From 1952, the earliest known Mickey Mantle game-used New York Yankees home jersey finished at the top of prices realized, earning $188,318.40.WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. – Fierce competition for unique and iconic professional sports memorabilia in Grey Flannel’s April 29 Summer Games auction kept phone lines and the Internet buzzing till the final bid was lodged around 5 a.m. the following day. “We were swamped,” said Grey Flannel president Richard E. Russek. “We knew we were going to have a good sale three days before it closed, because of all the inquiries and signups, and of course because there were some fantastic items offered.”
The final tally for the 854-lot auction was $1,418,046 (all prices quoted are inclusive of 20 percent buyer’s premium). As predicted, the two most highly publicized lots finished at the top of prices realized.
The earliest known Mickey Mantle game-used autographed home jersey, worn by the young Oklahoma phenom in his first years with the Yankees, took the blue ribbon with a closing bid of $188,318.40. Not far behind was a Babe Ruth bat from the 1926-1929 period, into which the legendary slugger had carved 11 notches to represent 11 home runs. Babe Ruth’s bat from the 1926-1929 period, into which he carved with 11notches to represent 11 home runs, slammed in a winning bid of $155,628.Accompanied by painstakingly researched provenance, the bat crossed home plate at $155,628. Both the Mantle jersey and Ruth bat sold to private collectors.
A great surprise, said Russek, was the number of underbidders who had never before participated in a Grey Flannel auction. “There were many extremely important items in this sale, and they drew the true collectors out of the woodwork.” Continue reading
Dan Morphy, image courtesy Morphy Auctions LLC.DENVER, Pa. (ACNI) – Four and a half years after selling the auction company he co-founded, Dan Morphy has come full circle and bought back the operating assets of Morphy Auctions from Geppi’s Entertainment. The Geppi family of companies is headed by Baltimore businessman Stephen A. Geppi.
In a deal finalized on May 8, 2009, Dan Morphy assumes sole ownership of the company he established in 2004. The new firm will be known as Dan Morphy Auctions, LLC, with all current staff retained.
The purchase package also includes the Adamstown Antique Gallery, the multi-dealer retail venue that serves as Morphy Auctions’ headquarters; and the semiannual event known as Morphy’s York Antique Toy Show. Both properties were part of the original sale to the Geppi companies in 2005. Continue reading
