Collectible - Vintage Collectibles and Hot Online Auction Trends

It had to happen, the economics and scams following the death of a popular culture icon:

Caution Urged on Michael Jackson Autographs, Memorabilia

(Santa Ana, California) — Collectors and fans are cautioned about the anticipated explosion of fake Michael Jackson autographs and counterfeit memorabilia that will be offered following the entertainer’s death.

“This happens every time a famous Hollywood, sports or political celebrity passes away. Online auctions and flea markets are suddenly filled with spurious signatures, and frankly many collectors don’t know exactly what they’re buying,” said Joe Orlando, President PSA/DNA Authentication Services, the world’s largest autograph and memorabilia authentication company and a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT) of Santa Ana, California.

“While Michael Jackson certainly was popular, he usually didn’t offer fans frequent autograph access like some other celebrities. So, there simply are not as many Jackson autographs as there are of other contemporary mega-stars.”

Orlando also cautioned that autograph buyers may not have adequate consumer protection even if the signature is accompanied by what appears to be a certificate of authenticity.

“Collectors who purchase autographs or memorabilia need to know the reputation of the seller and the reputation and expertise of the authenticators. The bottom line is that a certificate or letter of authenticity is only as strong as the name behind it,” Orlando said.

Online: www.PSADNA.com.

Ending today, this auction of an original Michael Jackson White Glove is attracting a lot of attention on eBay at the moment. As of the posting, the auction currently has 259 bids and is sitting at $85,900 with about 5 hours to go.

Apparently the glove which is completely covered in clear Swarovski crystals, comes from the collection of Dick Clark, and was a gift to Clark from Jackson.

Created by designer Bill Wheaton who created many of Jackson’s trademark outfits during the 1980’s, the glove was worn during the 1984-85 Victory tour, on the Grammys when Jackson won his record eight Grammys for Thriller, his Pepsi commercial’s debut and when he was badly burned on set filming the concert scene. He is also filmed with this glove on during the We Are The World Video and when he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

We’ll keep you updated on the final price.

FINAL UPDATE (June 26, 2009): We thought we should update this, given the events of yesterday, and the unexpected passing of Michael Jackson. That story is still unfolding, and of course is fully occupying the media outlets. …and, upstaging the death of another pop icon - Farrah Fawcett, who fought the good fight.

We’re sure there will be many more twists to the Jackson story.

But… back to the glove (it’s probably worth many more times what the winning bidder paid) - Final Price: $99,100 after 295 bids.

However the story plays out, we have to give props to yet another legend…

Recently on March 26, 2009, Hakes auctioned 4 panels of Carl Barks, Uncle Scrooge original art for $5,750.00 (included a 15% Buyer’s Premium).

The description:
“19.25×24.25″ frame contains 4-panel original pen and ink art for “Uncle Scrooge” #63 comic book. Art is done by beloved Duck artist Carl Barks and features Uncle Scrooge in all 4 panels, Donald Duck in first 2 as well as Beagle Boys in last panel, which also shows Huey. Directly below this panel, Barks has signed his name in black ink. “U.S. #63P.24″ text at left of art indicates issue and page number art appeared on and also bears “copyright Walt Disney Productions. Reproduction Prohibited Without Written Permission” text. Art appeared in Apr., 1966 Gold Key “Uncle Scrooge” comic in the “House Of Haunts” storyline. Brass nameplate with “Uncle Scrooge Original Comic Book Page - Uncle Scrooge #63 Page 24 - House Of Haunts” text.”

View the completed auction here: Uncle Scrooge” #63 comic book art

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First Comic Book Featuring Superman Sells for $317,200 in Internet Auction

FOXNews.com
Saturday, March 14, 2009

“NEW YORK - A rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman has sold for $317,200 in an Internet auction. The previous owner of Action Comics No. 1 bought it for less than a buck (35 cents from a second hand store in the 1950’s).”

Read the full story >>

Collectible cups catch on

4/10/2009
By Sandy Erdman
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

“As more people discover the diversity and charm of egg cups, more are becoming collectors of them.

According to most resource books, pocillovy is the official name for the popular activity of collecting egg cups, derived from the Latin term pocillum ovi, meaning “a small cup for an egg.” They date back to ancient times, when a group of silver egg cups were first unearthed in the ruins of Pompeii.”

Read the full story >>

HISTORY FOR SALE

By MARK DeCAMBRE
New York Post
April 6, 2009

“Fallen auto giant General Motors has resorted to unloading its prized collection of classic cars as its newly installed CEO said yesterday the company will go into bankruptcy if that’s what Uncle Sam wants.

GM is auctioning a fleet of collectible cars from its so-called Heritage Collection, including a 1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 used in the movie “Runaway Bride” as well as a 1920 Chevy Model T truck.”

Read the full story >>

Diggin deeper, we find that GM is also offering up a 1978 Corvette Indy 500 pace car, one of four made - and one of two that GM owns.

The auction, which runs from April 9-11, 2009, also features some other notable cars:
- A rare 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 convertible
- a Lime Gold 1967 Shelby GT500 fastback
- a pair of 1968 Shelby GT350 fastbacks
- a trio of 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 fastbacks
- a 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS5 convertible
- a 1970 Chevelle SS 396 convertible
- a 1969 Camaro Z/28 with an authentic “X77″ production code
- a 1954 Corvette convertible
- a 1962 Corvette FI convertible
- a 1969 Corvette convertible with a 427c L71 engine
- a 1957 Thunderbird “E” convertible
- a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville convertible
- a 1955 Bel Air convertible

A press release from last fall, but perhaps still relevant:

“At a time of sinking home and stock prices, investors are eager to find financial safe havens. While sports memorabilia may not be as sound an investment as bonds or a bank deposit, the returns can sometimes be breathtaking.

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 14, 2008 — Collectors have been trading sports memorabilia since the early 1900s when Babe Ruth trading cards were swapped and sold. Today, sports memorabilia is a multi-million dollar global industry. Collectors have made big profits by trading items autographed by the world’s greatest sports stars.

The highest price paid for a piece of sporting memorabilia is $2.8 million for a Honus Wagner baseball card. Wagner was a baseball star in the early 20th century and the card dates to between 1909 and 1911. Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky bought the Wagner card in 1991 for $451,000 and later sold it to Walmart for $500,000. In 1995 Walmart made the card its top prize in a raffle, won by a Florida postal worker. A year later the card was sold at auction for $640,000. In 2000 it was sold again, this time on ebay for $1.27 million. Then, in February 2007 the card changed hands for $2.35 million, only to be sold 6 months later to a collector in California for a whopping $2.8 million.

The Honus Wagner card showed an annual rate of return of 12% between 1991 and 2007. Not bad when compared with the Dow Jones Industrial which returned 7.5% per annum over the same period. But a word of warning before you go buying up all the Honus Wagner cards you can lay your hands on. It has to be the right Honus Wagner card. A collector in Kansas recently sold a card on ebay for only $3.25.

Memorabilia from other sports can also be big business. A football (soccer) shirt worn by Pele fetched a record 157,750 pounds ($276,062), a lot of 6,000 pro football signatures sold for $22,417 and a Michael Jordan game jersey was valued at over $6,000.

There is also money to be made at the smaller end of the market. At time of writing there were over 690,000 sports memorabilia items listed on ebay with prices from $52,000 to one penny.

As with all investments the trick is in spotting good value. Prices for sports memorabilia can be fickle with demand rising and falling with a sports-persons career.

If you are buying sports memorabilia be sure to differentiate between official memorabilia and the rest. Official memorabilia will come with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). There are many sources of COA’s so be sure you are buying from a reputable source.”

Bids for First Harry Potter Book Already at Record $15,000
February 23, 2009

(Dallas, Texas) — Despite the gloomy economy, bidding for a softcover copy of the first Harry Potter book already is at a record $15,000 with more than a week remaining in a rare books auction online and in Dallas, Texas, March 6 and 7. It is one of only 200 such copies issued by the London publisher, Bloomsbury.

“This is a 1997 first edition of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone with the original publisher’s illustrated softcover wrapper and an illustrated card signed by the author, J. K. Rowling. The bidding already has reached $15,000; nearly $18,000 with the buyer’s premium included. The previous auction record was $10,750,” said James Gannon, Director of Rare Books at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas (www.HA.com), the firm conducting the auction.

The anonymous consignor, described by Gannon as “an avid book collector from England,” said he’s frankly surprised — and delighted — at the early bidding: “It takes a lot to shock me, but this is probably as shocked as I have ever been regarding auction bidding. Has the world gone mad? We are in the deepest recession for 80 years and a Harry Potter children’s paperback book is setting a record price.”

Why is it so valuable?

“Now that the final book in the Harry Potter series has come out and the movies are nearing completion, I think collectors are finally realizing that this is not just going to be a rare book but also an important piece of cultural history,” said Gannon.

For additional information, contact Heritage Auction Galleries at (800) 872-6467 or visit online at www.HA.com.

Another sunken treasure story - gotta love them:

Salvage crews find wreck of legendary British warship HMS Victory

Yahoo! Canada News
Sun Feb 1, 2009

“TAMPA, Fla. - Florida deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: A legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago.

Odyssey Marine Exploration hasn’t found any gold this time, but it’s looking for an even bigger jackpot. The company’s research indicates HMS Victory was carrying almost four tonnes of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London.”

Read the Full Story >>

Eastman House displays Abraham Lincoln’s favorite image, featuring museum’s conservation of shattered glass plate

Jan. 20, 2009

“This interpositive is the closest you will ever get to ’seeing’ Lincoln

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A conserved glass-plate image of Abraham Lincoln from 1860 is being presented to the public for the first time - and is not only Lincoln’s personal favorite portrait but it is the closest one will get to “seeing” Lincoln. In honor of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, a display titled “Lincoln Portrait: Conservation of a National Treasure” will go on view beginning Feb. 1 at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.

The museum is showcasing its two-year conservation treatment of a partially shattered glass-plate interpositive of Lincoln. The image, depicting a “handsome” and beardless Lincoln, was taken when he was beginning his presidential run. It is celebrated as one of the best portraits made of the 16th president, and he was in agreement. “That looks better and expresses me better than any I have ever seen; if it pleases the people I am satisfied,” Lincoln said, in response to the portrait.”

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Fresno’s ‘Baseball card Granny’ puts rare item up for sale

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009
By Mike Osegueda / The Fresno Bee

“Digging a rare 1869 baseball card out of a box has taken local antique shop owner Bernice Gallego from the pages of the New York Times to Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” as the “baseball card Granny.”

Next up is parting ways with the card. An auction to sell the card started Tuesday, the same day Gallego, 72, appeared with Leno.

The 1869 baseball card features a photo of the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

The auction, on memorylaneinc.com, will last 21 days and started at $10.”

Read the Full Story >>

UPDATE: As of noon on January 25, 2009, the bid is sitting at $26,573.00.

Nude photo of 20-year-old Madonna on auction block

Yahoo! Music
01/16/2009

“A nude photo of Madonna, taken before erotic songs and risque costumes catapulted her to superstardom, is expected to sell for at least $10,000, Christie’s auction house say.

…The raw, full frontal black-and-white image, taken by Lee Friedlander, appeared in Playboy in 1985 and is to be auctioned Feb. 12.”

The photo, and another taken by Helmut Newton, are from the collection of Leon and Michaela Constantiner. The Newton photograph is expected to go for $10,000 to $15,000. Last month, from the same collection, a series of photographs by Bert Stern of Marilyn Monroe the year she died, sold for $146,500.

Edward Weston’s 1925 “Nude,” holds the the record auction price for a nude photo at $1.6 million paid last year.

Read the full story >>

New York literary treasure rescued from warehouse

Yahoo! News
By Jon Hurdle – Mon Jan 12, 2009

“PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A literary hoard that includes works by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, as well as 18th and 19th century texts, has been rescued from New York City’s storied but now defunct Gotham Book Mart.

The 220,000-item collection, including books, periodicals, posters and catalogs, has been languishing in a Connecticut warehouse since 2007 when the 87-year-old bookstore - a midtown magnet for many literary figures over the years - closed.

…It contains first editions, experimental literary magazines and advance readers’ copies of well-known works. About a third of the collection is classified as “rare books,” McKnight said.”

Read the Full Story >>

Christie’s Plans Cuts as Art Auctions Slow

NYTimes.com
By JULIA WERDIGIER
Published: January 12, 2009

“LONDON - When works by the British artist Damien Hirst sold for a record $127 million on the same day in September that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, it seemed the art market might escape the economic crisis.

But a string of disappointing auctions over the last four months showed that the art market had no such immunity, prompting Christie’s International, the large auction house, to start a cost-reduction effort on Monday that will include job cuts.”

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Latest Richard Prince Auction Record: $3.4 Million

www.pdnonline.com
Jan 4, 2008
Daryl Lang

“Richard Prince reclaimed the record for most expensive photo sold at auction, when a print of his sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $3,401,000.

The price narrowly exceeded the previous record of $3.34 million for an Andreas Gursky diptych sold at Sothey’s in London in February 2007.”

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Fortune hunter certain treasure buried near Gulf Coast

Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
By MARY FLOOD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 30, 2008

“Treasure hunter Nathan Smith testified today that he not only used Google to spot a buried treasure in South Texas but he also checks updated satellite images to monitor whether anyone else is snooping around the possible loot.

Smith, a 39-year-old musician from Los Angeles, was on the stand for the second day in a trial to determine whether he has title to what may be a 19th century boat and its supposed cargo of gold and silver along the Texas Gulf coast. This case is one step in a long process to get permission to dig, then there will be more legal fights over who owns anything he finds.”

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Dallas couple donates rare 1611 King James Version of Bible to Abilene university

Dallas Morning News | Texas Regional News
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Abilene Reporter-News

“ABILENE – Only about 50 known copies of the first-edition 1611 King James Version of the Bible exist, and Hardin-Simmons University now has one, thanks to a Dallas couple.

Dr. Charles Tandy and his wife, Roena, also donated a collection of other Bibles, leaves, fragments and volumes of secondary literature, some dating to 1521.”

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Stamps & Coins: What’s that stamp worth?

Ask Scott - Home and Garden - sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008

“Your grandfather may have had an old stamp collection that’s been in a drawer or on a closet shelf. None of the kids are interested in stamp collecting, so you don’t think much about it. Considering the new catalog values for classic postage stamps, it’s time to start thinking.

According to the “Scott Specialized Catalog of U.S. Stamps” (the bible of philately), the price for classic stamps has skyrocketed.

Even as the stock market roller coaster continues and gold fluctuates, the value of collectible postage stamps continues to steadily rise.”

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Black Canary Barbie isn’t your typical Barbie from Mattel. Based on DC Comics superheroine of the same name, she features fishnet stockings, short shorts and a black leather outfit that is sure to have PC parents sounding the alarm - although this doll is probably not aimed at the kids (we hope).

Looking just now at Amazon (link), it seems to be a hot seller, as one seller only had two left in stock. There seems to be quite a few listed on eBay (link) with Buy it Now prices ranging from $40 to $50.

While you’re at it, check out the Show Girl Barbie on eBay (link) as well.

The product description: “When Barbie visits Star City, she needn’t worry about crime when Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, is on the case! Mattel recreates the DC Comics’ heroine as a Barbie Famous Friends: Black Canary doll, which stands nearly 12″ tall. With her comics-authentic costume of black leather jacket, black fishnet stockings, and black thigh boots, Barbie’s friend Black Canary will keep the criminal element at bay!”

Rare Bronze Age necklace is found

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Manchester
1 December 2008

“A rare amber necklace believed to be about 4,000 years old has been uncovered in Greater Manchester.

Archaeologists made the find while excavating a cist - a type of stone-lined grave - in Mellor, Stockport.

It is the first time a necklace of this kind from the early Bronze Age has been found in north-west England.

Experts from the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit said an amber necklace was one of the ultimate status symbols of the period.”

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