This Month in Collecting – January 2018

January 1, 1863

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing only the slaves in the southern states that were at war with the Union. Of the 48 copies created and signed, 26 are still known to exist. In 2009, one copy was sold by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries for $2.085 million (including 11 percent buyer’s premium). In 2010, the estate of Robert Kennedy sold a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation for $3.8 million, which he bought in 1964 for less than $10,000.¹    

January 1, 1735

 The birthdate of Paul Revere, patriot, silversmith, printer, engraver—and dentist? Yes, the multi-talented Revere practiced a little dentistry at one time, and he even advertised his part-time business of making dentures and teeth cleaning. In what could have been an episode of “CSI: American Revolutionary War,” Revere was called upon to identify the body of Major General Joseph Warren for whom he had made a dental bridge. Gen. Warren was shot in the face in the Battle of Bunker (Breed’s) Hill, and his body was stripped and thrown into a mass grave. Months later, Revere positively identified his dental work.²  Revere’s other handiwork, silver making, is not as rare as his dental work, but certain works are still very valuable. For instance, a set of five silver Paul Revere tablespoons was auctioned by Christie’s in 2009 for $56,250.

Howard Carter

January 3, 1924

 The sarcophagus of King Tutankhamen was discovered by Howard Carter and opened a month later, revealing a golden coffin holding two smaller golden coffins, one within the other, all carved like King Tut’s golden mask. Carter and his crew actually discovered the tomb two years before, and it contained three chambers and 3,500 objects. His benefactor for his years of exploration that culminated in the world-renown discovery was George Herbert, the 5^th Earl of Carnarvon, the master of Highclere Castle. Today, Highclere is where Downton Abbey is filmed. Lord Carnarvon sent many artifacts back to Highclere where they are now on display. He died three months after entering the tomb from an infected mosquito bite, which started the myth of the Mummy’s Curse.

January 8, 1935

The King was born. Elvis Presley made Tupelo, Mississippi, and banana, peanut butter and bacon sandwiches famous. Fans and collectors still go crazy for the King, so much so that Elvis earned about $36 million in 2014, even though he passed away on Aug. 16, 1977. A lock of his hair once sold for $115,000. His signature can bring around $2,000, but ElvisPresleyNews.com warns that photos of Elvis are so plentiful that they aren’t worth much. However, his cars are another story. In 2014, Bonham’s sold “The ex-King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley, 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Touring Limousine” for $396,000 (including buyer’s premium). I don’t know who this “ex-King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” is, do you?

January 10, 1776

Thomas Paine published “Common Sense” and sold 500,000+ copies of it, making him a pretty penny while helping to spark the American Revolution. Even with that many printed, “Common Sense” still has collectible gravitas—one copy sold in 2013 for $545,000.

January 14, 1892

Hal Roach, the gold prospector and mule skinner who became a great movie producer, was born in New York. He lived to the age of 100 and just missed 101 by about two months. Starting in 1915, he produced movies for about 50 years, bringing classic comedy and drama (Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, the Little Rascals, Topper, Of Mice and Men, etc., etc., etc.) to the big screen. Most of his movies’ posters sell for a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, making them affordable and colorful to collect. Here’s a discovery—the only known Laurel and Hardy poster for “Any Old Port” (1932, MGM) was part of a treasure trove of 17 movie posters found under the floor of an old house in Pennsylvania recently. “Any Old Port” was sold by Heritage Auctions for $8,962; altogether, the hoard sold for $219,000.

January 17, 1706

Born this day in Boston was Benjamin Franklin, whose picture in on the $100 bill. From someone who seemed to have a talent for just about everything he touched, Ben Franklin made this comment: “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” A three-page letter dated Sept. 13, 1781 from him while serving as ambassador to France to his son-in-law was sold for $26,000 (plus 21% buyer’s premium) in 2012 by Early American in Rancho Santa Fe, California. 

Two centuries later in 1942, Muhammad (Cassius Clay) Ali shared the same day of birth with Ben Franklin. From saying “I am the greatest!” to “Service to others is the rent I pay for my room here on earth,” Muhammad Ali was a great philanthropist as well as perhaps the greatest boxer ever. The boxing gloves worn by him and Sonny Liston in their May of 1965 rematch sold for $956,000. Both sets of gloves were confiscated by the boxing commissioner after Ali knocked Liston down with his first punch, known as the “phantom punch” because some said Ali did not connect. Liston was counted out before he got up. The moment was immortalized by the iconic photo of Ali standing over Liston, yelling for him to get up and fight.

January 19, 1839

On his birthday and every day, Paul Cézanne would be flabbergasted now to learn his painting “The Card Players” sold for $259 million (or maybe $300 million, it was a private sale) in 2013. Cézanne died in 1906 from pneumonia after working in the rain for two hours. 

January 20, 1896

Comedian George Burns was born to perform—in vaudeville, on the radio, on TV, in movies and today on the Internet. After his death at age 100, an estate sale of his personal effects reached $365,000. Items sold included: a Grandma Moses painting, $13,000+; two pairs of his wife Gracie Allen’s cat’s eyeglasses, $1,600; an 18th century commode, $11,000; and Burns’ diamond cuff links with his initials, which were purchased by Jerry Seinfeld for $12,650.³ George Burns once said: “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family…in another city,” and “I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.” 

January 22, 1901

Queen Victoria of England passed away. Her record for the longest reigning queen of England with 64 years was toppled by Queen Elizabeth II in September of 2015. From furniture to paperweights, the Victorian Age gave the world perhaps the most categories of collectibles. A pair of Victorian asparagus tongs was sold in 2003 by Bonhams for $388 (including buyer’s premium).

January 24, 1965

Winston Churchill died at the age of 90. His Victory watch presented to him after WWII sold for £485,000 (about $730,000) at Sotheby’s London in September 2015. In response to Nancy Astor, the first female Member of Parliament, saying, “If I were married to you, I’d put poison in your coffee,” Churchill replied, “If I were married to you, I’d drink it.” 

January 27

The birthdays of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, in 1832 in England and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1756 in Austria. A prolific author and mathematician, Carroll also invented a double-sided adhesive tape, an early form of the game Scrabble, and a nyctograph for writing in the dark. His books about Alice and Wonderland made him world famous and rich. His personal copy of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” sold for $1.54 million in 1998, one of the six original 1865 editions left.⁴  

January 31, 1919

 In the little town of Cairo, Georgia, Jackie Robinson was born, destined to break the color barrier in American baseball. His skills earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. He played nine years for the Brooklyn Dodgers and retired with a .311 batting average, 137 home runs and 1,518 hits. Six editions of a Jackie Robinson comic book were issued in 1949-1950. Most can be found for a few dollars up to just over $100, depending on condition. But check “Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.” At one time, it listed issue No. 6 in near-mint condition at $1,000+.

In October 2017, Jackie Robinson’s specially made cap sold for $590,994 by Lelands, making it the most valuable sports cap in history. The cap was created (as Lelands listed it): “To fend off racially motivated beanballs.”