Hake’s Americana & Collectibles has done it again! For the second auction in a row, they have beaten their house record, this time putting up a final total of $2,357,183 in Auction #223. This total marks their first sale over $2 million and exceeds the company record of $1.75 million that they set in November 2017.
The auction closed on Tuesday through Thursday, March 13-15, 2018, featuring over 2,300 lots. In addition to a new record auction total, they also set house records for most bidders, most bids placed, and overall sell-through rate.
It was no surprise that the copy of Detective Comics #27 CGC 5.0 grabbed the auction’s top spot, realizing $569,273. This issue features the first appearance of Batman and Commissioner Gordon and is one of only a few copies certified by CGC at this level.
Taking the second spot was Action Comics #7 CGC 4.0, depicting the second Superman cover, which cleared $124,023. This very early Superman issue features stories by Jerry Siegel and Fred Guardineer, cover and art by Joe Shuster with additional art by Guardineer and Bernard Baily.
Another major comics sale was Captain America Comics #3 CGC 7.0, which hammered for $55,048 – just over the high-end estimate of $50,000. This issue marks Stan Lee’s first work for Timely and depicts a classic Red Skull cover.
The items that closed on Tuesday were led by several pieces of political memorabilia. The “Lincoln & Hamlin/Liberty & Union” unlisted horizontal format 1860 campaign banner brought $15,720. This the only example known to have surfaced of the cotton linen banner, which measures 8” x 36-3/4” on early thin wooden frame.
A Roosevelt/Fairbanks “Souvenir of Pretzel Town Reading, PA” jugate button sold for $9,676. With Keystone Badge Co. back paper and horizontal bar pin, it ended at nearly double the high-end estimate of $5,000.
The “Hawthorne All Out for Eisenhower and Nixon” rare Ike button reached $5,062, far exceeding the estimate of $400 to $700.
All prices include the 18% buyer’s premium. To read about top sales from the Star Wars memorabilia, check out our coverage in Industry News. To view all prices realized from this auction, visit Hake’s website and browse by Tuesday or Thursday closings.
