Josh Levine
- Jun 12, 2020
- 6 min read

Not for All the Tea in Denmark

Updated: Aug 7, 2020

Here we are again….it’s Last Week at the Auction...America's Favorite Top 10 List of Auction Results from around the globe as hand selected by me Josh Levine, you blog post host and guide to the world of auctions. This is already Episode 6 of Season 2....and we just broke internet…it’s officially The Hottest You Tube Series and Social Media Sensation in the world….okay, the auction world.

It's like you took a Puppy from a Sarah McLaughlin Video, The Best of Hoarders & Pickers, put on tin foil hat...brought over cookies and cheese cake and said, lets make Emmy Award winning television.

And Yes.... I got a great show for you all today and I have taken my medication.

Welcome back subscribers and hello to newbies...We've got the goods...Amazing Auction Results, Fun Facts and so much more...I am telling you...Nothing is more interesting than The Auction World...even post apocalypse.

If you are new or a member of the unsullied, before you go Subscribe Below, Leave a Comment or 2, and please share. Because sharing is caring. I have links below to everything I discuss, all my social media channels and where you can find out more about all of these great auction houses.

LAST WEEK AT THE AUCTION

#10 is beautiful Currier & Ives Print. This wonderful example brought $800 in Cottone in Geneseo NY. Titled "The Grandest Palace Drawing Room Steamers in the World" & Copyrighted in 1878, the values of these amazing examples of 19th Century American and Lithograph have been on a decline. I am hoping this is a sign of life as they are not making more of them…well.

The truth is, many items like this are reproduced and what lead to their fall in the values of the originals. It seems the new generations don’t care if it’s the original or a facsimile. I say, nothing beats the real thing, but when the real thing became un-affordable…reproductions came out. This happened and happens to this day with so many things. I guess when we all live in the matrix in a few years, it won’t matter. I kid ?

I say, if you can….always go with the original or real thing. Especially if investment is part of your passion. And it’s a buyers market.

Out of Tune

#9 is a 1973 Fender Music Master Electric Guitar that brought $1000 @ Leland Little. Have I told you how 70s Fenders give me anxiety and depression? Well if not, let me tell you why. I used to own a music shop and sold mostly used equipment in the 1990s.

We had so many 70s Fender like this in every color could not give them away. We sold them for $75-125. No one wanted them. Metal was king and no one saw Nirvana & the Grunge movement coming….and how it would make these frankly, mediocre instruments desirable, really for their tone or particular sound. It’s nuts what some of the models sell for these days.

And no…I am not bashing Strats and Tele’s before my guitar nerd friends jump all over me….but you show me a 1970s Fender Mustang that stays in tune for a song or 2 and I’ll shut up. Okay….off my soap box.

What I am really saying is…get in your time machine, go to my old store and buy all the guitars on the wall of shame and sell them now. It would be like google stock.

Not Tiffany

#8 A beautiful Handel Arts & Crafts Table Lamp sold for $3500 at Cottone in Geneseo NY. We are great representation of Arts and Crafts. And I want to point out the value here. Not Tiffany Lamp Money but quite respectable and often missed at antique shows, etc.

There seems to be a “if it’s not Tiffany, its $300 - $500” for period pieces like this amongst appraiser’s mind sets…at least I’ve noticed that these days.

For Two Bucks ?

Okay #7 An 1891 Two $2 Treasury Note sold for $5000….and guess where, of course, One Great Deal Auctions in Meridian Idaho. I swear, they might have a time machine up there. Where d they get this amazing currency, week in and week out.

Let’s keep moving, nothing to see here….

Check Your Stocks

I’ve always wanted one of these….#6 is an Edison Stock Ticker Tape Machine and it brought $7,000 @ Donley Auction in Union IL, so I won’t be having one of these anytime soon.

Invented in 1867, the paper ticker tape machines became obsolete in the 60s, as TV and even early computers began to transmit this financial information. The concept still lives on today in the scrolling electronic tickers you see on the news and financial channels. They are just cool and collectible.

80s Money

#5 is an impressive result….it’s the North Carolina Federal Painted Hunt Board that sold for $8,250 @ Leland Little. A 19th Century Period Beauty that was meticulously restored along the way had to be a pleasant surprise. This was 1980s antique furniture money, meaning its heyday. I keep reporting on these furniture finds as it really might be signs of it coming back.

The good stuff is bringing good money and people are starting to appreciate period pieces again. Maybe America is Great Again ? Maybe a Comet is headed or way…..maybe….

Ain't No Juke Box

#4 is a beauty and quite rare….it’s the Polyphon Coin Operated Concerto I Orchestrion and it brought $14,000 @ Donley Auction in Union IL. At almost 10 ft tall, it was certainly impressive. Can you imagine when this was your juke box? Wait, what’s a Juke Box, When this was your MP3 Player…

I am giving you a sideways tip here. What I am saying is certain models of giant Panasonic Boom Boxes will one day be worth $10,000 and more…

Think I am nuts…..This just sold at auction for $1850…Nostalgia is Money. That sounds like a new show to me !

A Pot for a Brush?

Okay #3 A CHINESE Inlaid Hardstone Brush Pot just sold for $27,000 at Abell's in LA. Yes, this 7.5" tall brush pot showed all of us that calligraphy brushes can require some very special vessels. Because I think when you sell for this much, you are deemed a Vessel…much more impressive than pot. You know the old saying, don’t have a pot to “blank” in…

This just continues to illustrate one of my weekly themes. Chinese Antique Values at Auction are the Wild West.

Not for All the Tea in Denmark

Alright…look at a China Set making it to #2, how rare is that? Well it is rare…this 60 pc ROYAL COPENHAGEN Set in the 'FLORA DANICA' pattern brought $35,000 @ DuMouchelles in Detroit.

It has been called, one of the world’s most prestigious and luxurious porcelains. Many consider it to be the finest in the world. It is still highly prized today. The original service is still in the Danish Royal Family.

When you really leave a Mark

And speaking of royalty, Basketball royalty… at #1 is KOBE BRYANT’s Original Chinese Theater Cast Hand-prints. They sold for $60,000 at Julien’s in Beverly Hills….Tragedy and rarity in collectibles can create a unique demand and these checked all the boxes. They were from Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Kobe immortalized his hand-prints on February 19, 2011 and was the 1st sports figure to do so. This honor was generally movie starts only. These were the test pressing done before the live event. Quite unique and only at auction.

So now you know what happened, Last Week at the auction!

Viewer's Email

And it’s time for this weeks "viewer email"...This week's question comes from Kevin D of Columbus Ohio

Kevin asks “Great tip on the Audiophile Stuff, but how do you look it up quick when you are at an estate sale?”

Great question. There are pay apps, that are very good…like Worthpoint, Askart, Artnet…but I am all about the free sites. eBay’s app works okay for searching sold listings but I like LiveAuctioneers app…use the quick search, click price results only and pow….everything you should need to know is right there. Just take a little getting used to sorting. Knowing the keyword to search, make – model….can really narrow it down for you.

Great Question Kevin….I hope that helps.

Thanks again everyone….do not forget to email me at josh@joshlevinespeaks.com - where you too can send me any and all questions.

& Remember, if you enjoy the show, Subscribe Below! Please Give Me Thumbs Up / Star and Leave Comment.... I hope you enjoyed today's episode and check out all the great auction houses I talked about today’s show.