On July 11-13, 2017, Hake’s Americana & Collectibles closed the second auction in their 50th anniversary year with enough momentum to net $1.1 million in results. As with all Hake’s sales, it contained a plethora of memorabilia within historical, political, and various facets of pop culture collecting. Many items in Auction #221 sold well beyond their estimates, with some pulling in records.
The pinnacle of the auction was a “For President, Abraham Lincoln” parade flag, which realized $40,124. The 1860 glazed cotton flag is fresh to the market, after spending 30 years as the crown jewel of the Leon Rowe collection. This piece topped the remarkable group of political memorabilia in this auction.
After the beloved president, the popular superheroine Wonder Woman took the second highest spot. All Star Comics #8 CBCS 2.5, featuring the first appearance and origin of Wonder Woman, realized $31,924. This coveted Golden Age issue also includes the Justice Society of America, the first appearance of Steve Trevor, as well as a story in which Starman and Dr. Mid-Nite join the JSA.
“With #221 we continued our streak of million dollar auctions. The market continues to produce amazing results for all manner of quality pop culture and Americana collectibles,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said. “Since we offer so many different types of items each auction, we see this first hand and can easily state that many new record prices were set this auction for political, sports, Disneyana, comic books, art and more.”
A 1955 Bill Haley and His Comets concert poster hit the record price of $17,782, more than tripling the presale estimate of $5,000. The boxing style poster features a classic promo graphic of Haley and His Comets with the group tagline, “The Shake Rattle and Roll Boys.”
Another impressive item within the political memorabilia was the John Bell constitutional union party hand painted two-sided banner. Closing at $13,700, the silk banner from 1860 almost tripled the high estimate of $5,000.
Baseball fans and historical collectors propelled the Negro League Cuban X-Giants real photo postcard to $13,664. The 1905 photo postcard is SGC encapsulated and includes Hall of Fame member Frank Grant.
This auction may be over, but that doesn’t mean that Hake’s is settling in for a break. In addition to pointing out the variety of memorabilia in Hake’s auctions, Winter also teased the final auction of their year. “If you thought this auction was strong, wait until you see what we have planned for our final auction of 2017,” he said.
All items include an 18% buyer’s premium. Find more auction results at hakes.com and in additional Scoop coverage over the coming weeks.
