Auctions serve many purposes. It’s one of the few events you can use for anything from furnishing a house to starting your new business. While many traditional auctions focus on functional items, the reality is you can find many rare or unusual collectible items auctioned off each year.
As we wrap up 2019, we sought out the more interesting items sold in the past year. Here’s what we found.
Why relax in a standard bathtub when you can pretend you teleported to an African safari to lounge on a life-size hippopotamus? This decorative bathtub shaped as a golden hippo sold for $4.3 million in New York. Designers made the massive structure, constructed of welded brass and copper, in 1969 and it features a sink and vanity.
One man’s pizza plate is another man’s treasure. A white paper plate, the kind commonly used at pizza shops, accompanied by a set list from legendary rocker Kurt Cobain went for $22,400. Written in black marker, the plate consisted of 15 songs performed in 1990 at a Washington, D.C., nightclub.
Next time you head to the produce aisle of your favorite neighborhood grocery store, stop by and peruse the grapes. Then imagine paying thousands of dollars for this fruit. Well, a man in Kanazawa, Japan, did. Twenty-four Ruby Roman grapes sold at an auction for 1.2 million yen, or about $11,000. Food lovers seek out the ruby red grapes for their sweet, juicy complexity. Why are they so expensive? You’ll only find a select number available to keep demand and, more importantly, price sky high.
Who knew a piece of lumber could cost so much. Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth crushed his 500th home run in 1929 and, earlier this fall, the bat he used to accomplish this feat sold for more than $1 million. In other sports auction sales, a broken racket from tennis superstar Serena Williams sold for $20,910. She infamously smashed the racket as part of a tirade during a 2018 US Open loss. That same auction saw Jesse Owens’ 1936 Olympic gold medal sell for $615,000.
Remember the iconic leather jacket worn by Olivia Newton-John in the iconic hit movie “Grease?” More than 40 years after the movie debuted, Newton-John’s jacket sold for $243,000 at an auction. There’s a catch, though. The mystery billionaire who bought it later returned the jacket, and the money went to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Australia. Newton-John is receiving treatment for breast cancer.
As we all know, a penny is worth $0.01. This year, a penny from 1943 sold for a whopping $204,000. It wasn’t just any penny, though. That year, pennies used zinc-coated steel to save on copper that the government needed for war materials. A few were made with copper by mistake. About 10 to 15 exist today, which gives you a sense of its rarity. In August, a rare dime sold for $1.32 million. The coin, a 1894-S Barber Dime, was one of just 24 ever made. Nine coins remain today.
President Barack Obama is known for his consecutive terms as the 44th President of the United State. He is also an accomplished basketball player. His high school jersey from his playing days at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, sold for $120,000. He wore the jersey during the 1979 season when Punahou won a state championship.
The death of culinary mogul Anthony Bourdain sent shockwaves through the cooking community. It’s why his personal items received so much press at an auction, especially a custom knife that took in $231,250 despite an estimated value of $4,000-$6,000. American bladesmith Bob Kramer created the knife using steel and meteorite.
If you were an ’80s kid — or a parent or grandparent during that time — you’re likely familiar with the video game boom that started during this era. Games and consoles from the ’80s and ’90s are always popular auction items, so it makes sense a Nintendo game from 1988 sold for $9,000. The amount here isn’t the story. The interesting part here is the way in which it made it to an auction. A California family stumbled upon Kid Icarus, a fantasy action game, and the original receipt when cleaning out their mother’s attic. As a reminder of how much money rare games can fetch, an unopened copy of the popular Nintendo game Super Mario Bros sold for $100,150.
It seems we see Marvel movies pop up each year — sometimes multiple times a year — as the Superhero franchise reaches new heights. But, long before these movies grossed millions at the box office, Marvel was a popular comic book. Earlier this fall, the first copy of Marvel Comics from 1939 sold for $1.26 million.
Do you have unique or interesting items of your own to sell? Get in touch with us today using this contact form or call us directly at (405) 751-6179. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to speed with the latest trends in the auction industry. To see when our next auction takes place, view our upcoming auctions schedule page.
