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Just this past weekend, ten 100-year-old pennies sold for a whopping $1.1 million at an auction held by an Irvine-based auction house. Now that is a good return on investment. The coins were sold Sunday night during an auction by GreatCollections. “The ten pennies were specially struck proof coins made for collectors by the United States Mint in Philadelphia in the early years of the Lincoln cents. All are still in pristine, mint red condition and sold for a combined total of $1,113,174,” the auction house said. This Lincoln penny, specially made by the United States Mint in Philadelphia in...

Jewish leaders opposed the sale, calling it “an abhorrence” in an open letterDespite fierce objections from Jewish leaders, a Maryland auction house has sold a wristwatch believed to have belonged to Adolf Hitler for $1.1 million. Alexander Historical Auctions, based in Chesapeake City, Maryland, sold the controversial artifact to an anonymous buyer on July 28, per the company’s website. The auction house also sold other Nazi-related items, including a golden eagle from Hitler’s bedroom, several of the genocidal dictator’s sketches and paintings and a dress that belonged to Eva Braun, Hitler’s wife. Report an ad Auction house officials believe Hitler...

The blaster that helped the Rebel Alliance finally take down the Empire could soon be yours. Han Solo’s DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol from the original Star Wars trilogy will be sold next month by Rock Island Auction Company. The weapon isn’t just a lovingly crafted replica, either. It’s the actual prop that was wielded by Harrison Ford on the set of the original film in the franchise... Here's the auction page: Lot 1247: Documented Mauser Broomhandle “DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol” Prop

Julien's Auctions' blockbuster three-day music auction event "Music Icons" held on Friday, May 20, Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 culminated today in the highly anticipated sale of the mythic electric guitar that changed music and the world: Kurt Cobain's 1969 Fender Mustang electric guitar played in NIRVANA's breakthrough hit and landmark 1991 music video "Smells Like Teen Spirit". One of the most important and iconic guitars owned and played by Kurt Cobain ever to come to auction sold for $4.5 million, far surpassing its original estimate of $600,000. The guitar was acquired by The Jim Irsay Collection in...

A spokesperson for Lelands, which bills itself as “the first sports memorabilia and card auction house in the world,” confirmed over the weekend that the authenticated ball Brady threw to Mike Evans in the fourth quarter of the Jan. 23 NFC title game had sold for $518,628. The month-long winter online auction that included the ball formally closed Saturday night. Less than 24 hours later, Brady announced he was returning for a 23rd season. Though the identities of the buyer and seller remain anonymous, the dilemma has stoked natural curiosity over whether the auction house will let the buyer off...

Christie's auction house confirmed to Fox News that it is hosting an auction that includes a dog house from Costa Rica that was struck by a meteorite on April 23, 2019. The occupant of the house, a German Shepard named Roky, wasn't injured during the incident, although the dog was understandably startled by event. James Hyslop, head of Science and Natural History for Christie's, said, "This is a really exciting auction and opportunity for collectors. Meteorites are incredibly rare objects; the combined weight of all the known meteorites is less than the annual output of gold. Ever since an exhibition...

This May, Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres (1924), a famed photograph of a nude woman’s back that’s overlaid with a violin’s f-holes, is headed to auction, where it is expected to fetch between $5 million and $7 million. If it does sell for within that range, it will become the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction. This print of the iconic Man Ray photograph, which depicts his muse Kiki de Montparnasse, is a rare one in that it is considered an original photographic copy. It was made around the time its corresponding negative was first produced, making it valuable...

The largest cut diamond in the world is about to go up for auction. The extraordinary jewel, nicknamed "The Enigma" is a billions-year-old Fancy Black diamond that is rumored to originate from space. According to the auction house, the stone is a carbonado black diamond, which are extremely rare, occur naturally, and usually date from 2.6 to 3.8 billion years old. It contains nitrogen and hydrogen but also a mineral called osbornite usually found in meteorites, which suggests an outer space connection. What that connection is exactly is unclear, however. Extraterrestrial diamonds from meteorites are tiny, usually nano-sized. This diamond...

ABC legal analyst Sunny Hostin said Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that former first lady Melania Trump’s online auction was “basement, tacky-type stuff.” Trump’s “Head of State Collection” includes a white hat, digital and watercolor paintings, and one-of-a-kind signed items.

Sotheby’s Dubai has opened its exhibit of Sandro Botticelli’s The Man of Sorrows, a rare example of the artist’s later work. The painting is expected to sell at an estimated excess of $40 million at Sotheby’s Old Masters sale in New York in January, and it's on view in Dubai until Tuesday. The brooding portrait of the resurrected Christ was executed in the late 15th or early 16th centuries – the last decade of the artist’s life. For Christopher Apostle, head of Old Master Paintings at Sotheby’s New York, the work presents an unusual moment in the artist’s oeuvre. “Botticelli...

A limited-edition Patek Philippe watch designed in conjunction with Tiffany’s sold for more than $6 million at auction Saturday. Bidding was fast and furious for the Patek Philippe 5711 1A-018 timepiece at a live Phillips auction on Park Avenue. The watch, which features a Tiffany & Co. signed dial, sold for $5,350,000, with the auction house premium taking the total price tag to $6,503,000. The winning bid was made by an unnamed New Yorker, who was bidding online, according to a report.

The surviving granddaughters of Alphonse “Al” Capone, one of the country’s most notorious gangsters, are auctioning off a slew of the mob boss’ treasures that include his “favorite” gun and letters to his son he wrote from prison. Sacramento, California-based auctioneer Witherell’s said it has authenticated the items included in the collection and will run the live auction on Oct. 8. Among the more eye-popping items listed in the collection is the ruthless racketeer’s “favorite” gun, a Colt .45 pistol that’s been passed down through the generations of Capone’s descendants and will start bidding at $50,000. The collection, called “A...

A forthcoming sale of Nazi-related items by a Queensland, Australia auction house is being denounced by Jewish groups. While Jewish leaders are describing the auction as “sickening,” the Gold Coast-based auction house is defending its decision to hold the auction, claiming that it is important to remember the past, the Brisbane Times reported. Twenty-two pieces of Nazi memorabilia will be listed by Danielle Elizabeth Auctions, including an Ordnungspolizei (“order police”) uniform containing the SS symbol that is expected to sell for up to $1,500, sleeves embroidered with eagles and swastikas and swastika and skull pins from Waffen-SS hats. Also for...

The 1970 Porsche 917K driven by Steve McQueen in the classic film 'Le Mans' will be put up for auction next month - and could fetch more than $18million. Expected to become the most expensive Porsche ever, the car is one of racing's most illustrious vehicles having competed in the race and starred with McQueen in the movie. McQueen even drove it while crossing the finishing line in the winning shot. The sports car represents the culmination of Porsche's engineering at the time as the company sought to take its first victory at the 1970 race, according to the auction's...

A watercolor painting by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky believed to be lost for more than seven decades has sold at auction for $1.4 million. The painting, Gebogene Spitzen (Curved Tips), was painted in 1927 when the expressionist taught at the Bauhaus German school of art. After being recorded as sold in 1949, art historians became unsure of its location. The only proof of its existence was a small sketch of it in a list of his artworks by art historian Vivian Endicott Barnett. Munich auction house Ketterer Kunst said the painting then surfaced in the estate of a private German...

Amateur detectorists James Spark and Mark Didlick will claim half the proceeds. The other half goes to the landowner, as yet unnamed. Quoted by the Mail, Spark reveals they found the Mars statue first. The history hunters believed it to be Victorian. How wrong they were. Once the bust was unearthed, the scale of the discovery became clear! Spark says he and Didlick were “proud to find such an important historical artifact.” He talks about Roman road links in the area, speculating on a possible connection to the burial. After detecting the hoard, the men presented it to the York...

We've seen plenty of classic car restoration jobs in our time, but the salvage project facing the winning bidder of this particular auction item is undoubtedly a daunting prospect. However, buying it could be a very lucrative decision in the long run, according to experts. This rare 1960 Jaguar XK150 S 3.8 Drophead Coupe has seen better days - in fact, it currently looks less like a Drophead and more like dropped-on-its-head. Having been crashed by the owner in 1996 and stored in a garage ever since, it is set to be sold at auction for an estimated guide price...

The Brasher Doubloon, the first gold coin struck in the U.S., is being offered privately at a $15 million asking price, according to numismatic adviser Jeff Sherid. His firm, Los Angeles-based PCAG Inc., is marketing the coin on behalf of a collector he would only identify as a former Wall Street executive. What is a gold coin worth today? The doubloon is dated 1787 — 11 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the same year the Constitution was written and five years before the federal mint opened in Philadelphia. Metalsmith Ephraim Brasher, George Washington’s next-door neighbor on New...

The drum kit that late RUSH drummer Neil Peart used on tour and in the studio with the band from 1974 through 1977 fetched more than half a million dollars at an auction this week. The kit, which had a pre-auction estimate of $80,000-$120,000, was sold for $500,312 at a Bonhams auction in Los Angeles. It features blue drum heads stamped with the RUSH logo and one saying "neil" and the other "peart." A 14-inch tom-tom is signed by the drummer. Although RUSH had formed as early as 1968 and had even released its eponymous debut album, it wasn't until...

Alex Van Halen's stage-played complete drum kit, which he used on VAN HALEN 1980 "Invasion" tour, is available for purchase from Reverb.com for $275,000. A portion of proceeds will go to charity. The white Ludwig kit (see video below), which was used on more than 100 shows during the tour in support of VAN HALEN's "Women And Children First" album, was previously displayed at Cleveland, Ohio's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum starting around nine years ago. Alex used the drum kit not only as a percussion instrument, but also as a visual art form. Working with various...