We’ve sold a dozen squash blossom necklaces in the past six months. They’ve sold for a range of prices from $40 to $1,900, with a majority of the recent squash blossoms selling for between $650 and $900. Why is there such a huge price discrepancy between the value of the
What is the lowest value coin you would be willing to pick up if you saw it lying on the sidewalk or in a parking lot? A quarter, a dime, a nickel? Would you bend over to pick up a penny? What if you accidentally threw it away? Would you
Occasionally, a specific smell will take me back to childhood. The scent of an elementary school, someone grilling in the backyard, chlorine from the public pool, and the smell of a freshly opened pack of trading cards all take me back to about 12-years-old. I’m definitely not the only one
From Barrett Jackson to Russo Steele to the Mecum Auction taking place in Glendale this weekend, Arizona is well known for its collector car auctions. In fact, the most expensive car ever sold at auction in Arizona was a $9.9 million vintage 1937 Mercedes Benz 540 K Special Roadster sold
Most in Demand Auction Items? People love making predictions. Whether it’s who will win the Super Bowl, how the economy will perform or which politician will be victorious in the next election. It turns out, auctioneers are no exception to this rule. We enjoy predicting the future of our own
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
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
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
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
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
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
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