auction

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State's Bong Auction, Meant to Bring In Millions, Netted $2K

California's auction went bust after trying to sell confiscated fixtures

(Newser) - When the state of California raided 10 cannabis businesses that collectively owed $14 million in back taxes, officials had high hopes for the goodies they seized, with plans to put them all up for auction to raise millions. The grand haul after a Feb. 16 sale of various glass bongs...

50-Cent Harry Potter Proof Just Sold for $14K

Owner had bought first printing from a secondhand bookstore in 1997

(Newser) - The woman hardly knew what she'd bought in paying 40 pence, or about 50 cents, for three books back in 1997. Then 26, the woman "didn't have much money" but liked to browse secondhand bookshops for deals, she tells Hansons Auctioneers . She'd been looking for novels...

Star Wars Script Harrison Ford Left in Apartment Sells for $13.5K

Ford left it in a London flat he was renting in 1976

(Newser) - While in London in 1976 filming the first Star Wars movie ever made, Harrison Ford rented a flat near the studio—and when he moved out, he left behind an incomplete copy of the script that has now sold at auction for more than $13,500. Its pre-sale auction low...

Auction Said to Be 'Nothing Short of Remarkable' Is Halted

Sale of Nelson Mandela artifacts has been suspended as South Africa fights for them

(Newser) - The planned auction of dozens of artifacts belonging to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it. The online auction had been scheduled by New York-based Guernsey's auction house on Feb. 24, in conjunction with Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter of the anti-apartheid...

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction
285-Year-Old Lemon
Sold at Auction
Jan 31, 2024 3:00 PM CST

285-Year-Old Lemon Sold at Auction

It fetched $1,780 after British auction house found it in old chest

(Newser) - A lemon that was ripe when George Washington was a child fetched $1,780 at an auction in the UK. Auctioneers didn't have any problem establishing that the fruit was 285 years old: It was inscribed with the message "Given By Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739...

Rare Whiskey Sells for Record $2.8M
Want a Bottle of
This? $2.8M, Please
Jan 17, 2024 12:00 AM CST

Want a Bottle of This? $2.8M, Please

Rare Irish whiskey sells at auction, is one of just 7 bottles that exist

(Newser) - A rare bottle of Irish whiskey last week became the most expensive bottle of whiskey (or whisky) ever sold at auction. A bottle of the Emerald Isle , one of just seven that exist, sold for $2.8 million—breaking the record set just two months ago when a bottle of...

It Could Be One of the Priciest Postal Items Ever Auctioned

May 1840 envelope was mailed twice before world's first known prepaid postage stamp was considered valid

(Newser) - Calling all deep-pocketed stamp collectors: The earliest known example of a posted envelope using a prepaid stamp is heading to auction, where it's expected to fetch between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, a great deal more than it originally cost to send. The envelope carries the Penny...

With Sale of This Tree, 'the Magic of Christmas Lives On'

'Humblest Christmas tree in the world' is 100-plus years old, just sold for $4.3K

(Newser) - If you've always had a soft spot for Charlie Brown-style Christmas trees , this story will warm the cockles. An auction for what's been deemed "the humblest Christmas tree in the world" has come to a close, though the final price tag was far from humble itself. The...

Dress Worn by Diana Sells for a Staggering Sum

1985 gown, expected to sell for no more than $200K, goes for 7 figures

(Newser) - A ballerina-length evening dress described as "sweet and sophisticated" and worn at least twice by Princess Diana in the mid-1980s has sold for more than any other dress she'd worn. Julien's Auctions had estimated the black velvet dress with blue stars—complete with shoulder pads, a blue...

It Could Be the Priciest Sports Memorabilia Collection Ever Sold

Sotheby's to auction 6 shirts worn by Lionel Messi in winning World Cup run

(Newser) - Sotheby's is to auction six shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina's winning run at last year's soccer World Cup in Qatar and thinks they could become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever sold at potentially more than $10 million. The auction house said Monday...

Napoleon's Battered Old Hat Sells for a Towering Sum

Faded, cracked bicorne fetches $2.1M at auction

(Newser) - A faded and cracked felt bicorne hat worn by Napoléon Bonaparte sold for $2.1 million at an auction Sunday of the French emperor's belongings. Yes, $2.1 million. The signature broad, black hat—one of a handful still in existence that Napoléon wore when he ruled...

'It's the Holy Grail' of Napoleonic Souvenirs

Only 4 or 5 signature bicorne hats remain in collectors' hands

(Newser) - One of the signature broad, black bicorne hats that Napoleon Bonaparte wore when he ruled 19th-century France and waged war in Europe is expected to fetch upward of $650,000 at auction on Sunday. The faded black felt hat is the star piece of the auction, valued at between $650,...

Man Wanted to Open a Prince Museum, Holds Auction Instead

Pieces of late singer's wardrobe, other memorabilia are up for sale after museum idea is ditched

(Newser) - Fans of Prince, who was known nearly as much for his extravagant wardrobe as for his chart-topping hits, will have a chance to bid on some of the late musician's sartorial splendor in an online auction this week. The collection, including more than 200 lots up for sale, was...

These Auction Items Touched Titanic Survivors, and the Dead
3 Rare Titanic Artifacts
Top $100K at Auction
UPDATED
Nov 14, 2023 9:39 AM CST

3 Rare Titanic Artifacts Top $100K at Auction

Pocket watch taken from body of 2nd-class passenger sells for nearly $119K

(Newser) - Someone paid more than $100,000 for a century-old dinner menu, reflecting "ongoing interest" in the Titanic, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. The menu—coveted by Titanic enthusiasts as the only one to survive from April 11, 1912, three days before the luxury ocean liner...

Guy Buys 'Holy Grail of Postage' for $2M

Purchase of rare 'Inverted Jenny' is 'a historic moment' in world of stamp collecting

(Newser) - For decades, Charles Hack dreamed of owning "the holy grail of postage"—the "Inverted Jenny," a rare collector's item he never would've been able to afford when he started collecting stamps as a kid. Hack is now living his dream: The Washington Post reports...

Blue Diamond Smashes Pre-Auction Estimate

'Bleu Royal' sells for $44M in Christie's auction

(Newser) - The largest fancy vivid blue diamond to ever come to auction sold Tuesday for more than $44 million, far outstripping the pre-sale estimate, Christie's said. The "Bleu Royal"—a ring featuring a fancy vivid blue pear-shaped diamond of 17.61 carats—was one of the standout pieces...

This Rare Gem Could Sell for $50M
This Rare Gem
Could Sell for $50M
Nov 4, 2023 11:30 AM CDT

This Rare Gem Could Sell for $50M

'Bleu Royal' blue diamond is on the Christie's auction block next week

(Newser) - Tuesday's the day for the "Bleu Royal," the biggest internally flawless fancy vivid blue diamond ever to go on the auction block. That's when the rare 17.6-carat gem, currently set in a ring, will be up for grabs in Geneva via Christie's , where it'...

There&#39;s a Hidden Meaning to This Record-Breaking Cartoon
Comic That Captured 'Spirit
of the Internet' Sells for $175K
in case you missed it
Oct 29, 2023 12:30 PM CDT

Comic That Captured 'Spirit of the Internet' Sells for $175K

Peter Steiner's 1993 'New Yorker' comic, sold for $175K, speaks to internet culture and imposter syndrome, too

(Newser) - In addition to being the most reprinted New Yorker cartoon in history, a black-and-white doodle showing a dog using the internet is now the most expensive single-panel cartoon ever sold at auction. Peter Steiner's 1993 cartoon featuring the line "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog,...

Rare Whisky Up for Auction Is Pretty Pricey

Sotheby's estimates the bottle can fetch up to $1.5M

(Newser) - There are only 40 bottles of the Macallan Adami 1926, a Scotch whisky that spent 60 years aging in sherry casks, and someone is about to be the lucky owner of one of them. Per the Drink Business , Sotheby's has one of the rare bottles up for auction , and...

Missing Star Wars Relic Turns Up in a Garage
Star Wars Relic Fetches
Record-Breaking Price
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 21, 2023 6:00 AM CDT

Star Wars Relic Fetches Record-Breaking Price

Long-lost X-wing model from the 1977 film, recently found in late designer's garage, sells for $3.1M

(Newser) - A Star Wars artifact is now headed to a new owner's hands. The Guardian reports that on Sunday, the 20-inch model of an X-wing starfighter discovered in its late maker's garage became the "most expensive Star Wars screen-used prop sold at auction," per a statement from...

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