Confederate money: strong dollar

Confederate money - $50 currency/note

Confederate States $50 Civil War currency/note, Type 4, serial letter B, No. 1345, dated May 22, 1861, earned $12,000 in June 2017 at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. Photo courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK – Scooby Doo fans will remember the classic TV episode, A Night of Fright is No Delight, where the Scooby gang spends the night in a haunted mansion to collect an inheritance from an eccentric millionaire only to find out at the end that the money is Confederate currency and deemed worthless as a medium of exchange. While the show made for good entertainment, they got one key point wrong though. Confederate currency is far from worthless and can bring 50 or 100 times its face value today.

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Miller & Miller sale Dec. 7 highlights Canada Cycle & Motor Co.

1938 Canada Cycle & Motor Co. ‘Flyte’ bicycle, an expensive-for-its-time model that ceased production in 1940 (est. CA$1,500-$2,000. Miller & Miller Auctions image

NEW HAMBURG, Ontario – An advertising and historic objects auction featuring the collection of John McKenty, the Canadian historian and author whose collection tells the story of the rise and fall of the Canada Cycle & Motor Company of Canada, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 7, by Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd. Absentee and Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Jasper52 plans exclusive Hermes auction Dec. 4

Hermes Picotin Lock 22cm Bleu Blue Indigo handbag in matte Porosus crocodile. Estimate: $36,000-$43,000. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Jasper52 will host an auction of Hermes Holiday Fashion on Wednesday, Dec. 4. This all-Hermes auction offers beautiful and affordable accessories for everyone. Bid absentee or live online only through LiveAuctioneers.   Read more

Quinn’s to host Dec. 12 sale of Getz-McDonagh Dance Library

1920 two-volume set titled ‘Ruth St. Denis: Pioneer and Prophet,’ authored by Ted Shawn and signed by both Shawn and St. Denis, co-founders of the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts in Los Angeles. Estimate $200-$300. Quinn’s Auction Galleries image

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – On Thursday, Dec. 12, Quinn’s Auction Galleries will host a single-consignor auction of the Getz-McDonagh Dance Library, a 60-year privately held assemblage of historical literature, correspondence, ephemera and illustrations pertaining to classical dance. Originally known as the Getz Dance Library, in reference to its founder Leslie Getz (1945-2019), it is also known to many in the dance community internationally as the Getz-McDonagh Dance Library. Donald McDonagh is Leslie Getz’s steadfastly supportive husband, who shared his wife’s passion for dance and took an active partnership role in the library’s growth and maintenance until the day of his wife’s passing. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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In Memoriam: cartoonist Gahan Wilson, 89

Cartoonist Gahan Wilson signing books at Fantagraphics store in Seattle, Washington in 2010. Joe Mabel image. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Gahan Wilson, whose humorous and often macabre cartoons were a mainstay in magazines including Playboy, the New Yorker and National Lampoon, died last week. He was 89.

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Maine art school receives $4M endowment to preserve campus

An aerial view of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts campus and buildings, which were designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. Image courtesy of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

DEER ISLE, Maine (AP) – An arts school in Maine has received a $4 million grant, its largest donation to date. The Bangor Daily News reports the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle received its largest gift from the Windgate Foundation on Thursday.

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Kehinde Wiley ‘Rumors of War’ statue moving to Virginia museum

Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Rumors of War’ on display in Times Square. Photo by Travis Fullerton © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A monumental bronze statue that mimics one of Virginia’s most prominent Confederate monuments will soon have a new home in Richmond.

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Battle Creek hands-on museum attracts pinball wizards

This vintage Wizard pinball machine by Bally sold for $1,100 + the buyer’s premium at Copake Auction in May 2018.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) – Terry Groves stood with his eyes fixed on the metal ball as it careened off bumpers and flippers, his face illuminated by the brightly-lit backglass. Classic arcade sounds reverberated from the machine.

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Jacqueline Bongartz named managing director at Stedelijk

Jacqueline Bongartz. Stedelijk Museum image

AMSTERDAM – The Stedelijk Museum has named Jacqueline Bongartz as its new managing director. She takes up the position on Dec. 1. Together with Director Rein Wolfs, Bongartz will be responsible for the museum’s management, with Wolfs as chairman. Jacqueline Bongartz will oversee the day-to-day and business operations of the Stedelijk and will be responsible for the organizational side of the museum.

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Leland Little Auctions to sell Andrew Wyeth artworks Dec. 6

Andrew Wyeth (Pennsylvania, 1917-2009), ‘Breakup’ with bronze life casts of the artist’s hands, tempera on panel, signed at lower right, 1994, matted and presented under glass in a Lowy branded gold leaf frame. Leland Little Auctions image

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – On Friday, Dec. 6, Leland Little Auctions will auction 13 original works by acclaimed American artist Andrew Wyeth (Pennsylvania, 1917-2009), as part of the sale of a single-owner collection. All of the works will be offered without reserve, giving fine art collectors an unparalleled opportunity to own a piece of the American artistic canon. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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