Hake’s online-exclusive sale takes novel approach with $9.99 opening bids

Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions

YORK, Pa. – Hake’s is hosting a special online-exclusive auction covering a large array of collecting categories spread out over 2,500 lots. The auction is filled with comics, political material, action figures and toys, video games, art, VHS tapes, and more – all starting at just $9.99. The auction has opened for bidding and will close over a three-day period, May 15-17.

Continue reading

MVPs in multiple pop culture categories drove in $2.57M total at Hake’s 

James M. Cox and Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1920 jugate button, 1-inch diameter, believed to have been a salesman’s sample. One of only six of its type known to exist, this button was the crown jewel of the legendary John Hilhouse collection. Sold for $100,300 against an estimate of $35,000-$50,000

YORK, Pa. – Hake’s served up a pop culture feast at their March 21-22 Premier Auction, with one exciting rarity after another eliciting pre-sale comments like, “I’ve never seen one of those in the marketplace before” or “I never even knew that piece existed.” Closing at $2,570,000 inclusive of buyer’s premium, the two-day event was led by heavy hitters from the baseball, political memorabilia, Star Wars, comic art and vintage toy categories. Many items powered past their high estimates, and some set new world auction records along the way.

Continue reading

Hake’s to auction fresh pop culture collections, prototypes, other rarities, Mar. 21-22

Marvel ‘Fantastic Four’ #1 comic book, Nov. 1961, CGC 5.0 VG/Fine. Features origin and first appearance of the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee story/Jack Kirby cover and art. Estimate $20,000-$35,000; and Marvel ‘The X-Men’ #1 comic book, Sept. 1963, CGC 7.0 Fine/VF. Origin and first appearance of The X-Men and Magneto. Stan Lee story/Jack Kirby cover and art. Estimate $20,000-$35,000

YORK, Pa. – Hake’s Auctions, America’s foremost source of rare and expertly authenticated pop-culture and historical memorabilia, will launch into the 2023 auction season with a March 21-22 offering of more than 1,900 choice lots from 200+ collector categories. From Star Wars to sports, vintage toys to rock ‘n’ roll, there’s plenty to discover in the online catalog.

Continue reading

Market-watchers pounced on rare comic art & action figures at Hake’s $2.7M auction

One of six lots of Al Williamson (1931-2020) original, unpublished concept art that preceded the ‘Star Wars’ daily newspaper comic strip (which was ultimately written and drawn by Russ Manning and ran from 1979-1984). Of 12 proposal strips created by Williamson, the first six were gifted to George Lucas; the other six were given to Star Wars marketing genius Charles Lippincott, whose widow has consigned them to Hake’s. Sold for $46,730

YORK, Pa. – Original comic strip art continues to solidify its position alongside fine art in the collector marketplace, with the latest proof coming on day two of Hake’s July 26-27 auction of pop culture rarities. Amongst the highlights of the $2.7 million sale was a selection of six consecutive lots of original concept art created in the late 1970s for a proposed Star Wars daily newspaper comic strip. Drawn by legendary comic strip artist Al Williamson (1931-2020) as part of a series of twelve strips, the artworks never saw publication.

Continue reading

Hake’s pop culture auction hits $3.2M; Star Wars prototype figure tops $204K

Kenner 1979 Star Wars Boba Fett rocket-firing prototype action figure, J-slot, version 2, bears copyright stamps, AFA-graded 50 VG. Archivally encapsulated with Collectible Investment Brokerage (CIB) COA. Sold for $204,435, a world auction record for any Star Wars action figure

YORK, Pa. – Record-setting prices just kept on coming at Hake’s $3.2 million online auction of pop culture rarities and didn’t stop until the last-minute clash of the titans that determined ownership of the sale’s top lot: a Star Wars Boba Fett “J-slot” rocket-firing prototype action figure. Conceived by Kenner in 1979, the J-slot Boba Fett Version 2 was designed with a J-shape triggering mechanism on its back for firing off rockets, but the toy never made it to the production stage due to safety concerns. On that basis alone, the pre-production archetypes became immediate rarities, but more than four decades of Star Wars mania have catapulted the J-slot prototype to an extraterrestrial level of desirability. The coveted example offered by Hake’s ignited a bidding war that ended at a sky-high $204,435 – a new auction record for any Star Wars action figure.

Continue reading

Hake’s to auction incomparable pop culture memorabilia, March 15-16

James M Cox/Franklin D Roosevelt jugate button, 1.25in size, one of only six known in 1.25-inch size and one of only three known in this design; the first of its type to reach the marketplace in 40 years. Considered the ultimate political button, on par with a Honus Wagner T206 baseball card or ‘Action Comics’ #1. Estimate $100,000-$200,000

YORK, Pa. – Pop culture fans reacted with stunned disbelief, then excitement, last November when Hake’s sold a Captain American “hero-prop” shield used by Chris Evans in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame. The pristine star-emblazoned shield commanded $259,540, the highest price ever paid at auction for a Marvel movie prop and the top price recorded in any sale of Hake’s record-setting $10 million year. However, America’s oldest collectibles auction house is not one to rest on its laurels, as the jaw-dropping lineup just announced for their March 15-16 auction clearly shows.

Continue reading