Well worth the paper they were printed on, the Confederate bank notes collected in this album bid to $7,995, almost doubling its $2/4,000 estimate.
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy of Nest Egg Auctions
PLANTSVILLE, CONN. – Nest Egg Auctions rang in 2023 with its New Year’s Eve Auction on December 31, offering almost 400 lots of jewelry, collectibles, fine art, decorative arts and vintage fashion. Jewelry and silver led the sale, followed closely by designer goods. The auction achieved $215,000 in total, with a 95 percent buy-through rate. “We’re very happy,” said auctioneer Ryan Brechlin. “Solid prices across the board.”
The winner of the auction, but not the Civil War, was an album of paper money printed by the Confederate States of America. The album contained about 56 examples of currency in varying condition, dating 1861-64. The scarce and rare issues were arranged in Friedman order with original values ranging from $2 to $500 notes. “It was a deep collection,” Brechlin said of the album. It was brought in by a local picker and sold online for $7,995.
The next two lots were about as flashy as they come: a watch fashioned by a 1904 $20 Double Eagle coin followed by another watch with a diamond-encrusted, 18K gold bar face, both made by Corum and selling for close to the retail price. Despite their shared maker, the watches came from consignors on opposite sides of the United States. The coin watch was 90 percent gold, with its bezel tested at about 18K and its clasp at 14K. It had Swiss quartz movement and included two alligator straps, bidding to $4,305. The second watch was made with a 5 gram Union Bank of Switzerland gold bar (0.9999 pure) set with pave diamonds around the face’s circumference, with an 18K gold setting, strap and clasp. In good condition with minor wear, the watch sparkled at $2,952. Another notable timepiece was an Art Nouveau pocket watch with blue enamel Arabic numerals in an 18K gold case, showing an imprinted portrait of a woman in Edwardian wedding attire on the lid’s interior surface, that sold for $2,214.
Corum watch crafted from a 1904 $20 Double Eagle gold coin and alligator straps ticked to $4,305 ($2/3,000).
Sterling silver flatware was on the winning table with two Twentieth Century sets ranking in the top lots. The first tied in price with the gold bar watch, a Towle Esplanade set with 106 total pieces in its box, that achieved $2,952. Another similarly shining example was a 109-piece set of Gorham sterling silver flatware in the Chantilly pattern for $2,460. The two lots’ success show the continuing strength of sterling silver tableware sets sold in the secondary market.
Three pairs of custom cufflinks from the same New York consignor bid to success, the most expensive of which multiplied to almost five times its high estimate. This was a pair rectangular cut aquamarine and round brilliant cut diamond cufflinks set in 14K gold by an unknown maker bid to $2,829. Next was a marked Cartier cut rock crystal and seed pearl cufflinks and studs set from the mid-Twentieth Century that were 90 percent platinum and set in 14K gold, which sold for $2,706. The third highest selling pair of cufflinks consisted of tanzanite and diamonds, set in 14K white gold and unmarked, that achieved $2,460.
Prices quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Nest Egg is now accepting consignments for their May jewelry and fine art sale. For additional information, www.nesteggauctions.com or 203-630-1400.
