: MastroNet, Inc recently closed the most successful
multiconsignment sports and Americana auction in its history. At
$10.2 million, the event eclipsed the previous auction record of
just under $9.2 million set by MastroNet in November 2000.
William Mastro, chief executive officer of MastroNet, credits his
company's continued success and growth to a number of related
factors. "There can be no doubt left that MastroNet offers the
best collectibles available in the industry, period," he said.
"We have refined the auction process to an art form and work
effortlessly to improve results, service and the overall
experience for both buyers and sellers. There simply is no better
place for consignors and collectors to meet than in a MastroNet
auction."
Highlights of the auction include a 1926 Sesquicentennial $2.50
golf commemorative coin. The coin is the second of only two gold
commemoratives of this denomination ever produced, and is the
only one of the two produced to ever to be authenticated or
graded. Issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence, business strikes were
sold at the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.
The coin sold for $194,736.
A 1909-11 T206 white border Honus Wagner card reached $90,199.
An historic mural, "The Sante Fe Trail" by Frank Tenney
Johnson, N. (1874-1939), went for $126,788. During the late 1920s,
Robert E. Callahan, author of The Heart of the Indian and
radio scriptwriter for the popular Lone Ranger radio show,
commissioned Johnson to produce a Western vista backdrop of the
Sante Fe Trail for his Western theme park. It was to provide the
background scenery for the theater's daily show. Johnson finished
the mural in 1928. It remained at the park until 1965 when it was
rolled up to be stored prior to the attraction's demolition.
The infamous Chicago Cubs foul ball was another highlight. The
dispute continues whether this baseball, tipped off the hands of
Cubs' fan Steve Bartman, really caused the Cubs 2003 season to
head south. The fate of the fabled ball is no longer questioned,
however. A Chicago restaurant purchased the baseball for
promotional purposes after a bidding war with two other parties.
The restaurant plans to destroy the baseball along with the
notorious Cubs "curse" in late February. The final price for this
unique piece of sports history was $106,600.
"Sailing The Spanish Main," an original Carl Barks oil painting,
commanded $93,666. Barks was one of the most prolific Disney
artists of all time. His development of Donald Duck and his
creation of such characters as Uncle Scrooge, McDuck, Gyro
Gearloose, The Beagle Boys and Gladstone Gander expanded the duck
universe for two generations of comic readers.
A 1909-11 T206 white border Honus Wagner card, graded 10 Poor 1
by SGC, commanded 26 bids despite its shortcomings. The legend of
the T206 Wagner continues and its appeal only seems to intensify.
The card sold for $90,199.
Three large volumes of "Biographies and Autographs of the
Signers of the Declaration of Independence" fetched $82,599.
An eight-sided commemorative coin, the 1915-S Pan Pacific
Octagonal $50, PCGS MS65, tied for sixth place among the sale's top
lots. In 1914, the United States completed the Panama Canal project
at a total cost of slightly more than $350 million. To celebrate
this unprecedented engineering conquest, the government sponsored
the Panama Pacific International Exposition (World's Fair) in San
Francisco, in 1915. As part of the fundraising effort, a set of
commemorative coins was produced. The group includes two of the
rarest US legal tender coins ever minted - the $50 gold pieces. The
offered octagonal $50 gold piece is the only eight-sided coin ever
produced by the mint. It sold for $82,599.
Tying for the sixth top lot in the sale was Biographies and
Autographs of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
in three large bound volumes, which also brought $82,599. In the
centuries since their names appeared on the most important
document in US history, the 56 signers of the Declaration of
Independence have comprised arguably the most sought-after and
desirable signature set for advanced autograph collectors. Peter
H. Brandt assembled his remarkable near set of letters, documents
and partial-page signatures into a three-volume, leather-bound,
gilt-embossed set of tomes.
There were three lots tied for seventh place. Emmitt Smith's
record breaking rushing ball, carried to surpass Walter Payton as
the all-time leading rusher in NFL history, set its own record -
the highest price paid for a game used football - $58,139. Smith
will donate to charity 100 percent of the net proceeds from the
sale.
Emmitt Smith's record-breaking rushing ball, $58,139.
Also realizing $58,139, a 1951 Bowman #305 Willie Mays rookie
baseball card, PSA Mint 9, generated robust bidding. The gem was
among only five copies assessed by the company at this spectacular
grade level, and none have ever been graded higher.
Action Comics #1 - the first appearance of Superman
-- 1938, also tied for seventh top lot. It is a keystone in the
comic book collectibles industry. Just 30 years ago, collectors
mocked a fellow collector who paid $5,000 for a copy of Action
Comics #1. No one is laughing now.
Selling for $56,671 was a 1934 Goudey low number uncut sheet with
Jimmy Foxx and 12 additional Hall of Famers.
Ted Williams' 1960 final season Boston Red Sox home flannel
jersey struck a final price of $52,854. And a "50 Greatest
Players" autographed lithograph, a 25- by 39-inch piece
displaying the likenesses of all 50 NBA legends and, remarkably,
49 of the 50 signatures (Pete Maravich, deceased at the time of
printing, is the only missing autograph), commanded $51,519.
