Gold and silver coins hidden for years in a garage bring $88,000 in Philadelphia

After reading this, you may decide that clearing out your garage isn’t such an unappealing idea after all…

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Magnificent ‘Washlady’ dollar stars at Heritage’s $9.42m COINFEST auction

The ‘finest known’ Washlady brought $161,000 as the market for rare coins remains ‘very strong.’

…The equally rare and collector-coveted VF30 NGC. M. 4.2-F.6, W-2360, R.8., from The W Philip Keller Collection of US Colonials, took the second spot on the auction podium in Stamford, realising $115,000.

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Worth more than the poker chips… a set of silver playing cards brings $554,500

The extraordinary deck headed a $3.8m sale of fine silver at Christie’s New York. The top lot of the sale was as expected the extremely rare set of German engraved and parcel-gilt silver playing cards, signed Michael Frommer, Augsburg, 1616, realising $554,500, doubling its estimate of $150,000 – $250,000.

Despite their popularity among noble clientele – silver cards were supplied to the courts of Bavaria, Tuscany, and Brunswick among others – only five sets of silver playing cards are known to survive today.

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AND MORE From Elsewhere:

Rare Bugatti could fetch record price at Monterey Auto Week auction

A 79-year-old Bugatti Type 51, which was raced in 17 European Grand Prix events and is considered one of the finest surviving vehicles of its kind, may set an all-time auction record August 14 during Monterey Auto Week.

The Bugatti, boasting its original bodywork, engine and gearbox, is predicted to sell for $4.5 million, which would be the highest price ever paid for a grand prix racing Bugatti.

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UPDATE: The Bugatti failed to sell after reaching a high bid of $2,750,000 – not reaching it’s estimate of $3,500,000-$4,500,000 US.

(ATLANTA, Ga.) – Red Baron – the premier auction house in the Southeast – has saved the best for last in 2010 with a fall auction that will be packed with over 2,000 lots that would impress even the most discriminating and seasoned collector. The weekend event will be held Nov. 6-7 in the Red Baron gallery, located at 6450 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, near Atlanta.

“This will certainly be our greatest event of the year, and possibly ever,” said Bob Brown of Red Baron. “We have gone to great lengths to assemble an array of items that would suit the taste of any connoisseur: architectural antiques, fine furnishings, fine art, rare and vintage guns, guitars signed by rock ‘n’ roll legends, jaw-dropping gems, killer cars, vintage wine and more.”

The auction will feature several important presidential items, to include a bench handmade and signed by Jimmy Carter (with a photo of Mr. Carter building the bench), Ronald Reagan’s yearbook from his senior year at college (The Prism, 1932), with an autographed message from Mr. Reagan, and a wax figure of Ulysses S. Grant, in full uniform, from Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in England.

Headlining the guitars category will be an acoustic guitar played and signed by the late musician Jimi Hendrix, a Galveston guitar signed by numerous rock legends, two Peavey Predator series electric guitars (signed by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia and others), a guitar signed in bold writing by blues legend BB King, and many vintage Gibsons and Martins.

Fans of royal couture will be amazed by a collection of clothing items from the collection of Princess Lucie Shirazi, a Belgian-born aristocrat who married Prince Ali Shirazi Parav of Iran. She died in 1994 at age 86. Pieces from the collection will include a Pauline Trigere’s tailored dress with bolero jacket, a circa 1930s black velvet opera coat and many other gorgeous items.

Rare, magnificent bars – a staple at most Red Baron sales and a wonderful addition to any fine home or office – will be led by “The Joker Bar,” an original back bar in Honduras mahogany, crafted for use on a Mississippi riverboat and so-named because of the four large joker masks integrated into the capitals. Also sold will be a nice towering antique Brunswick liquor cabinet.

Another jaw-dropping lot promises to be an original set of 15 stained and layered figural windows made in the late 19th century by the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company and still in their original wood frames. The set, titled Parable of the Sower, was commissioned by Noah Pomfrey’s children and installed in St. Paul’s Universalist Church in Meriden, Conn., in 1893.

Speaking of Tiffany, vintage lamps made by the renowned manufacturer will include a 10-inch Damascene shade on a hand-blown glass base (circa 1900-1910), a blown glass linen fold shade on a dore adjustable counterbalance base (circa 1910-1920), and a harp floor lamp with gold Favrile shade and signed, numbered base. Very nice Pairpoint lamps will also be sold.

From the fine art category, just a few lots of note include an oil on canvas by Jules Ghobert (Belgian, 1881-1971), titled Bath Time; two original oil on board works by Wayne Morrell (Am., b. 1923); an oil on canvas by Giuseppe Puricelli Guerra (It., 1825-1894), titled Hawking; and a grand scale oil on canvas by W. H. Smith, on the subject of “Eve” (circa 1900).

Wild and wonderful vehicles are another Red Baron trademark, and this sale will be no exception. Where else can you bid on a veritable fleet of 1960s Good Humor ice cream trucks? Other offerings will include a 1958 custom-bodied one-of-a-kind MG MGA hot rod, a 1963 Land Rover, a 1965 British armored scout vehicle, and restored Willys Jeepsters (1924, 1948).

From the open road to outer space, Red Baron has got it all. Sold will be a massive 397-pound meteorite that landed in Chile and will now be auctioned. Other finds will feature a rare white quartz crystal from Brazil weighing over 1,000 pounds, a large fossil of amenorites, and an authentic baby dinosaur skeleton from the Cretaceous period, originally unearthed in China.

Guitars won’t be the only musical lots on the menu. Other items of “note” will include a completely restored Wurlitzer jukebox (Model 850), a very nice signed harp in mahogany with a gilt edge, a rare musical clock in European walnut with fine carvings, and a large Regina 25-disc polyphone music box in a mahogany cabinet with foliate carvings and 12 additional music discs.

Red Baron Antiques is one of the oldest, largest and widely-known fine antiques sources in the Southeast. The firm is celebrating over 35 years of providing its customers with world-class service and unique inventory, displayed at its gallery facility, which is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9-6, and Saturday from 9-4. Red Baron is closed on Sundays.

Red Baron also has several affiliate operations, such as The Red Baron Collection, Gallery 63, King Galleries and Queen’s Garden. These are profiled in the ‘Affiliates’ tool bar of the firm’s website, at www.rbantiques.com. Red Baron also owns Southern Seasons Magazine, a high-society lifestyle publication dedicated to the arts, culture, entertainment, style and class.

Red Baron is always in the hunt for quality merchandise for future sales. If you have an item, estate or collection to be considered, you may call them directly, at (404) 252-3770. Or, you can e-mail them at info@rbantiques.com. To learn more about Red Baron Antiques and the Nov. 6-7 auction, log on to www.rbantiques.com. A free color catalog is available on request.

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.”

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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

Sun. Nov. 16 2008
Josh Max, ForbesAutos.com

“An antique auto show in the year 2038 probably won’t have many Chevrolet Malibus or Honda Accords on display, but some experts say you might find affordable, everyday vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and Mini Cooper there.

These would seem out of place sharing a podium with exclusive models from Bentley and Ferrari, but they have enough appeal to keep from fading into the scrap yard of history.”

The list:

• BMW Z4 Roadster
• Mini John Cooper Works Clubman
• Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Dodge Magnum SRT8
• Ford Shelby GT Convertible
• Honda S2000 CR
• Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
• Pontiac Solstice GXP
• Smart Fortwo
• Toyota Prius

Ten future classic cars under $40,000

Financial News – Yahoo! Finance
Tuesday September 16, 11:41 am ET
Co-Branded Classic Car Appraisal Guidebook on Sale Now, Sold at Thousands of Retail Locations

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ — Buyers of classic, collectible and special interest cars now have access to a new pricing guide, made possible by a partnership between NADA Appraisal Guides, the world’s largest publisher of classic car pricing and specification information, and Trader Publishing, the nation’s largest publisher of classified advertising magazines. The new pricing guide, entitled Classic Cars & Parts Price Guide, is on sale now at more than 16,000 retail outlets across the U.S. and is available wherever the magazines Corvette & Chevy, Mustang & Ford and Classic Cars & Parts are sold.

Read the Full Press Release here

www.wired.com
By Tony Long
09.04.08

“In an industry celebrated for its spectacular failures, the Edsel still takes the cake. Although as mechanically sound as other Ford products, the car was criticized from Day One for being too ugly, too expensive and vastly overhyped.

The 1958 Edsel was intended to be an intermediate-level brand, bridging the gap between the cheaper Fords and pricier Mercurys and Lincolns. The most-affordable Edsel (the Ranger) cost 70 bucks less than Ford’s top-end Fairlane, while the most-expensive model (the Citation) cost more than a Mercury Montclair.

…In one of those little logic-defying ironies, the Edsel today is a prized collector’s item, fetching as much as $200,000 for a rare 1960 convertible.”

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Financial News – Yahoo! Finance
Press Release
Source: Hess Corporation
Friday May 23, 2008

“NEW YORK, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A recreational van with an accompanying dune buggy makes its debut today as part of Hess Corporation’s collectible Miniature Truck series. Paying tribute to a popular holiday Hess Toy Truck from the past, the 2008 Mini Toy Truck packs craftsmanship and value into this pair of miniature vehicles.

The 2008 Hess Miniature Recreation Van is on sale at participating Hess and Hess Express retail stores for $6.99 plus tax — batteries are included.

Staying true to the company’s commitment to quality, safety and durability, the 2008 Hess Miniature Recreation Van features real headlights, taillights, running and interior lights. To add to its recreational fun, a rear hatch of the van opens to reveal a pull-down ramp and a miniature dune buggy with knobby tires, roll bar and a pull-back friction motor.

“This year’s Mini Truck is really two vehicles in one, with the attention to detail and value that our collectors have come to expect,” said Rick Lawlor, Vice President, Retail Marketing, Hess Corporation. “It’s another way we can deliver a great brand experience for our customers.”

The Hess Toy Truck, launched in 1964, is one of the longest running toy brands on the market. In 1998, Hess introduced the Collectible Miniature Series featuring small-scale, fully detailed versions of the popular holiday toy trucks. This year’s edition is a replica of the 1998 Hess Toy Truck.

As in past years, the truck will be sold exclusively at participating Hess retail stations and stores while supplies last. For a complete list of Hess Toy Trucks through the years, please visit: www.hesstoytruck.com.

CNNMoney.com
By Peter Valdes-Dapena,
CNNMoney.com staff writer
May 19, 2008

“NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A 1961 Ferrari California Spyder (once owned by actor James Coburn) sold for $10,894,900 at an auction in Maranello, Italy, Saturday. It was the highest price ever paid for a vintage car at auction, according to RM Auctions and Sotheby’s, the companies that organized the sale.

The previous record was set in 1990 when Sotheby’s sold a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO in Monaco for $10,756,000.”

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TheDay.com
By LARRY PRINTZ
Published on 4/26/2008

“How about buying an older car? If you pick the right one, it could be a sound investment that will appreciate over time.

David Kinney, a Virginia journalist who follows the auction markets of older cars as publisher of “Cars That Matter Price Guide,” offered his advice. He put together a list of cars that were no older than 30 years, could be bought for mad money and could yield a profit when it’s time to sell.”

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His car list:
- Toyota Supra, 1986-1992
- Ford Thunderbird, 2002-2005
- Cadillac Allante, 1987-1993
- Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbodiesel Wagon, 1979-85
- Triumph TR8, 1980-1981
- Volkswagen GTI, 1985-1989

CLASSICS | Most powerful U.S. car that year is at top of the class, and worth lots if in great shape

April 7, 2008
BY DAN JEDLICKA
Chicago Sun-Times Auto Editor

“Chrysler’s 1955 300 coupe was America’s first mass-produced 300-horsepower car and was its first big, brash, luxurious 300 “letter-series” model. The 300s had become a strong Chrysler image builder by 1961, when the new 300G model arrived as the America’s most powerful car with its 375-horsepower V-8.

…Count your blessings if your garage houses a 300G in excellent condition. No other 1961 American car compares to it. The 300G came as a $5,411 coupe and $5,841 convertible, making them Chrysler’s most costly models. But a 300G coupe now is valued at $72,000 and the convertible is at $159,925 if in top shape, says the Collectible Vehicle Value Guide.”

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