Mickey & Minnie Mouse motorcycle sells for a staggering $222K at Bertoia’s

Circa-1932 Tippco (Germany) Mickey and Minnie Mouse motorcycle, tin wind-up, 9in long. Provenance: Donald Kaufman collection, Doug and Pat Wengel collection. Sold for $222,000, a world auction record for any Disney toy, against an estimate of $25,000-$45,000

VINELAND, N.J. – One of the most exciting events ever to be held at Bertoia Auctions’ New Jersey gallery took place on March 11-12 with the sale of the spectacular Monique Knowlton antique toy collection. The globally publicized auction of mostly 20th-century European, American and Japanese toys kept collectors riveted as examples with stellar provenance commanded unheard-of prices. After the hammer fell on the last of 628 lots, Bertoia’s president and principal auctioneer Michael Bertoia confirmed to the media that the single-owner collection had achieved a grand total of $2.16 million, inclusive of 20% buyer’s premium. Absentee and Internet live bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.

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Bertoia’s to auction top model’s phenomenal antique toy collection, March 11-12

Boxed Lehmann (Germany) ‘Mandarin’ wind-up toy. Estimate $4,000-$7,000

VINELAND, N.J. – On March 11 and 12, Bertoia’s will auction, without reserve, the Monique Knowlton antique toy collection, a spectacular assemblage of comic character, German automotive, American toys, and out-of-this-world Japanese robots and space toys. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

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Prince’s ‘Beautiful Collection’ of custom shoes on show at Paisley Park

Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.
Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.
Prince wore these iconic blue ankle boots with hand-painted white clouds in his 1986 Raspberry Beret music video, along with a matching suit. These shoes were made before Prince had his cobblers reinforce his heels, so two identical pairs of the shoes were made for (and survived) the arduous production of the music video. Photo credit: John Wagner Photography © 1985-2021 The Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. All rights reserved.

CHANHASSEN, Minn. – The Prince Estate and Paisley Park unveiled a new exhibition celebrating the legacy and artistry of the incomparable Prince. The Beautiful Collection: Prince’s Custom Shoes is the largest ever display to spotlight Prince’s footwear, featuring more than 300 pairs of his iconic shoes in a technologically advanced installation that is now open and a part of all tours at Paisley Park. The show will remain on view until at least the end of 2021, and possibly longer.

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Batmania! Prices for Caped Crusader items keep climbing

A Batman Batplane cardstock premium from 1943 sold for $22,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2021 at Hake’s Auctions.
A cardstock Batman Batplane, created as a premium to promote a 1943 film serial, sold for $22,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2021 at Hake’s Auctions.

NEW YORK — While toy lines come and go, those for superheroes tend to have a long shelf life. Of all of them, Batman, aka the Caped Crusader or the Dark Knight, is one that holds the attention of all ages.

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Character debuts add value to classic comic books

Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition, such as Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman, easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.
Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition, such as Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman, easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.
Copies of Golden Age comics in great condition easily sell for more than a million dollars. Still, this 5.0-grade example of Detective Comics #27, which introduced the iconic superhero Batman, brought $1.125 million in June 2021 at Heritage Auctions.

NEW YORK — If you are a serious comic book collector, your Holy Grail is the issue that features the first appearance of a character. People pay big bucks for issues where a beloved superhero or villain makes their debut. The gold standard has been issues such as Action Comics #1, which saw the debut of Superman; Detective Comics #27, which introduced Batman; and Amazing Fantasy #15, in which the comics-reading world met Spiderman. A host of less heavy-hitting characters are prompting collectors to pay robust prices for their debut issues, too. In June 2021, Heritage Auctions sold a copy of Marvel Spotlight #5, which contains the first appearance of Ghost Rider, for $264,000, making it the most expensive comic from the 1970s.

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Collectors aimed high for robots, Disney toys at Milestone auction

Bandai (Japan) friction-powered ‘Flying Spaceman’ on ‘Super Cycle’ with original caped, green rubber “Superman” figure. Cape shown in foreground. Accompanied by colorfully illustrated box lid. The top lot of the sale, it sold for $55,200 against an estimate of $15,000-$25,000.

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Bidders from more than 20 countries worldwide brought their A-game to Milestone’s May 1 Spring Spectacular Toy Auction, which ran 13 hours due to sustained bidding, primarily via the Internet. Interest was especially strong for robots, early comic character toys and an extraordinary collection of 150+ vintage toy boats and electric outboard motors in their original boxes.

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Milestone’s May 1 auction loaded with rare robots, early comic character toys

Masudaya (Japan) 15-inch battery-operated Target Robot from the famous ‘Gang of Five.’ All original and complete with correct dart gun and one dart. Estimate $8,000-$12,000

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – They came from the future and landed on Earth in the 1950s and ’60s, but now toy robots of that classic production era seem more like prophets whose mission is being fulfilled more than half a century later in the labs of MIT and NASA. For many collectors, the connection to robots is rooted in a childhood memory – discovering that Santa had left them a walking, flashing, noisy android under the Christmas tree. Collectors will relive that indelible memory on May 1st at Milestone’s 766-lot Spring Spectacular Toy Auction, which features a specialty grouping of more than 100 coveted vintage robots and space toys.

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Rare 1913 Chaplin poster headlines March 14 online auction

Early Charlie Chaplin poster, 1913, estimate $300-$3,500. Image courtesy Appraisals & Estate Sale Specialists
Early Charlie Chaplin poster, 1913, estimate $300-$3,500. Image courtesy Appraisals & Estate Sale Specialists
Early Charlie Chaplin poster, 1913, estimate $300-$3,500. Image courtesy Appraisals & Estate Sale Specialists

FULLERTON, Calif. — One of the earliest and rarest Charlie Chaplin posters to ever come to market, a collection of paintings by Burt Procter (Calif./N.Y., 1901-1980), and a beautiful Art Deco 18K white gold multi-diamond antique engagement ring are just a few of the expected highlights in a live online auction slated for this Sunday, March 14, at 12 noon Pacific time / 3 p.m. Eastern time, by Appraisal & Estate Sale Specialists, Inc. Overall, 633 lots are scheduled to come up for bid. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Continue reading