legendary auction

[khkco4bls]

is it me or were the prices insane in that auction. baseballs , gloves etc.....

[lentel]

the items i was interested in went for much higher than I had seen sold for not all that long ago

[Leon]

For memorabilia auctions there hasn't been one like that in many years. That was the main reason for the prices. Great stuff.

[Rob D.]

Lots of eye-popping prices but also some good buys to be had, imo. In that respect, it was like most auctions.

[Mr. Mitt]

Originally Posted by khkco4bls

is it me or were the prices insane in that auction. baseballs , gloves etc.....

Memorabilia, especially vintage equipment, is a completely different animal than cards. Gloves, balls, etc. were meant to be played with and used accordingly, most of the time to an extreme before being discarded. Cards were, for lack of a better term, keepsakes, and therefore available today in much larger quantities in top condition. There is a liquidity to the current card market that just doesn’t exist with vintage store model equipment. Most top items are stashed away in collections, never seen by the public eye for decades at a time. Single pieces are occasionally found or come out of collections, but tidal waves such as this offering rarely occur. When they do, you have one chance to make an acquisition and add to your collection or get shut out, seemingly indefinitely. Though final hammer prices appear high, a premium must be paid for the opportunity because a large portion of the offerings will be squirreled away, never to be seen again.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I agree with Leon, the strong prices were due to the overall quality of the auction items and I also believe that the Bill Mastro name played some part in it as well.........

[mjkm90]

The Mastro name probably helped for several reasons. There is a lure associated with owning a piece that belonged to a prominent figure from our hobby. He also had a great eye for quality unique pieces that helps a buyer feel secure in making an "investment".

Jerry made an excellent point regarding scarcity. This is absolutely the best offering since the Halper auction and many collectors will break the bank for that ellusive piece from a want list.

I would like to know how many buyers made a purchase framed as the following: "Honey...all I want for Christmas is...".

[Mr. Mitt]

The name could have played a part for some, but for me and the people I know who were bidding and won, it was all about condition. In fact, the provenance may have been a detriment in that many questions arose because of the name and association to past innuendo.

[Rickyy]

I was underbidder on two items..one relatively common, but in great shape...other item was very hard to find and in terrific shape...both went for big $'s. Taken in whole context as a part of a major collection, I'm not suprised at the prices...

[barrysloate]

Here's a head scratcher: in the auction there was a Sidney Lucas aquatint of the famous Currier and Ives baseball print. This relatively common piece, issued sometime in the early 20th century, typically sells for about $400. The Mastro example realized $6600. Do you think this was an example of bidders not knowing that the print is not rare?

[19cbb]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Do you think this was an example of bidders not knowing that the print is not rare?

+1

[baseballart]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Do you think this was an example of bidders not knowing that the print is not rare?

Except for Busting Em, you could also substitute "book" for "print" with +1 results.

[barrysloate]

But at least the Busting Em dustjacket is rare, even if the price seemed way too high. I can picture two collectors who have wanted one for a long time fighting for it way beyond their anticipated max bid. But there is nothing rare about the aquatint; it appears regularly and is almost always in the $300-400 range. I have one that I would gladly sell for a fraction of that amount.