Auction News

strange items
Auction News

Eight Strange Items Sold to the Highest Bidder

Human hair. Corpse tattoos. Celebrity genital castings. After being in the auction business for 15 years, there are few things people sell or buy that truly shock me. But even I raise my eyebrows at some strange items. The following seven collectibles certainly bring the ick factor. In fact, I

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Motorsports Memorabilia
Auction News

Crashing Into History with Motorsports Memorabilia

In September of 1980, Gary Wells attempted to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace. He had recently jumped further distances, but, like Evel Knievel before him, the jump resulted in a devastating crash. At the beginning of November, we had the honor of auctioning off the motorcycle Wells rode and

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art collection
Auction Tips

Should I Donate My Art Collection to a Museum?

Art Collection A frequent question I receive when helping to settle estates, is whether or not to donate items to a museum. This is especially true when the person whose estate we’re taking care of is or was an avid art collector. The answer to this question is deeply personal

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News Release

Mom Was Wrong: Video Games Earn Top Dollar at Auction

Remember when your mom told you video games were a waste of time? That they’d never help you pay your bills? She was wrong. We’ve seen a huge uptick in the value of vintage video games recently, with new records being set every few weeks for the cost of these

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gemstones
News Release

The Allure of Gemstones

A 59.6-carat pink diamond, known as the “Pink Star” sold at auction for $71.2 million in 2017. While the “Pink Star” holds the record for the highest priced gemstone ever sold, it is not the highest price per carat the world has ever seen. That honor goes to the 14.6-carat

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News Release

How to Sniff Out a Valuable Vintage Perfume Bottle

Before becoming an auctioneer, I had no idea the huge variety of items people collect and consider valuable. Vintage perfume bottles is a category I would never have suspected to be valuable. But we regularly sell beautiful vintage perfume bottles worth hundreds of dollars or more. In fact, we sold

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Funko Pops
Auction Tips

Fun with Funko Pops

Have you heard of Funko Pop collectibles? Even if you don’t know the name, you’ve probably seen them. Funko Pops, the increasingly popular 3.75-inch vinyl figures are easily identifiable by their square shaped heads, disproportionately small bodies and large, pupil-less eyes. In the past few weeks, we’ve sold more than

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valuable art
News Release

Rescuing Valuable Art from the Trash

We’ve all heard the stories about a rare piece of art that was found at a secondhand store or yard sale and sold for thousands of dollars. In fact, I’m sure we’ve all wished, at one time or another, that we could stumble across a painting or valuable art piece

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jewelry
News Release

Donate or Sell? What to do with Your Unwanted Jewelry

This Charles Loloma Hopi Kachina Sand Cast Tufa Mold Sterling Silver Pendant sold for more than $2,500 on April 10. We regularly talk to consignors who don’t realize the value of the jewelry they have collected throughout their lives or have inherited from family members. In fact, earlier this month,

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Born to Collect
News Release

Were We Born to Collect?

This Marklin Germany Ho Gauge Electric Locomotive model sold for $390. The locomotive was part of a large train collection that went up for auction in December 2020. Do you remember the Beanie Babies craze of the early ‘90s? How about Cabbage Patch Dolls in the ‘80s. It seems as

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hot wheels
News Release

Hot Wheels are Hot Collector’s Items in 2021

This 1970s Hot Wheels Redline Red Killer Heavy Chevy sold at auction on Feb. 5 for $650.  Is there any more quintessential childhood toy than a die cast Hot Wheels car? The feel of the cool metal against your palm as you raced them across the carpet, leaving rug burns

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