Contributors
Rising Value of Unrestored Cars
By Malcolm Welford, Vintage Car Specialist
Archive for August, 2011
Ike’s Presidential Limo For Sale
August 31, 2011While he was president, Ike Eisenhower and his wife Mamie wanted a kind of personal limo that she could use, as well as one for parades and other formal occasions. What they got was a customized 1955 Cadillac. The car was bought by a European collector 20 years ago. He has shipped it to America to sell at an Auburn, Ind., auction this weekend.
Read more...Rare Jaguar E-Type Headlines Goodwood Sale
August 31, 2011It’s the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type this year and to mark it, Bonhams will feature one of the rarest examples of the iconic design at its Goodwood sale on September 16th. It’s a 1964 right-hand drive “semi-lightweight” ultra high performance roadster, for which Bonhams released no estimate—a tip off to the scale of the price they expect it to achieve.
Read more...VERY Rare New Zealand Cross To Be Sold
August 31, 2011As in the American Indian wars of the 19th Century, battles between European settlers and native Maoris were fought in New Zealand. One of the colonial bush fighters was Thomas Adamson. His courage was legendary, but they couldn’t award him a Victoria Cross because he wasn’t in the British Imperial army, so they invented the New Zealand Cross in 1869 and gave him the first one. That Medal will be auctioned in London on September 23. The high estimate is $100,000.
Read more...More Chinese Treasures At Christie’s
August 30, 2011Christie’s is aiming for $1.5m for a large, bronze figure of Vairocana lacquered in gilt from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It stands over 20-inches tall. In that ancient religion the statue represents one of five qualities of the Buddha. Experts say it is a work of superb detail and quality. The sale will be in New York in mid-September.
Read more...That’s His John Hancock For Sale
August 30, 2011In 1776 the rebelling Americans had a problem on their hands with a troop of British army prisoners captured in Canada and transported to Trenton, N.J. So the Continental Congress passed a resolution to march the red coats inland, away from the coming battles. On March 20, 1776, John Hancock, as president of the Congress, signed the resolution and that document is offered by Heritage at its Sept.13 auction. High estimate is $15,000.
Read more...Exceptional Jade Coming To Christie’s
August 29, 2011Christie’s expects Asian buyers to be on the line or in its New York saleroom in a couple of weeks when it offers an extraordinary collection of rarely seen jade carvings assembled by a European collector over the past 50-years. As a spokesperson put it, the work embodies “decorative themes appreciated by the Chinese scholarly elite.”
Read more...High-End Real Estate Roundup
August 27, 2011As fall approaches, a number of impressive properties are heading to auction, including a Gentlemen’s Farm in rural Virginia, a vast Alabama plantation, and a stately retreat overlooking the Chesapeake. Read more in our weekly high-end real estate roundup.
Read more...Fill John Wayne’s Boots (Or Buy Them)
August 26, 2011The family says it only recently got around to going through boxes of John Wayne’s personal items. They kept what they wanted, and are selling the rest to help fund Wayne’s charities. Bidders at the coming Heritage Auction looking to fill his boots can buy many pairs, in addition to hats, jackets, vests, military uniforms, a saddle, his driver’s license, passport, and American Express Card (expired). Also for sale, the eye patch he wore in True Grit.
Read more...Now It’s The Wife’s Gun For Sale
August 25, 2011From Al Capone to Billy The Kid, there’s a brisk market in photos and guns that belonged to American gangsters and outlaws, but now Soldusa.com is auctioning a single shot, purse pistol Jesse James gave his wife, Zee, to commemorate the birth of their daughter. In the online bidding that ends next month, they’re hoping for a heist of $20,000.
Read more...UPDATE: Beatles Record ‘PLEASED’ Someone
August 24, 2011A classic 45 rpm record of the Beatles singing, “Please Please Me,” comes up for auction in Liverpool this weekend. They expect it to go for more than $13,000 because all four of the young men autographed it. For some reason probably long forgotten but bound to please a collector, they signed both sides of the 7-inch disc. UPDATE: The record sold for $14,744.
Read more...American Impressionist Leads Skinner Sale
August 23, 2011There are works by better known artists than Theodore Robinson at Skinner’s auction of paintings, prints and photographs early next month – Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, and Maurice Utrillo are just a few. There are no more highly valued paintings, however, than the noted American Impressionist’s “Hansom Cabs,” an evocative late 19th century depiction of New York carriages that’s estimated at $120,000-180,000.
Read more...SOLD! News Reports of the American Revolution
August 23, 2011Old newspapers often have enormous historical value, but surprisingly small monetary value. Not so this 1265-page collection of Boston newspapers saved during the revolutionary era, including the day the Declaration of Independence was printed on the front pages, July 18, 1776. The collection was assembled by Harbottle Dorr, a Boston merchant, who saved the city’s newspapers for 12-years, and wrote his weekly observations in the margins, a kind of early day political blogger. High estimate is $300,000. (See Update for sale results).
Read more...$3 Gold Coin Mints Fortune
August 22, 2011An extremely rare, 1855-S Proof $3-dollar gold piece struck at what was then the newly established San Francisco mint sold for more than $1.3m at Heritage’s coin sale in Chicago, one of several auctions surrounding the ANA convention there. Bidding for the coin was brisk and the crowded room burst out in applause when the hammer fell.
Read more...Ferrari Sets New Auction Record
August 22, 2011If the economy’s in disarray, there was little sign of it at the major vintage car auctions this past weekend in and around the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. At Gooding & Co.’s marquis event, a 1957 red Ferrari Testa Rossa prototype became, at $16.4m, the most expensive car ever sold at auction. Other records fell as well, as some $80m changed hands at Gooding’s alone. “The stock market almost helped us,” said RM Auctions’ Max Girardo. “It makes classic cars even more desirable” because they’re perceived to be safer assets.
Read more...High-End Real Estate Roundup
August 19, 2011A 320-acre Colorado ranch, complete with its own reproduction 1880’s Old West town, a vast Alabama Hunting Preserve with its own golf course, and a Cape Cod oceanfront cottage—these are just a few of the high-end properties heading toward the auction block this week. Check out our weekly real estate auction roundup.
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