OK, Which one of you bought it?

[PHXPhlyer]

Mercedes just sold the world’s most expensive car for $142 million

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/19/business ... index.html

Mercedes-Benz confirmed on Thursday that it recently sold the world’s most expensive car. A very rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR coupe that had been kept in the German automaker’s collection was sold to a private owner for €135 million, the equivalent of $142 million. That price makes it the most expensive car known to ever have been sold, according to Hagerty, a company that tracks collector car values.

Money from the sale will be used to establish the Mercedes-Benz Fund, a global scholarship fund, Mercedes said in an announcement.

The previous record sale price for a car was reportedly $70 million paid in 2018 for a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO.

The Mercedes that was sold was one of only two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe prototypes. The 67-year-old cars were named for Mercedes’ chief engineer at the time, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, and are claimed to have a top speed of 186 mph It was sold at a closed invitation-only auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart on May 5. The auction was held in cooperation with auto auction company RM Sotheby’s.

The other Uhlenhaut Coupe will remain in the Museum’s collection, according to a Mercedes-Benz statement.

“Their racing cars from the 1930s and 1950s are rare, and most are still owned by the factory, so any that come to market are highly sought after,” said Brian Rabold, vice president for automotive intelligence at Hagerty.

Mercedes’ “Gullwing” SLRs – so-called because of the doors that rise up like curved wings – are considered to be among the world’s most desirable cars. And various rare and racing versions are especially valuable.

The SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was, essentially, a hard-top version of Mercedes’ famous open-topped SLR racing car, powered by a 300 horsepower eight-cylinder engine. The thinking was that a closed car would better protect drivers from wind and weather at high speeds, while the closed roof would also improve aerodynamics.

Shortly after the development of these cars, Mercedes stopped its involvement in motorsports, so the cars were never used in competition.

While the identity of the car’s new owners remains unknown, British classic car dealer Simon Kidston claimed in a press release to have placed the winning bid on behalf of a customer.

It might go well with this one.

Sean Connery’s own classic Aston Martin is for sale

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/19/business ... index.html

James Bond, the fictional British secret agent, has driven lots of different cars in the more than two dozen films in the series. They’ve included everything from BMWs and Bentleys to Chevrolets and Fords. But one car in particular, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5, is known as the “the Bond car.”

The Bond car that the late actor Sean Connery first drove in the 1964 film “Goldfinger” was an Aston Martin DB5 replete with gadgets like machine guns, an ejector seat and an oil slick maker. More than 50 years later, Connery sought out a 1964 DB5 for himself and, after looking for over a year, finally bought one – without the movie car’s guns and gadgets – in early 2018. Connery died almost two years later at the age of 90. His DB5, the only one he ever actually owned, will be offered for sale at an auction this summer.

The car is expected to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8 million, according to the auction company Broad Arrow Group. The car will be offered at Broad Arrow Group’s Monterey, California, auction on August 18, the company told CNN Business.

A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in this car’s pristine condition would ordinarily be worth about $1 million even if Connery had never been anywhere near it, according to Hagerty. (Hagerty, a company that tracks collectible car values, is also a major investor in the recently founded Broad Arrow Group.)

DB5s associated with the James Bond films have sold for vastly more than that, though. A gadget-filled DB5 that was used to promote the film’s original release sold for $6.4 million in 2019.

During his life, Connery had often told his children of his fond memories of driving the Aston Martin in films, his son Jason Connery said in an interview. When they were grown they suggested to their father that he buy one, but he was resistant to the idea.

“He’d say, ‘I don’t want to because it feels a bit obvious, you know, with me,’” Jason Connery said. “I said, ‘But forget it, it’s not about that.’”

Barney Ruprecht, an Aston Martin specialist with Broad Arrow who had also consulted with Connery on making the purchase, advised Connery against getting a car in need of restoration since the work would probably take a couple of years, he said. Instead, he and Connery sought out a car that was in as near-perfect condition as possible. The car remains in very nearly that condition, according to Ruprecht, with only some creases in the seat leather as evidence it has been sat in.

Once Connery purchased the car, he had it repainted from black to Snow Shadow Gray, the color of the movie car. In the films, the car is described as being painted a color called Silver Birch, but the film was shot using a prototype of the DB5, not an actual production car. Silver Birch, a color that was offered on production versions of the DB5, wasn’t available at the time, Ruprecht said, so the car was painted in the slightly flatter, less metallic shade of gray that was offered on the DB4. The two colors would have been nearly indistinguishable on film, though, he said.

But after that work was done, there was little time left to actually drive it.

“Unfortunately as he got older, traveling, especially to Europe [became difficult] and then COVID hit and…,” said Jason Connery. “You know, unfortunately, he never really got to enjoy the car that he’d bought.”

The car was kept by Connery at his home in Switzerland, according to Jason Connery. He was so fond of the car, he kept a photo of it on his desk.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to support the Connery Family Philanthropy Fund, according to the Broad Arrow Group, though the percentage going to charity will be announced later. In addition to the car itself, the winning bidder will get a ride in the car from the famous retired Formula 1 racing driver Jackie Stewart.

Stewart, like Connery, is from Scotland, and the two were longtime friends.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/19/business ... index.html

PP

[Ex-Ascot]

Actually, I do not like it. Even if it is my age.

[G-CPTN]

In 1965, I started work aged 21.

My ambition was to own an Aston by the time I was aged 30.

I approached Aston Martin at Newport Pagnell and sought a factory tour.

After the tour I visited the service department where various customers' cars awaited extensive updates to engines or bodywork or interior trim to the latest available specifications.

The staff explained that the typical Aston owner owned several vehicles in addition to the Aston, as was highlighted by their choice of paint choice to match their other cars (typically Rolls Royce and Bentley).

In one corner was a DB5 estate car conversion with California licence plates, air con and tinted windows.

The odometer read precisely 500 miles, and it had been flown back to Newport Pagnell by the customer so that Aston could carry out the free initial service.

At that stage I realised that owning an Aston wasn't simply a case of spending the £5000 buying the car - it was more a case of the lifestyle associated with that type of ownership.

I never did get my Aston Martin.

[EA01]

Some clown around here has an aston martin with 007 on the plates ....

[Hydromet]

Back when the first Bond films came out a mate, then a teenager, wanted to become a professional photographer. One day, he spotted a cat asleep on the bonnet of a DB4. He took a few photos, one was published, which got him noticed. Start of a very long and successful career.

[Smeagol]

in my younger years I always wanted a Rolls Royce, preferably before I was 40 years old.
That was until I drove drove one! I think it was a Shadow II, all very smooth, silent and very plush inside but it was the 'delayed action' steering that put me off. It seemed that the recirculating ball type steering is not exactly very positive and requires steering input about a week before an upcoming corner in order to successfully negotiate it.

Never did buy one and stayed with BMWs and Mercs.

[EA01]

Yes Smeagol, had similar experiences with Rollers (Work related, not that I was ever in a position to buy one!)....then I drove a bentley....looked kinda the same,...diff. beast altogether!!, Yes I am firmly in the BMW camp, The local specialist mechanic knows me long enough that its not in his interest to 'touch' me...family also with BMW so he knows more interested in keeping us all onside.

[PHXPhlyer]

The world's largest bottle of whiskey sold for $1.4 million at auction

My guess would be Plum or Ex-A.

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/large ... index.html

The world's largest bottle of whiskey, called "The Intrepid," has sold for about $1.4 million, according to the auction house Lyon and Turnbull.
The bottle, standing 5 feet 11 inches, was given the Guinness World Record in September 2021. It contains 82.16 US gallons, or 311 liters. That's the equivalent of 444 standard bottles -- enough for 5,287 whiskey sours made with 2 ounces of whiskey each.

The liquor is a 1989 Macallan single malt that spent 32 years maturing in oak casks at Macallan's Scotland distillery before being bottled in 2021. It is pale gold and has a sweet taste with notes of apple, says the auction house.
The record-breaking bottle from Fah Mai and Rosewin Holdings was auctioned by Lyon and Turnbull.

It was sold Wednesday to an international collector, according to Lyon and Turnbull.
The Intrepid project was created as a collaboration between Fah Mai, a Thailand-based investment company, and Rosewin Holdings, a London-based firm, which invest in whiskey and other spirits.

The project's founder, Daniel Monk, was inspired by his father's "passion for adventure, exploration," says the auction house. The label on the bottle features 11 explorers, including Ranulph Fiennes and Robin Knox-Johnston.
The auction will support several charities, including Marie Curie and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), says Lyon.
The huge bottle is not the most expensive container of whiskey ever sold. That honor goes to a 60-year old Macallan sold for $1.53 million in 2018.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Champagne bottle sells for record $2.5 million

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/investin ... index.html

New York
CNN Business
—
A bottle of Champagne has sold for $2.5 million, eclipsing the auction record for bubbly and likely becoming the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.

But there’s a fizzy gimmick: the magnum of Chateau Avenue Foch, 2017, comes with a single NFT that includes the digital art and intellectual property rights to an image of “Bored Ape Mutant” and to other collectible cartoon figures that adorn the bottle. (A magnum is the equivalent of two regular-sized bottles.)

NFTs are digital images that trade on the blockchain. The highly speculative market for them peaked in 2021 with $41 billion in sales but has slowed sharply due to the recent slide in cryptocurrencies.

The buyers of the Champagne were brothers Giovanni and Piero Buono. They’re Italian investors in cryptocurrencies who are active in the fashion and technology industries. Despite their crypto profile, the purchase was made in dollars, according to the seller. The sale was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.

Shammi Shinh, the British entrepreneur who commissioned and sold the bottle, said he hoped Champagne’s fizz may juice the market for NFTs at a time that it, and other financial markets, are substantially off their highs.

“I’m hoping for more awareness — I want people to understand NFTs now,” said Shinh. He said that the Champagne, and his collaboration with the artist, Mig, may be the first of a limited-edition.

The “floor price” of a Bored Ape Yacht Club token, the top rank of the Ape collectibles series, has fallen to 93 ethereum, or about $99,501, from an all-time high of 153 eth, or $163,000, set in May, according to website NFT Floor Price.

Chateau Avenue Foch is a new brand. The Premier Cru grapes of the Champagne were grown at Allouchery, a family-owned estate in Chamery.

Giovanni Buono told the Journal that the brothers have no plans to open the bottle.

The Robinhood application on a smartphone arranged in Hastings-On-Hudson, New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021.
Crypto winter has had a chilling effect on Coinbase and Robinhood
Their purchase was made privately. In the public market for wine, vintage bottles normally bring in high prices. In 2020, a bottle of the famous Heidsieck 1907 shipwrecked Champagne was sold for $275,000 in Moscow. On its way to the czar in 1916, so the story goes, the shipment was sunk by a German U-boat and recovered by Finnish divers decades later.

As for the priciest wine of any kind at auction, a bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was purchased by a collector in 2018 at a Sotheby’s sale in New York for $558,000. Only 600 bottles were made of the 1945 Burgundy vintage, which is called “the unicorn vintage.”

PP

[OFSO]

Ah yes, BMWs, where as The Wizard will tell you, under the influence of time and heat, plastic components in the engine compartment turn into powder in a few years, and the plastic sump plate may be replaced at considerable cost by an alloy one as a factory option. At one time I drove a three series BMW and a Mercedes 190, both purchased new, and I learned which one fell apart driving the cobble stones of Darmstadt West Germany. And which cost twice the price of the other at service time.

Have to go now, my shoulder is sore reaching up overhead to pull the door closed. Ooh, what a giveaway.

[PHXPhlyer]

Sean Connery’s own ‘James Bond car’ sold for $2.4 million

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/20/business ... index.html

A silver Aston Martin DB5 that had been owned by actor Sean Connery was sold at auction Thursday for $2.4 million.

It was a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, just the sort of car that British secret agent James Bond drove in the 1960s films in which he was played by Connery.

The Bond character has been played by a number of actors and has driven many different cars in the more than two dozen films in the series. They’ve included everything from BMWs and Bentleys to Chevrolets and Fords. But the 1964 is still the best known “Bond car.”

The one that Connery first drove in the 1964 film “Goldfinger” was an Aston Martin DB5 replete with gadgets like machine guns, an ejector seat and an oil slick maker. More than 50 years later, Connery purchased a 1964 DB5 for himself – though it lacked the movie car’s guns and gadgets – in early 2018. Connery died almost two years later at the age of 90. It was only DB5 he ever actually owned.

At $2.4 million, which included fees to the auction company Broad Arrow, the car fetched more than originally projected. The company had expected it to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8 million at its collector car auction in Monterey, California. The buyer was not named. The auction is one of a number of collector car sales during Monterey Car Week, an annual series of classic car events on California’s Monterey Peninsula.

A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in this car’s pristine condition would typically be worth about $1 million, according to the classic car insurance and event company Hagerty, which recently took full ownership of Broad Arrow.

DB5s directly associated with James Bond films have sold for vastly more than that. A gadget-filled DB5 that was used to promote the film’s original release sold for $6.4 million in 2019.

During his life, Connery had often told his children of his fond memories of driving the Aston Martin in films, his son Jason Connery said in an interview. When they were grown they suggested to their father that he buy one, but he was resistant to the idea.

“He’d say, ‘I don’t want to because it feels a bit obvious, you know, with me,’” Jason Connery said. “I said, ‘But forget it, it’s not about that.’”

Barney Ruprecht, an Aston Martin specialist with Broad Arrow who had also consulted with Connery on making the purchase, advised Connery against getting a car in need of restoration since the work would probably take a couple of years, he said. Instead, he and Connery sought out a car that was in as near-perfect condition as possible. The car remains in very nearly that condition, according to Ruprecht, with only some creases in the seat leather as evidence it has been sat in.

Once Connery purchased the car, he had it repainted from black to Snow Shadow Gray, the color closest to that of the movie car.

But after that work was done, there was little time left to actually drive it.

“Unfortunately as he got older, traveling, especially to Europe [became difficult] and then COVID hit and…,” said Jason Connery. “You know, unfortunately, he never really got to enjoy the car that he’d bought.”

The car was kept by Connery at his home in Switzerland, according to Jason Connery. He was so fond of the car, he kept a photo of it on his desk.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to support the Connery Family Philanthropy Fund, according to the Broad Arrow Group. In addition to the car itself, the winning bidder will receive a ride in the car from the famous retired Formula 1 racing driver Jackie Stewart.

Stewart, like Connery, is from Scotland, and the two were longtime friends.

PP

[TheGreenAnger]

I used to own a Dinky version of that car... does that count?

I enjoyed the GoldenEye Aston scene. Not the Connery car of course... but the girls...!



https://screenrant.com/goldeneye-aston- ... rs-better/

There were two cars involved in the last Bond film to use the DB5 before "it" returned in GoldenEye... One of them vanished but may have been recovered. I wonder which of the original cars (more than 2 of course) Connery managed to buy?

https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/ ... d-at-last/

[PHXPhlyer]

JPMorgan forces sale of Russian oligarch’s megayacht

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/investin ... index.html

A $75-million superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian steel billionaire was auctioned on Tuesday in Gibraltar, court sources said, in what is understood to be the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The Axioma was impounded by the Gibraltar authorities in March after JPMorgan said its alleged owner Dmitry Pumpyansky had reneged on the terms of a $20 million loan.

The 72.5-meter vessel was auctioned by the Gibraltar Admiralty Court through a system of closed bids to be sent electronically by midday on Tuesday, a court spokesman said. The court added that 63 bids had been submitted for consideration, with the selection process expected to take 10 to 14 days.

There was an “unexpected late surge by prospective buyers” around the world for the vessel, Nigel Hollyer, broker to the Admiralty Marshal of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar who led the auction, told the Guardian newspaper last week.


The boat sleeps 12 people in six cabins and boasts a swimming pool, a spa, 3D cinema and water sports equipment.

According to court papers reviewed by Reuters, JPMorgan (JPM) lent 20.5 million euros to British Virgin Islands-listed Pyrene Investments Ltd which was owned by Furdberg Holding Ltd. Furdberg’s owner was Pumpyansky, who acted as guarantor for the loan.

The papers said Pyrene Investments defaulted on the loan terms after Pumpyansky on March 4 transferred his shares in Furdberg to a third party and was then sanctioned, blocking the repayment of the loan.

The 58-year-old, who has an estimated fortune of $2 billion according to Forbes magazine, was sanctioned by Britain and the European Union shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.

Pumpyansky was until March the owner and chairman of steel pipe manufacturer, a supplier to Russian energy company Gazprom. The company said he had since withdrawn from the firm.

The Axioma is the first seized luxury yacht known to be auctioned since the West imposed sanctions on powerful Russians following the February invasion of Ukraine.

Watershed
Sources close to the process told Reuters JPMorgan would only claim the 20.5 million euros owed and that any further proceeds from the sale would be up to the court to disburse.

Scores of yachts and houses linked to Russian oligarchs have been seized by world governments since the invasion. British and American authorities have said they would seek to send the proceeds of sold assets to Ukraine.

A Gibraltar government source said the money would likely be frozen rather than handed to anyone other than the oligarch.

A spokesman for JPMorgan declined to comment.

James Jaffa, a lawyer for British firm Jaffa & Co which specializes in yachts and who had represented the Axioma before it was seized, said the vessel was likely to sell for “way below” 20 million euros.

After the auction, he said, the ship broker, crew wages, the shipyard and maintenance would need to be paid ahead of the bank.

A successful sale would, nonetheless, be a “benchmark” for other banks looking to recoup losses by auctioning the repossessed property and other assets of sanctioned oligarchs.

“Axioma will be a watershed moment for assets that have bank financing against them because all the other banks will realize that the asset can be sold and that they can get some or all of their money back,” he said.

He stressed, however, that assets without financial claims against them which were seized by governments because of sanctions alone would be harder to sell.

PP

[4mastacker]

Unfortunately, I couldn't bid for it as it's a tad bit too big for me canal - might be difficult getting it through the locks without scratching the paintwork.

[PHXPhlyer]

Princess Diana's 'very special car' sells for more than $750,000 at auction
Ahead of the sale auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said it was “impossible to underestimate the value of this car.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/prin ... -rcna45090

A small car used by Princess Diana in the 1980s sold for more than $750,000 at a British auction Saturday, after a tense bidding war among potential buyers from the U.K. and abroad.

Roared on by a crowd, the bids kept coming for the black Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1, prompting disbelief from the auctioneer Jonathan Humbert.

As the price rocketed, at one point he said, “560,000 pounds ($657,832) for a Ford Escort. I’ve never said that before.”

Ahead of the sale at the Silverstone racing circuit, which sits around 80 miles north of London, he said it was “impossible to underestimate the value of this car.” He added that the vehicle sat there “exactly as it was back in the day.”

The auction at the Silverstone racing circuit was eventually won by a British bidder whose identity was not revealed.

The winning bid of £650,000 ($763,555) beat off others from as far away as Dubai.

The car was used by the princess for casual outings and was frequently spotted in London's upmarket Chelsea and Kensington neighborhoods when she owned it between 1985 and 1988, Silverstone Auctions, which managed the sale, said in a news release before the sale.

Diana used a fleet of luxury vehicles for official engagements but preferred to drive the modest Ford for personal errands, Silverstone said in its release.

A young Prince William, the second-in-line to the British throne, was pictured in the backseat with his mother in one image from the period she owned it, the release added.

The vehicle has changed hands four times since 1988. Having racked up only 24,961 miles, it was “incomparable in terms of condition, rarity and low mileage,” the release said.

The vehicle was later used by a Ford Motor Company manager’s wife, and was given away as part of a radio promotion in 1
Before the sale, Arwel Richards, a classic car specialist at the auction house, told NBC News that the car's previous owner, who wished to remain anonymous, purchased the vehicle in 2008 and believed it was “the right time to sell.”

“We have sold a number of motorcars that have had a royal pedigree, but this car ticks every box in terms of history, rarity, condition and mileage,” Richards added. “The market adores early Ford RS models.”

It's not the first time a vehicle that once belonged to Princess Diana has been sold at Silverstone.

Her first Ford Escort fetched more than $60,000 when it was sold at auction in June 2021, while a 1994 Audi Cabriolet that also belonged to the princess fetched $63,447 at auction in 2016.

PP

[G-CPTN]

Can Diana's Ford Escort (whatever specification and however pristine) genuinely have the intrinsic value of £650.000?
Is there something I have missed about the 'value' of this vehicle?

[VP959]

Intrinsic value has no meaning for stuff like this, the value is whatever someone is prepared to pay. A few years ago some friends fought a long, hard, battle to get planning permission to build a couple of houses on an old orchard they'd owned for decades. The land without planning had an intrinsic value of maybe £3,000. Once they got planning they sold the land as two plots and got around £250,000 for it.

[PHXPhlyer]

Bugatti sells last gas-powered car for auction record $10.7 million
Bugatti made history after selling its last gas-powered supercar at an auction.

The Chiron Profilée sold for $10.7 million at a Feb. 1 auction in Paris. Auction for the "one-of-a-kind" car was the last chance for someone to purchase a Bugatti featuring the W16 engine from the Atelier in Molsheim, France, the automaker noted in a release.

Bugatti didn’t reveal the identity of the buyer. This vehicle has unique design features, including a rear wing built into the body for stability at high speeds and cooling for the W16 engine.

According to Bugatti, the Profilée was built based on customer demand for something more dynamic than the automaker’s popular Chiron Sport model. But the Chiron Sport sold out before production of the Profilée was complete.

However, the company decided to auction the only Profilée model built.

The Profilée has a woven leather finish in the car complimented by a unique exterior called Argent Atlantique, Bugatti shared. It also features a royal blue carbon tint on the lower portion of the vehicle with horseshoe-style wheels inspired by Bugatti’s horseshoe grille.

This unique supercar can reach zero to 100 kilometers an hour, or 62 miles per hour, in just 2.3 seconds, one of the fastest speeds among its model cars, according to Bugatti.

"With just one Chiron Profilée ever set to exist, Hendrik Malinowski, managing director of Bugatti Automobiles said in a statement, it was important for us to offer the opportunity to acquire this piece of history to as many people as possible and we were excited with the enthusiasm of the global automotive community for this very special car. Bidders clearly recognized the importance and value of the Chiron Profilée, with an intense rivalry and a price that places this car firmly into the history books."

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

Freddie Mercury’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ piano sells at auction for $2.2 million

https://www.cnn.com/style/freddie-mercu ... index.html

A baby grand piano that once belonged to Freddie Mercury sold for over £1.74 million ($2.2 million) at a Sotheby’s auction Wednesday.

Bought in 1975 and imported to England from Japan, the Yamaha G2 was used by the Queen frontman to compose his seminal track “Bohemian Rhapsody” that same year.

The instrument was among dozens of items to go under the hammer in the first of six auctions dedicated to the musician’s private collection of some 1,400 possessions. Among the other top lots was a previously unseen early draft of “Bohemian Rhapsody” — complete with annotations suggesting that the song may have initially been titled “Mongolian Rhapsody” — that fetched £1.38 million ($1.74 million).

Rock legend Freddie Mercury’s personal possessions are going up for auction
The 59 lots sold at Wednesday’s auction, which fetched a total of £12.2 million ($15.4 million), included stage costumes, jewelry and paintings from Mercury’s extensive art collection. Other items ranged from the historic silver sequined catsuit worn on the “News of the World” tour in the late 1970’s to everyday items owned by the artist, such as a collection of chopsticks and a Sony D-50 CD player.

Mercury’s piano attracted the evening’s biggest bid, despite falling short of pre-auction estimates. Sotheby’s had initially predicted that it would fetch between £2 million and £3 million ($2.5 million to $3.8 million).

The trove of possessions has been put on sale by Mercury’s close friend Mary Austin, who inherited most of his estate and looked after his former London home following his death in 1991.

In a Sotheby’s press release prior to the sale, Austin said that the piano was so cherished by Mercury that he saw it as an extension of himself and kept it in immaculate condition. “He would never smoke at the piano or rest a glass on top of it, and would ensure nobody else did either,” she is quoted as saying.

Remember when Freddie Mercury wore his yellow jacket at Wembley?
In addition to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the instrument was used to write some of Queen’s best-known songs, including “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Somebody to Love,” according to Sotheby’s.

Mercury’s hallowed piano was among around 1,200 other auction items — acquired from various periods of his life, from his early school days through to the height of his fame — that went on display in London ahead of the sale. Sotheby’s reported that over 140,000 visitors attended the month-long exhibition.

The remaining five auctions will take place in London and online through Tuesday.

PP

[Hydromet]

Thought I might pick up some little novelty of Freddy's.