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Color NASA Photo Signed and Inscribed by Wernher Von Braun Fetches $14,400 in Weiss Auctions’ 2-day Sale, January 26-27

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Lynbrook, NY, USA, February 3, 2022 -/DailyVoice/- Weiss Auctions burst into the New Year with a two-day, two-session sale on January 26th and 27th, with many lots sailing past their high estimates. A NASA photo signed by German-born American engineer Dr. Wernher Von Braun sold for $14,400, while a collection of 1916-1930 Standing Liberty quarters soared to $161,000. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

“2022 started just as 2021 ended – with a strong auction, one that topped $600,000,” said Philip Weiss of Weiss Auctions. “Day 1 featured historical memorabilia, Hollywood collectibles and advertising. Day 2 was dedicated to stamps and coins. In all, we registered more than 3,000 bidders for the online-only sale. Next up is a comic and comic art sale slated for February 23rd.”

The NASA photo signed by Wernher Von Braun had a conservative pre-sale estimate of $400-$600, but bidders fought fiercely for the 11 inch by 14 inch color photo showing a view of the Earth from the Apollo 8 spacecraft in orbit around the moon. It was inscribed, “To Dr. Herbert Friedman with highest regards, Wernher Von Braun.” The photo was the top earner of Day 1.

While in his 20s and early 30s, Dr. Von Braun worked in Nazi Germany’s rocket development program. He helped design and co-developed the V-2 rocket during World War II but was never charged with any war crimes. To the contrary, he was secretly moved to the United States, along with 1,600 other German scientists, engineers, and technicians, as part of Operation Paperclip.

The collection of 1916-1930 Standing Liberty quarters, missing only the 1927-S quarter, was expected to bring six figures and it did not disappoint, besting the $120,000 high estimate by another $40,000. The circulation issue set was PCGS graded and was listed as one of the top ten sets on the PCGS/NGC Registry (under “EMPIREAA”). It was the auction’s overall top lot.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. Internet bidding was provided by Weiss Auctions’ updated website (www.WeissAuctions.com) with Next Lot for interactive bidding. Bidding was also available through LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids were also accepted. All prices quoted in this report include the buyer’s premium.

Another Day 1 lot that stormed past its pre-sale estimate (of $100-$200) was a group of 15 Russian military medals, representing various dates and events, that was sold on behalf of the New York County Public Administrators Office, from the estate of Rene Fuss. Once again, eagle-eyed bidders and collectors pounced on the group, driving it to a final price of $11,500.

A circa 1570 close helmet – approximately 14 inches tall and almost certainly English, possibly attributed to an Earl – sold within estimate for $9,300. Close helmets were worn by knights and other men-at-arms in the Late Medieval and Renaissance eras. They were a fully enclosing helmet with a pivoting visor, used by pistol-armed cuirassiers into the middle of the 17th century.

An archive of material pertaining to American actress Lillian Gish (1893-1993) changed hands for $6,325. Included were expired passports, invitations, many letters to-and-from (including Ronald Reagan, Roddy McDowell, Patricia Nixon, John Gielgud and others; an Audrey Hepburn letter; a letter and photos from Eva Marie Saint; a letter from Sir Alec Guinness; and more.

Lillian Gish’s acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 (in silent film shorts) to 1987. She was called “The First Lady of American Cinema” and is credited with pioneering fundamental film performance techniques. She had a leading role in the highest-grossing film of the silent era, D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915). Her final film was The Whales of August (1987).

On to Day 2, where the runner-up top lot to the Standing Liberty quarters collection was a stamp album filled with MNH (mint, never hinged) United States stamps, from the years 1855-1959. The album, from the South Bay Collection, went for 15,500, against an estimate of $8,000-$12,000. The stamps were collected as listed in Scott: blocks of four, panes, strips and more.

A fabulous estate cover collection of 19th to mid-20th century stamps, housed in a three-drawer file, finished at $10,050. Included were examples from South and Central America, Europe and Asia – no British covers, but a nice selection of 1920s-1950s European first day covers, 19th century European covers, 1950s-1960s European first day covers, and flight and zeppelin covers.

A lot of five Morgan silver dollars, all from the Carson City, Nevada Mint and dated 1881-1885, each one graded highly at MS66, gaveled for $8,475 against an estimate of $4,000-$6,000. Morgan silver dollars were minted from 1878-1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021. The coin was named after its designer, George T. Morgan, and today is highly prized by collectors.

For more information about Weiss Auctions and the Comic & Comic Art auction slated for Wednesday, February 23, visit www.WeissAuctions.com.

About Weiss Auctions:
Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, estate or a collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731; or, you can send an e-mail to Philip Weiss at Phil@WeissAuctions.com. For more information about Weiss Auctions, please visit www.WeissAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.

Miller & Miller’s Online Auctions Sept. 11-12 will Feature Toys, Nostalgia, Breweriana, Advertising

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New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada, August 28, 2021 -/DailyVoice/- Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. will hold back-to-back auctions the weekend of September 11th -12th. The Saturday, September 11th event will be a Toys & Nostalgia sale, featuring the Bryan Beatty collection. The Sunday, September 12th sale will be an Advertising & Historic Objects auction, featuring the Scott Vanner breweriana collection.

Both auctions are online-only and will have a start time of 9 am Eastern time. The Bryan Beatty collection of toys and communication-related memorabilia includes a well-rounded offering of cast iron and tin litho toys from the Victorian to the Atomic era. Mr. Beatty’s collection also includes many radios, microphones and typewriters, with examples spanning the 20th century.

“The Bryan Beatty collection is a brand that will outlive this auction,” predicted Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “His guiding principle can be summed up in these three words – condition, condition and condition. Unlike most university professors, Bryan used the breaks between lectures to search for toys and nostalgia. He collected like he taught – academically.”

Scott Vanner’s collection of Canadian breweriana includes a large assortment of beer trays and assorted advertising from the 1890s to the 1940s. A generous offering of live steam models will also be sold, the highlight being a finely engineered 7 ¼ inch gauge steam locomotive. Other categories in the collection that will be sold include advertising signs, bicycles and comic books.

The items in Mr. Vanner’s collection are “just the way collectors like them,” Mr. Miller said – “one hundred percent fresh to the market.” The 7 ¼ inch gauge steam locomotive could easily end up being the top lot of the two days, as it carries a stout pre-sale estimate of $15,000-$20,000 (all prices quoted in this report are in Canadian dollars). It previously sold at Christie’s in 1985.

The steam locomotive is a well presented 7 ¼ inch gauge model of the Great Western Railway 4-6-0 locomotive and tender No. 1011 (“County of Chester”). It was rebuilt and reboilered by F. West and Lee Green and comes with a brazed superheated copper boiler with fittings, including water and pressure gauges, safety, blower, twin injector, whistle, clack and blowdown valves.

Two Canadian steam engine models from very different eras carry identical estimates of $2,000-$3,000. One is a model of a ‘Southern’ heavy-duty rocking valve mill engine, with continuous rope belts, designed and built by H.A. Sharrar in 1971. It was a “Best Steam Display” winner at the Milton steam show. The other is a highly detailed scale model of the steam engine that ran machinery for the Dominion Organ & Piano Co. (Bowman, Ont.), built by R. Fishleigh in 1890.

Other noteworthy Day 2 offerings include a Worth and Martin (Toronto) one-cent bull’s head perfume dispenser (“Take the bull by the horns!”), made in 1902, solid brass with a glass mirror and able to accept large Canadian cents (estimate: $6,000-$9,000); and a Wayne Model 60 American made Chevrolet gas pump dating to the 1940s, 92 inches tall and professionally restored to Chevrolet, including paint and reproduction globe lenses (estimate: $6,000-$9,000).

A Wurlitzer Model 1015 jukebox, made in America in 1946, has an estimate of $6,000-$8,000. The Model 1015 is one of the most iconic jukeboxes ever made. This one is a fine, functioning example and comes with 24 period rock ‘n’ roll records. Also, an 1869 French style Boneshaker bicycle with a painted iron frame, wood rims and professionally restored wheels, is expected to speed away for $3,000-$3,500. The rear brake is activated by twisting the handlebars forward.

A Molson’s Beer clock, made for the French-Canadian market in the 1930s, porcelain with a screened metal clock dial marked “Made in Germany”, should bring $4,000-$6,000. Very few porcelain advertising signs were appointed with high quality mechanical clocks. Also, a Black Cat Shoe Polish lithographed tin clock, made in Canada in the early 20th century, marked “MacDonald Mfg. Co. Limited, Toronto”, non-functioning, has an estimate of $2,000-$3,000.

An English 1913 J. Smith & Sons tower clock having a cast iron frame with steel components, rescued and restored after the post office building it served in the town of Bowmanville from 1912-1965 was torn down, should achieve $3,000-$5,000. Also from England, a 1950s-era Austin Junior J-40 pedal car, restored, featuring a functioning horn and headlights, is estimated to bring $2,000-$3,000. Nearly 32,000 of the J-40 pedal cars were produced from 1950 to 1971.

A Miller High Life Beer two-sided porcelain hanging sign, made in the 1930s and originally designed to accommodate bands of neon surrounding the perimeter, 35 ½ inches by 46 inches, is expected to reach $3,000-$5,000; while a circa 1920s mechanical commercial cigar humidor showcase, made in America of quarter sawn oak with etched plate glass panels and nickel-plated trim, tagged “The Loudon Cigar Case” with various patent dates, should realize $3,500-$6,000.

Back to Day 1. One item certain to be a hit with bidders (but not part of the Beatty collection) is a Hillerich & Bradsby Louisville Slugger baseball bat signed in blue sharpie marker by Hall of Fame legend Mickey Mantle (estimate: $2,000-$2,500). Included is an official 1992 MLB photo of Mantle and a 2001 letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA that’s signed by James J. Spence, Jr.

From the Beatty collection, a 1950s-era American RCA Type 77 DX ribbon microphone made from brushed steel and chrome, in the rare and iconic “pill” design, mounted to a contemporary powder coated base, should command $2,000-$3,000. Also, a circa 1940s/‘50s RCA Type 91B microphone and an MI4092 desk stand, having a powder coated and brushed chrome base and mounted to a rare, correct base, 9 inches tall (mike on stand) has an estimate of $800-$1,200.

Internet bidding for the 875-lot auctions will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, as well as the Miller & Miller website: www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Bidders can tune in to the live webcast on both days to watch lots close in real time. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted.

Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. has two more auctions lined up for fall: a Firearms, Sporting & Canadiana auction on October 9th (deadline to consign: Sept. 10); and a Watches & Jewels auction on November 20th (deadline to consign: Oct. 15). Both auctions will be online-only.

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and the back-to-back auctions scheduled for September 11th and 12th, at 9 am Eastern time both days, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.

About Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.:
Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. is Canada’s trusted seller of high-value collections and is always accepting quality consignments. The firm specializes in watches and jewelry, art, antiques and high-value collectibles. Its mission is to provide collectors with a trusted place to buy and sell. To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (519) 573-3710; or, you can e-mail them at info@millerandmillerauctions.com. To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., please visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com.