bull moose and reclining cow in a forest scene. With its exceptional condition and provenance in mind, Maine-based auctioneers James D. Julia valued it at $175,000-$275,000, an estimate that turned out to be modest. This week it sold for $333,500.

Medals Of WWII Ace May Bring $181,000

Few World War II pilots had flying careers as distinguished at the RAF’s Wing Commander Bransome Burbridge. In World War II he shot down 21 enemy aircraft. Not only did he claim four of Hitler’s planes in a single sortie, he also shot down three German V1 flying bombs hurtling toward residential areas of London. For these exploits he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Now that the 92-year old is suffering from Alzheimer’s, however, his family has announced they’ll offer his medals, flight jacket and other memorabilia to help pay for his care. When they come up for sale at UK-based auctioneer Dix Noonan Webb, they’re expected to sell for as much as $181,000.

Iwo Jima Monument To Sell

Iconic monuments don’t come on the market as a rule, but tomorrow is the exception. At a sale of World War II artifacts in New York, Bonhams will offer the original Iwo Jima Monument, as sculpted in Washington, D.C in June-September 1945. Felix de Weldon conceived the depiction of Marines raising the stars and stripes on Mount Suribaci, following a photograph by Joe Rosenthal. Last displayed on the hangar deck of the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York, the statue comes with all sorts of related materials, including original pencil sketches for its design. To take home the 10,000 pound icon, expected to pay $1.2m-$1.8m. Plus shipping, of course.

Over $50,000 Expected For Custer’s Spencer Carbine

Over the course of his military career General George Custer had many firearms. He seems to have had a special fondness, however, for his 1865 Spencer Carbine, going so far as to mention it in his autobiography, in which he calls the rifle “my trusty Spencer which was always at my side.” When Heritage offers the weapon as part of its Political, Western Legends & Americana Memorabilia sale in Dallas on December 11, it’s expected to sell for more than $50,000.

Update: the Spencer more than tripled its high estimate, selling for $179,250.

Rare Colt Carbine At Rock Island Auction

You could equip a good-sized militia with the 2700 firearms coming up for auction next week at Rock Island. All sorts of rarities will be on the block, including the only known Colt Paterson Model 1839 Deluxe Carbine with Birds-Eye Maple Stock. The rifle, winner of the Best Single Weapon award at the St Paul Minnesota Cot Show, is estimated at $75,000-$150,000.

WW II “Enigma” Machine Sells For $135,000

The German’s WW II machine called Enigma encrypted the Nazi’s deepest battle secrets, convinced its code was “unbreakable.” An even deeper secret was the Allies broke it. Bonhams auctioned a perfectly working model in its original oak case for $135,000 in London this week.

Revolutionary War Flag Sells For $422,500

Momentos of historical wars not enshrined in bronze or chiseled in stone usually dry up and blow away not long after the war is forgotten. Not so a silk battle flag from the Revolutionary War preserved by a family for 200 years and sold yesterday at a Philadelphia auction for $422,500.  The flag is fragile and faded but it’s clearly the “Colors” of the 8^th Virginia Regiment led by the so-called “Fighting Parson,” Anglican priest and Gen. Peter Muhlenberg. 

RAF Spitfire Planes To Attack Market?

Just before the end of WW II, GI’s buried a fleet of boxed up, new RAF  Spitfires in Burma, assuming the Brits would be back to dig them up. They never bothered, and now a man who hunted for 15 yeas has found them, maybe as many as 140. The last Spitfire sold at auction went for $2.5m three yeas ago.

Robert S. McNamara’s White House Archive At Sotheby’s

When Robert S. McNamara left the presidency of Ford Motor Company to become JFK’s Defense Secretary, his salary plummeted from $400,000 to $23,000. But his power increased in inverse proportion to his compensation. Later vilified as the architect of the Vietnam War, he went on to become one of America’s longest serving Defense Secretaries, second only to Donald Rumsfield. On October 24^th, marking the 50^th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Sotheby’s will offer an archive from his White Years, which is expected to bring in as much as $800,000.

WWII Hurricane May Soar To $2.7m

In the Battle of Britain during World War II, Hurricane fighter planes were ubiquitous. Credited with shooting down more enemy aircraft in that engagement than the Spitfire, the airplane played a key role in securing England’s defense. Of the 14,500 Hurricanes built, only a small number remain, and just a dozen are still operational. The example that Bonhams will be auctioning on December 3^rd in Surrey, England has been fully restored, and comes complete with its original 12 Browning .303 guns. It will touch down on the block with an estimate of  $2.7m.

Big Cut Expected For Civil War Tiffany Sword

Few people surveying the glittering diamonds and expensive wares at Tiffany & Co. would suspect that during the Civil War, the emporium did a brisk business in military swords. One such item is a highlight at Cowan’s Auctions later this month in Cincinnati. It’s a cased sword, dated 1862, that was presented to Lieut. Samuel P. Ferris, of the 8^th regiment, U.S. Infantry, a survivor of both the Civil and the Indians wars. In the sword’s first appearance on the auction market, it’s expected to sell for $45,000-$60,000

Naval Cable Reports End of WW II

The U.S. army, navy and air force in the Pacific were girding for the bloody invasion of Japan when this cable arrived aboard the U.S. Holland telling “all hands” to stand down. The war was over. The son of the sailor who kept the dispatch puts it up for auction in Millville, Pa., on Aug.15, 67 years to the day it was sent.

Custer’s Saddle Rides Again

General George Custer wasn’t much interested in standard government-issue gear, witness his buckskin jackets, pearl-handled Webley revolvers, or the cavalry saddle he ordered modified to suit his taste for western-style tack. Supported by extensive documentation, this saddle, which Custer used in the Indian Wars, will be a highlight at Heritage’s Legends of the Wild West Auction, which ends in Dallas on June 10^th.  Bidding for the item, which had been estimated at $10,000-up, currently stands at $28,680, including commission.

Gallantry Medal From Bunker Hill Battle

The British “won” the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, 1775, but it cost them dearly, 100 commissioned officers killed, and not much to show for the victory, but there were still medals to be awarded. The silver “gallantry medal” from King George III given to 21-year old Capt. Peter Ewing of the Royal Marines will be auctioned in June (fittingly enough) by Heritage. High estimate is $70,000.