auction

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Outcry Cancels Auction of Holocaust Artifacts

International Auschwitz Committee condemned bidding and urged 'basic decency'

(Newser) - A planned auction of Holocaust-related artifacts in Germany was canceled on Sunday after receiving widespread criticism from survivors' groups. The sale, organized by Felzmann auction house, was scheduled to feature documents and personal items belonging to Holocaust victims, including Nazi records, identification papers of Jewish refugees, and Stars of David...

Last Batch of Pennies Could Bring Millions at Auction

Five coins with special marks will be bid on by collectors

(Newser) - The final batch of US pennies, minted on Wednesday, could soon become among the most valuable coins in the nation's history, with experts predicting they could fetch up to $5 million each at auction. The historic event took place at the US Mint in Philadelphia, with Treasury Secretary Scott...

Watch That Stopped as Soon as Titanic Sunk to Be Auctioned

Pocket watch belonged to Macy's co-owner Isidor Straus

(Newser) - A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of Titanic victim Isidor Straus is expected to fetch $1.3 million at auction, the BBC reports. Straus, a Bavarian-born American businessman and co-owner of Macy's department store, perished with his wife, Ida, when the Titanic sank in 1912. The 18-carat...

Napoleon's Lost Diamond Brooch Sells for $4.4M

Sale shatters pre-auction estimate

(Newser) - A diamond brooch that French emperor Napoleon lost while fleeing from the Battle of Waterloo in the early 19th century sold for more than 3.5 million Swiss francs (about $4.4 million) at a Geneva auction on Wednesday, Sotheby's said. The brooch, which can also be worn as...

Secrets of Kryptos Are Up for Auction

Only the sculptor knew the message of CIA installation's 4th riddle, until the listing went up

(Newser) - When Jim Sanborn was commissioned to create a sculpture at CIA headquarters, he wanted to do something that spoke to its world of spies and secret codes. The result was a 10-foot-tall, S-shaped copper screen called "Kryptos" that resembles a piece of paper coming out of a fax machine....

Kahlo's Time 'Waiting for Death' May Have Inspired Painting

Artist's 'El sueño (La cama)' is up for auction at Sotheby's, expected to bring in up to $60M

(Newser) - Frida Kahlo's "El sueño (La cama)"—in English, "The dream (The bed)"—is causing a stir among art historians, as its estimated $40 million to $60 million price tag would make it the most expensive work by any female or Latin American artist when...

Nazi-Looted Klimt Masterpiece Could Set an Auction Record

6-foot-tall 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' could fetch $150M, a record for the artist

(Newser) - Sotheby's is set to auction a Gustav Klimt portrait, with expectations it could fetch more than $150 million, shattering the artist's auction record. The artwork, "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," is considered a late-career masterpiece and has a storied past, having survived Nazi looting and World War...

Mystery Over $10M Gold Toilet Seems to Be Solved

Mets boss Steve Cohen appears to be owner of the golden throne set to hit Sotheby's auction block

(Newser) - The art world's shiniest mystery has finally been flushed out: An infamous $10 million gold toilet is hitting the auction block , and the owner is none other than Mets boss and billionaire Steven Cohen, sources tell the New York Times . The 18-karat throne, crafted by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan...

Fan Bailed on Nachos, May Get $1M Reward

Ohtani's home run ball goes up for auction

(Newser) - A split-second decision to abandon nachos paid off big for one Dodgers fan—and now, Shohei Ohtani's record-setting NLCS home run ball is up for auction. In Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Carlo Mendoza found himself choosing between finishing his snack or chasing a piece of...

Will Ferrell's Elf Suit, Obi-Wan's Lightsaber Up for Grabs

Outfit from Christmas film classic headlines a London memorabilia auction, could bring in $260K

(Newser) - Will Ferrell's iconic green-and-yellow suit from the holiday favorite Elf is set to hit the auction block in London next month, and it's expected to fetch a sum even Santa might envy—more than $260,000. The Propstore Winter Entertainment Memorabilia auction will start the bidding at $65,...

Sotheby's Latest 'Incisive Commentary:' $10M Gold Toilet

Maurizio Cattelan sculpture up for auction is named 'America'

(Newser) - For sale: the world's most valuable toilet. Sotheby's announced on Friday that it will auction off the solid gold commode, a sculpture by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan titled "America." The auction house calls it an "incisive commentary on the collision of artistic production and commodity...

Somebody Finally Found the Secret of CIA's Kryptos Sculpture

Journalists used 'library science,' not cryptography

(Newser) - The decades-old mystery at the heart of the CIA's Kryptos sculpture was finally solved—not by cryptography, but by library sleuthing and a bit of misplaced paperwork. For more than 30 years, Jim Sanborn's copper artwork outside CIA headquarters in Virginia has taunted codebreakers with its four...

It's the Most Expensive Sports Card Ever Sold

Dual Logoman card with autographs of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant nabs $12.9M

(Newser) - A Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant basketball card just swooped in and dunked on sports memorabilia history. The one-of-a-kind 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection dual Logoman card—featuring both NBA legends' jersey patches and their autographs—fetched $12.9 million through Heritage Auctions , making it the most expensive sports...

'Astonishingly Rare' First Edition of The Hobbit Sells for $58K

Discovered in Bristol, the book lacks its original dust jacket

(Newser) - A first edition of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, uncovered during a routine estate clearance in the UK city of Bristol, has fetched nearly $58,000 at auction—more than quadrupling initial estimates, per the Guardian . The volume, one of just 1,500 originals printed in 1937, was discovered...

You Could Own the Hair of the Man Who Stopped Napoleon

Lord Admiral Nelson's purported braid up for auction

(Newser) - A braid of hair taken from the head of a man considered a British hero for preventing Napoleon's planned invasion of the country some 200 years ago is heading to auction. The dark braid belongs to Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, a naval commander in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars,...

Buddha Relics Head Home After Auction Outcry

Sotheby's brokers a deal ensuring public access to ancient Piprahwa gems in India

(Newser) - Sotheby's has handed back to India a trove of 2,500-year-old jewels believed to be linked to the Buddha's remains following global outcry and an intense diplomatic campaign. The so-called Piprahwa Gems, unearthed in 1898 from a stupa near the Buddha's birthplace and considered one of...

Caitlin Clark's Rookie Card Breaks a Record

Fetches $660K at auction in a record-breaking sale

(Newser) - Caitlin Clark has set yet another record, this time with her 2024 WNBA rookie card selling for the most money yet for a female athlete at a public auction. Clark's Rookie Royalty WNBA Flawless Logowoman 1/1 card sold Thursday night for $660,000. That sale price tops the previous...

One of the Most Famous Whips in Hollywood Sells for Half a Mil

Prop used in 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade goes for $525K at auction

(Newser) - A whip wielded by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade that once belonged to Princess Diana has sold at auction for $525,000. Thursday's sale was part of the "Summer Entertainment Auction" being held all week by Heritage Auctions, per the AP . Heritage says the...

Young Dino Skeleton Goes for $30.5M at Auction

Rare juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil was sold by Sotheby's during 'Geek Week'

(Newser) - A juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil stunned the auction world this week, fetching $30.5 million at Sotheby's—well beyond its initial $4 million to $6 million estimate. The six-minute bidding war drew six contenders from the floor, online, and via phone lines, with the identity of the winning buyer...

Martian Meteorite Sells for Out-of-This-World Price

Martian rock NWA 16788 had been expected to fetch millions at Sotheby's

(Newser) - An out-of-this-world item sold for an equally out-of-this-world price on Wednesday. The largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth—a 54-pound hunk known as NWA 16788—sold at a Sotheby's auction for $5,296,000, outpacing the $2 million to $4 million it was projected to go for. CBS...

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