Dolphin Beach Resort

9:30am Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Offering a broad spectrum of fantastic Carnival Glass with incredible iridescence, thay everyone will enjoy!

Part of Heritage Auctions’ $53 million numismatic auctions week; Strength seen holding in U.S. Rare Coin market

DALLAS, TX — An awed hush fell over the Platinum Night bidding floor of Heritage Auctions’ Orlando FL FUN U.S. Coin Auction on Thursday, Jan. 7, as “The Olsen Specimen” 1913 Liberty Nickel, PR 64 NGC, lived up to its billing as the most famous American coin by bringing a jaw-dropping $3,737,500. This figure is tied for the third-largest sum ever paid at auction for a single U.S. coin.

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Auction – February 12, 2010

Spring auction, February 12 & 13, 2010, Contemporary Art – London

 Bought for an ‘exorbitant’ $100 in the 1960s, expected to bring $300,000+, Feb. 25, 2010

DALLAS, TX — When a truly exceptional copy of Detective Comics #27, the very first appearance of Batman, is auctioned by Heritage Auction Galleries in its Feb. 25 Signature® Comics & Comic Art Auction, it will set two important marks:

 It will, more than likely, become the single most valuable comic ever offered at public auction. Though it’s being sold with no reserve and no minimum bid, it’s expected to bring at least $300,000. The current record for a comic sold at auction stands at $317,000, for a copy of Action Comics #1, sold last year at another auction house.

 The other question the auction will settle, at least for the time being, is one of the great debates of Pop Culture: Who is worth more today, Batman or Superman?

 “Since Heritage began auctioning vintage comics, we have heard more client requests for Detective #27 than for Superman’s first comic, Action #1, and that’s both from hard-core comic collectors and from clients in other fields who are interested in this issue as a pop culture milestone,” said Lon Allen, Director of Sales for the Comics Division of Heritage. “Superman came first, but I think in certain quarters Batman is the more popular character. This is probably the most desirable comic Heritage has ever auctioned.”

 The third-party certification service CGC has graded the comic Very Fine 8.0, a grade that only one other copy of this issue has reached and none has surpassed.

 “The eye appeal is absolutely outstanding,” said Lon Allen, Director of Sales for the Comics Division of Heritage. “Most comics from 1939 are smudged, torn, creased, and so on – this one’s got really bright colors and looks fresh. It has no restoration which is a major plus as well. We’ve never handled a copy that’s anywhere near this nice.”

 Heritage has not disclosed the source of the comic other than to note it comes from a savvy collector who assembled his collection in the 1960s and 1970s.

 “Back then, if someone spent even $100 on a comic book from the 1930s or 1940s, which is what the collector paid for it, it was considered absurd by the general public,” said Allen, “but smart buyers who did their legwork and paid so-called ‘outrageous’ prices could put together excellent collections that today’s collectors are envious of.”

 To say that today’s hordes of comic collectors, Batman fans and Pop Culture devotees are envious of a comic such as this, bought for a mere fraction of what the current price will be, is an easy understatement. By late February the top collectors in the world will be eyeing this book closely, and weighing just how much it’s worth to them to have the have the holy grail of comic books, and to be part of history.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and 475,000+ registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com. 

 FALLS CHURCH, Va. – A map that was purchased for $10 at a northern Virginia estate sale has guided its owner to a profitable destination at auction, where it sold to an anonymous bidder for $23,400.

 The 1827 map of the State of Virginia, drawn by Herman Boye and engraved by H.S. Tanner and E.B. Dawson, had been tucked inside a box of 10 assorted books and offered at an estate sale for a group price of $10. The buyer, a Virginia attorney who dabbles in books, suspected the map might be valuable and took it to Quinn’s & Waverly Auction Galleries in Falls Church, where experts entered it in a Dec. 3 sale with an estimate of $2,500-$4,000.

 “There was tremendous interest in it. Every phone line was occupied by a major book or ephemera dealer,” said Matthew Quinn, co-owner of Quinn’s & Waverly. “It was a challenge to settle on a presale estimate for the map because there hasn’t been another one available in the marketplace in the last 35 years. There’s barely even a reference to it on the Internet.”

 Comprised of 40 sections, the map is one of only 800 printed for distribution to Virginia’s state senators in 1827, with each map representing one of nine geographic regions. The auctioned map depicts the state before the territorial split that resulted in the formation of a new state, West Virginia, and does not include Arlington County, which was still part of Washington, D.C. at the time of the map’s publication.

 Based on an inscription inside the cover of its slipcase, the map was originally the property of John Randolph (1773-1833) of Roanoke, Va., who served seven terms in the Virginia House of Representatives.

 Linen-backed and hand-colored, the map details the rivers, roads, towns, county seats, ferries and other natural and man-made points of interest of northwestern Virginia in the 1820s. A population table provides data from the first four U.S. Censuses and lists the number of whites, slaves and free blacks then living in Virginia. Its statistics indicate that at the time of the map’s publication, there were 36,889 freed blacks in the state – less than 10 percent of the number of slaves – out of a total population of 1,065,366 people.

 “The map is like an illustrated time capsule of what life was like in Virginia in the 1820s,” said Quinn. “You can see from the symbols on the map how important churches and universities were to the people, and how the state’s fledgling industries were developing.”

They can reduce stress, add years to your life and ‘people with hobbies are healthier and happier,’ says a new study And, according to a leading nutritionist, it can also reduce stress, improve overall mental health and help you live longer…

 According to the leading US nutritionist Joel Fuhrman, MD, after a tough day in the office, the opportunity to ‘lose yourself’ in something you love is invaluable.

 President Franklin Roosevelt, for instance, dedicated half-an-hour to stamps every night during his time in the White House as a ‘stress buster’.

 With collecting, you can free yourself from the constraints of working for someone else, and the pressure of expected success, and concentrate on your own total enjoyment.

 “As a rule, [it encourages] both physical and mental activity to keep the mind and body active and creative,” Dr Fuhrman told the website Sports Collectors Daily. “When used to re-activate one’s social life, hobbies can be a valuable prescription for physical and emotional health.”

 Immersing yourself in an area of collectibles can give you a sense of empowerment – and the excitement of unknown possibilities in the search for treasured items, believes Dr Fuhrman. “A recent study in Japan showed that elderly people with hobbies were healthier and happier,” he said. “And other studies investigating long life and successful ageing have documented ‘outside interests’, involvement with helping others, and connection with hobbies and interests, all promoted a longer life.”

 There is also the social aspect, and numerous opportunities to mix with like-minded people, and forge and boost relationships. Going to a memorabilia show or participating in online forums lets you build relationships with others who share your passion.

 Collecting, “encourages resourcefulness, thinking, planning and patience. It necessitates relationships and interacting with others and creates a feeling of accomplishment,” says Dr Fuhrman.”In general, enjoyment in one’s life is one of the most important positive factors for good health.”

 And a sense of pride and accomplishment in a collection can translate into a better outlook when it comes to achieving other life goals, he said.

 Joel Fuhrman, MD, is a board-certified physician, top-selling author and one of the country’s leading nutritional experts.

 He’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN and the Discovery Channel; and contributed to numerous radio programmes, magazines and newspapers.

For Patrizzi & Co’s final auction of the 2009 calendar year, the watch auction house focussed on collector-level timepieces with just 93 lots.

Patek Philippe Ref. 2499/100

$320k)

Buyers responded positively, with sales particularly strong for Patek Philippe and two exceptional Art Déco clocks.

The auction totalled $4,225,300 with Patek Philippe accounting for more than half the total value.

Including this sale, Patrizzi & Co has finished the year with sales over $34m from a total of eight auctions in New York, Geneva and Milan.

Highlights in New York included two Patek Philippe 18k yellow gold round-button chronographs, Ref. 2499; the model from the rarer Second Series was the top seller of the auction, achieving $720,000, while the other sold for $320,000.

Art Déco clocks created for Black, Starr & Frost, attributed to newly discovered designer Pierre Gravoin, sold for $380,000 and $340,000. American baseball player Lenny Dykstra’s 18k white gold Patek Philippe Annual Calendar on a matching gold bracelet sold for $28,000.

Patek Philippe, Genève, Ref. 2499

($720k)

“Bidders definitely raised their prices because of our policy of no buyer’s commission,” said Osvaldo Patrizzi, chairman and CEO of Patrizzi & Co, in a statement.

“We had many active bidders over the phone and online, particularly from Hong Kong, China, Russia, Italy and the US. The clocks made by Black, Starr & Frost are two of the finest examples of Art Deco clocks reflecting a culmination of jewelry, art, design and technology of their time.

“In addition, the six sets of watch keys sold for more than double their estimate, with three of the six lots selling for more than triple their estimation,” he said.

About 80 people attended the auction with another 100 people bidding by Internet, and 60 by phone and absentee bid, with most bids coming from China, Italy, and Hong Kong. Over 66% of the 93 lots sold.

Set of four Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendars, Ref. 3970E ($640k)

Patek, Philippe & Cie, Genève,

No. 112454 ($46k)

In addition to the live and online auction, Patrizzi & Co hosted its first New York silent sale over four days. Timepieces sold from $500 to $25,000, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Sohne, Heuer, and pocket watches by Jules Jurgensen and Ekegren, among others.

The new SMS system to notify bidders of competing bids created a lively atmosphere with potential buyers waiting in the showroom with cell phones in hand while watching the results on the computer screen.

However, Patek Philippe seems to create a lively atmosphere at auction, regardless of the technology involved. Earlier this month, the Ref. 3974 sold for a record $1.2m alongside a host of other rare fine watches at the final Antiquorum sale of 2009, also in New York.