The three-day weekend event will be held in Ann Arbor, Mich., by Showtime Auction Services.

(ANN ARBOR, Mich.) – Nearly 2,000 lots from several major collections in an array of categories – firefighting items from the Granite Handtub Museum in Newmarket, N.H., a private arcade machine collection, around 150 rare toys and banks and more – will be sold Apr. 9-11 by Showtime Auction Services, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The three-day Spring “Live” Auction will also feature advertising, country store, barber shop, coin-op, gambling, general store, soda fountain, Coca-Cola, breweriana, petroliana, automobilia, Western Americana, tobacciana, saloon, brothel, die cabinets, showcases, store fixtures, Black Americana, salesman’s samples, Native American items, trade signs and more.

The first day of the sale (Fri., Apr. 9, noon to 5 p.m.) will be for live attendees only (no phone, absentee or Internet bidding). The Saturday and Sunday sessions (Apr. 10, 9-6, and Apr. 11, 9-4) will have live bidding plus phone, absentee and Internet bidding (via iCollector.com). A preview will be held Friday, Apr. 9, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, with a free hot breakfast from 8-10.

The top lot of the auction is expected to be a vintage pistol-operated Mermaid “The War Game” coin-op arcade machine (est. $200,000-$300,000). The exceedingly rare coin-op arcade machine, one of only twelve made and one of only ten known to exist today, was made by the Matheson Manufacturing Company. It was repainted and is in overall good working condition. Seventy other coin-op machines, most of them rare arcades, will also be offered at the auction.

Also expected to do well is a beautifully restored Hunneman hand-drawn hand tub/fire pump (est. $30,000-$40,000), one of three handtubs in the auction and one of over 200 fire fighting items from the Granite Handtub Museum. Built in 1854 (Button #364), the handtub originated in Cleremont, N.H., and was purchased in 1860 by the town of New Ipswich, N.H.

Another item from the museum is a decorated lamp for the button handtub used by a veteran firemen’s organization called the Red Jackets (est. $5,000-$10,000). In 1892, the tub was entered into a pumpers’ competition at a local muster in Massachusetts and won first prize. The piece was considered the most decorated tub of its time and still resides in Massachusetts.

Vintage toys will include three examples by Buddy L: an extremely rare toy bus that was once ridden by children who would steer it from side wheels (est. $8,000-$12,000); a red baby toy truck in excellent condition with the original tag (est. $6,000-$10,000); and an outdoor toy train with nine cars, complete with five pieces of track and connectors (est. $12,000-$20,000).

Another one of the 150 or so rare toys to be sold is a pre-war Japanese early tin toy race car, very rare and in very good condition (est. $2,000-$4,000). From a completely different category, but not to be overlooked, is a handsome Cigar Store Indian, possibly a Samuel Robb, but with no signature (est. $25,000-$40,000). The piece’s later re-paint has an emerging patina.

Over 20 rare mechanical banks will be offered, to include a cast-iron Boy Scout Camp example in excellent original condition, with 90 percent of the original paint still intact (est. $1,000-$3,500); and a rare circus bank (est. 2,500-$5,000). Also sold will be an extremely rare Pepsi-Cola can in the shape of a spool of thread, the only one Showtime has ever seen and in excellent condition (est. $2,000-$3,000).

A dozen automatons will include a one-cent, coin-operated gambling automaton, featuring a monkey who waves a magic wand, causing a dice table to drop down and then pop up quickly again, sending the dice rolling (est. $10,000-$20,000); and a store window automaton depicting a clock works gentleman. Wind him up and his head moves back and forth (est. $4,000-$8,000).

Additional top lots include a Studebaker & Rockne Authorized Service & Parts two-sided porcelain sign, the only one known and in very good condition (est. $7,500-$10,000; Note: Rockne cars were only manufactured for two years); an 1891 calendar for The Great Rock Island Route Train Company, with full pad (est. $3,000-$6,000); and a Mosley folding bath tub, the same type used in brothels in the 1800s (est. $8,000-$10,000).

Mr. Eckles, owner of Showtime Auction Services, said of the auction, “This is the most diversified selection of merchandise with high quality and rare items in over 60 antique collector categories represented.”

The preferred hotel for the auction is The Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor, Mich., located about 25 minutes from the Detroit airport (DTW). The phone number for reservations is (734) 769-2500. Room-hopping is encouraged. A flyer providing more auction info has been printed. A full-color catalog is also available, at a cost of $35 (to order one, call Carol, at 316-721-5236).

The Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (the venue of choice for Showtime Auction Services over the past several years) is located at 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Road in Ann Arbor. Showtime conducts only four auctions a year (two live, two absentee), and they need to be held somewhere commensurate with the importance of the auction. The Apr. 9-11 sale is important.

Showtime’s next auction after this one will be a Summer Absentee, Phone and Internet Auction, scheduled to end July 9. Featured will be a fabulous collection of arcade, firefighting memorabilia, advertising, country store, barber shop, gambling, coin-op, toys, banks, general store, Coca-Cola, breweriana, petroliana, automobilia, Western Americana and much more.

After that, Showtime will hold a big Fall “Live” Auction Oct. 1-3 (also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor). Then, a Winter 2011 Absentee Auction will end Jan. 15, 2011. Flyers will be mailed out mid-December and an online catalog will be posted about Jan. 1. The categories for these sales will be similar to those of the Apr. 9-11 and Jul. 9 auction events.

Showtime Auction Services is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call Michael Eckles at (951) 453-2415. His e-mail address is mikeckles@aol.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and the Apr. 9-11 auction, please log on to www.showtimeauctions.com. Updates are posted often.

Mike Smith from Yahoo Games reports that “it wasn’t even the game itself that was worth the bulk of the money – it was the original cardboard box, which collectors value at a breathtaking $10,000.”

Apparently collectors consider it to be one of the hardest-to-find NES games ever made, as fewer than 10 complete copies of the game are thought to exist.

The seller, who at first wasn’t aware of why the auction was attracting such avid interest posted the item description as:
“Up for auction is an original Nintendo NES gaming system with 1 hand control. There are 5 games with it. They are, Family & Fitness Stadium Events in the original box with the dust jacket inside of the box, Major League Baseball in the original box with the dust jacket inside of the box, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 the arcade game in the original box with the dust jacket inside of the box, Super Mario 3 in the original box with the dust jacket inside of the box and the original game, Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt. I have had this stored in the closet for years for my kids to play but the way that electronics come & go and change from one year to the next they wanted all of the new hot items of their own now and now it’s time to get rid of things that are no longer being used or wanted. This system worked perfect when i stored it but somehow over the years, we have managed to misplace the AC cord & the television hook up. I am listing this and selling without hook up but it I find them, i’ll send them along with the rest at no additional charges to you. Please keep in mind though that any AC cord will work with this and the hook up from a VCR would hook it up just as well as the original cords!”

UPDATE: After this story was published two weeks ago, it inspired a gentleman to check through the collection of games in his basement that were slated for a Goodwill donation. From Plugged In on Yahoo Games comes the following:

Rare Nintendo game is $40,000 windfall – Plugged In – Yahoo! Games

Rare Nintendo game is $40,000 windfall
by Mike Smith
Buzz up!

February 26 8:46 P.M.
Stadium Events

“This rare game sold for $41,300.

Impressed by the story of the North Carolina eBay seller who stumbled upon an ultra-rare, $13,000 Nintendo game? So were we — and so was Kansas reader Dave, who headed for his basement to see if there was video game gold lurking down there.

“We had quite a collection (185+ games) that has sat in our basement for over 20 years,” Dave told Y! Games. “The games were on a list to be brought to Goodwill – in fact, within a month, Goodwill was going to have them.”

To his astonishment, not only did he find a copy of the same game that just fetched over $13,000 on eBay — highly sought-after collector’s item Stadium Events — it was in perfect condition, right down to the original shrinkwrapping and Richard Gordman pricetag. (A mere $29.99, if you’re wondering.)”

Wow!

Interested in other collectible video games? Check out Video Game Price Charts.

Ironically, the Wagon Train set was sold just a few minutes after another Marx playset crossed the block and held, albeit briefly, the world auction record, too. It was a Ben-Hur playset (Series 5000, Stock No. 4701), also made circa 1960 and in mint condition in the box. The set sailed past its pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$4,000 to bring $9,320. The Wagon Train set was expected to bring $1,000-$2,000.

“Obviously, the prices realized for the Marx playsets were a nice surprise,” said Philip Weiss. “Overall, the auction did about what we expected. The better items brought solid prices and the mid-level merchandise held its own. Given the current state of the financial markets and the economy as a whole, I’d say the sale was a success.” About 1,300 lots changed hands over the course of three days.

Mr. Weiss said the crowd was modest by his standards – only about 150 people in total – but phone and absentee bidding was brisk and 1,500 people registered online, via LiveAuctioneers.com and eBayLiveAuctions. During the past year, Philip Weiss Auctions has seen numerous auction records fall, including unprecedented prices for stamps (6); a Punch Cigar Store figure; and now a Marx playset.

Other top lots from the auction follow. All prices quoted include a 13 percent buyer’s premium.

Original pen-and-ink Peanuts comic strips by the legendary cartoonist and illustrator Charles Schulz have become commonplace at most Philip Weiss Auctions, but that doesn’t stop them from fetching dizzying prices. Four Peanuts strips sold for a combined $98,000. Included in the group was an original Sunday page with a cute bowling story line that went to a determined bidder for $33,000.

An extremely rare cardboard concert poster from 1969, advertising some of the great rock ‘n’ roll acts of the day (Jimi Hendrix, the Monkees, Glen Campbell and Rod McKuen), went for $5,750. The poster, from the collection of Concerts West promoter William Easley, advertised the spring and early summer lineup of shows at the Sam Houston Coliseum and Houston Music Hall in Houston, Tex.

Another rock ‘n’ roll poster – this one advertising an appearance by Jimi Hendrix at the Electric Factory on Feb. 21-22, 1968, extremely rare and in overall excellent condition – commanded $4,970. Returning to toys, a lot comprising a pair of Heyde elephants, made by the renowned German toy maker Heyde in the teens or early 1920s, climbed to $2,600. The lot included accessories (riders, etc.).

The Friday session was dedicated, in part, to rare and vintage dolls. A top earner was a lot of ten Nancy Ann Story Book dolls expected to bring about $150-$450 but when the final gavel came down the set had found a new owner for $2,930. All the dolls featured jointed legs, painted black slippers and complete costumes with hats or bows. Four of the dolls had circular gold labels on their period dresses.

Philip Weiss Auctions’ next big sale will be held the weekend of Nov. 21-23, in the firm’s spacious showroom, located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside, N.Y. Friday, Nov. 21, will feature hundreds of fresh-to-the-market lots of fine art; estate jewelry; period furniture; sterling silver; pieces by Tiffany, Rand & Crane and Gorham, Oriental rugs; George Jones dinner plates; rare antique china; and more.

The Saturday, Nov. 22, session will be the firm’s greatest sports sale ever. Leading the charge will be a T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, often called the Holy Grail of sports cards. Graded SGC 3, it is expected to bring $500,000-$800,000. The T206 series was made from 1909-1911 by the American Tobacco Company. Just 200 of the Honus Wagner cards were ever distributed. Only a few exist today.

The Nov. 22 session will also feature an original owner collection of T205 and T206 cards, to include a highly prized Ray Demmitt error card; a bat signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; a contest bat signed by Ruth; a Ruth signed ball from 1927; an archive of Ty Cobb letters; and an important collection of items pertaining to Willie Shoemaker, perhaps the greatest horse racing jockey of all time.

The Nov. 23 session will feature two fresh-to-the-market comic art collections that include three original Charles Schulz Peanuts strips and original Prince Valiant art by Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy. The day will also include a Herriman Krazy Kat daily; a Felix the Cat Sunday page; a Segar Popeye; and an archive of 1950s DC comic pages, including pages from Superman and World’s Finest.

Also set to cross the block on Nov. 23 are several Wayne Boring Superman dailies; a high-grade copy of Famous Funnies #1; and other comic books and Big Little books. Rare books and autographs include an important Frank Lloyd Wright letter regarding the building of the Guggenheim Museum, with initialed plans by Wright. Also, a Louis Vuitton trunk from the Guggenheim family will be sold.

Philip Weiss Auctions will conclude the year with yet another blockbuster weekend event slated for Dec. 20-21. Featured will be the Ken Allisburg soda fountain and ice cream advertising collection; toys, including boxed amusement ride toys; 200-300 lots of toy trains; Part 3 of the B.L. “Phil” Philips collection, mostly battery-operated toys; vintage slot and coin-op machines; toy soldiers; and more.

Looking ahead to 2009, Philip Weiss Auctions is planning the fourth and final part of The Newport Stamp Collection (six world auction records were established in Parts 1-3). Early spring will see an auction dedicated to medical and scientific instruments and material. And recently arrived for an early 2009 sale is a huge single-owner toy train collection, including Post-War Lionel still in the box.

Philip Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them directly, at (516) 594-0731, or you can e-mail them at phil@prwauctions.com. To learn more about the firm and its calendar of upcoming sales, and to view images of some lots to be offered in the November 21-23 auctions, log on to www.prwauctions.com.

Columbia Missourian
By The Associated Press
June 2, 2008

“KANSAS CITY – Cleaning the Bingham-Waggoner Estate in Independence last summer, volunteers made a rare find in a cluttered third-floor bedroom: an 1893 Zimmer’s Base Ball Game.

The board game, which features a full-color board and portraits of 18 star players, is one of only about 10 known copies in the world. A copy of the game sold for $30,000 in the 1990s and the Bingham-Waggoner copy could be worth more since it’s still in good shape, has the original box top and two original game balls that may be the only ones still in existence.”

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The Maumelle Monitor Online – Living
By Carol Haynes / Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

“What once was considered a fad has become what Mike Smith calls an “undiscovered collectible”.

Adorning the walls of his office and the hallway of his North Little Rock home, with a few pieces scattered throughout his home – though carefully monitored by his wife, who has tried to keep the collection relegated to that one hallway – is possibly the world’s largest collection of Chinese checkers boards.”

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