OK, Which one of you bought it?

[PHXPhlyer]

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

Sorry tou missed out.

PP

[G-CPTN]

I guess that Freddie's piano will know some good tunes.

[OneHungLow]

I guess that Freddie's piano will know some good tunes.

You check out guitar George, he knows-all the chords
Mind, it's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing
They said an old guitar is all, he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing
And Harry doesn't mind, if he doesn't, make the scene
He's got a daytime job, he's doing alright
He can play the Honky Tonk like anything
Savin' it up, for Friday night
With the Sultans
We're the Sultans of Swing

[unifoxos]

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?

Seat sniffer maybe?

As far as I am concerned all the above sales can be covered by the old adage "There's one born every minute".

[Dushan]

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

We all did. What's your point?

[PHXPhlyer]

Miniature ‘Star Wars’ X-wing gets over $3 million at auction of Hollywood model-maker’s collection

https://apnews.com/article/hollywood-je ... 99ae019ab5

DALLAS (AP) — A miniature X-wing Starfighter used in a “Star Wars” film sold for over $3 million during an auction over the weekend of items both collected and created by longtime Hollywood model-maker Greg Jein.

The collection amassed by Jein, who died last year at the age of 76, brought in about $13.6 million during an event at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. The auction house said that everyone from model-makers to collectors and science-fiction fans attended, making the event its best-attended in years.
auction was “a profound testament to my friend as both a visual-effects master and one of the great collectors.”
Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president and a longtime friend of Jein’s, said in a news release Monday that the

Jein not only had an Oscar and Emmy-nominated career making miniature models for nearly half a century, but he also spent a lifetime collecting costumes, props, scripts, artwork, photographs and models from the shows he loved.

The Red Leader X-wing Starfighter that was used in the 1977 film “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” sold for about $3.1 million after a bidding duel between two collectors, the auction house said. Also going for an eye-popping amount was a “Star Wars” Stormtrooper costume that sold for $645,000.

A rare surviving spacesuit from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey” sold for $447,000.

Jein was a fan of “ Star Trek ” before he worked on the franchise — and some of the items that he collected were popular at the auction. A filming model of the “SS Botany Bay” vessel from “Star Trek: The Original Series” from the 1960s went for $200,000 while prop devices from that series like a hero phaser went for $187,500 and a tricorder garnered $175,000.

Jein, who grew up in Los Angeles, was still early in his career when he led the team that created the mothership for Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” The model that appears gigantic in the movie is just over 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and now part of the collection at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. A small preliminary model, which is about 5 inches (12 centimeters) long, brought in $55,000 at the auction.

Lou Zutavern, Jein’s longtime friend and shop supervisor, said that he and Jein always had “a ball” working together. He said Jein was a great friend, and recalled the time he brought a box filled with model kits to entertain Zutavern after he had a knee surgery.

Zutavern said his friend had a love of Hollywood history, and a passion for seeking out items for his collection.

“He loved the search and finding things and making a trade,” Zutavern said. “It was part of the fun for him.


PP

[PHXPhlyer]

‘Bleu Royal’ diamond fetches almost $44 million at auction

https://www.cnn.com/style/blue-diamond- ... index.html

Picasso masterpiece depicting his young mistress sells for $139 million at auction

https://www.cnn.com/style/picasso-mistr ... index.html

PP

[G-CPTN]

Nigh stits , , ,

[izod tester]

This has aviation content.

demon

[PHXPhlyer]

Most expensive Ferrari ever auctioned fetches $51.7 million

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/15/style/mo ... index.html

CNN
—
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO has sold for $51.705 million, becoming the most expensive car from the Italian manufacturer ever sold at auction.

The record-breaking sale took place at Sotheby’s in New York on Monday as the car was offered publicly for the first time in 38 years.

Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s Global Head of Auctions, said the sale “highlights the unparalleled stature of this Ferrari as one of the world’s most desirable objects.”

“This transaction adds a new chapter to a vehicle with an unmatched legacy,” Duff said in a press release.

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pinin Farina sold at auction by RM Sotheby's for $1.9 million.
This twisted hunk of metal that used to be a Ferrari just sold for nearly $2 million. Here’s why
“Now, it ranks among the most expensive cars sold at auction, a true testament to its singular place in history,” he added.

Only 39 examples of the 250 GTO were built by the legendary Italian marque between 1962 and 1964, and it’s extremely rare for an owner to part with one at any price.

This example, chassis number 3765, is one of only 34 built with Tipo 1962 coachwork, and the only one of these raced by the Scuderia Ferrari racing team, featuring in races such as the Le Mans 24 Hours.

“Claiming unique build provenance and a remarkable in-period racing pedigree, this spectacular GTO is among the model’s most singular examples,” the auction house wrote in the listing, which billed the sale as “an extraordinary chance to acquire the Holy Grail of the sports car pantheon, one that should be relished for the opportunity it is.”

Its rarity means it has featured in several Ferrari-focused magazines over the decades, and Sotheby’s suggests that “the public availability of such a singular GTO may never repeat itself within our lifetime.”

While 3765 is now the most expensive Ferrari ever to sell at auction, another 250 GTO holds the record for most expensive Ferrari ever sold.

Renowned car collector David MacNeil, founder and CEO of automotive floor-mat company WeatherTech, bought chassis number 4153 GT for $70 million in 2018.

At the time, James Knight, group motoring chairman at UK auction house Bonhams, likened 250 GTOs to some of the most exclusive artworks in the world.

“The Ferrari 250 GTO is the motoring market’s equivalent of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ and a talisman for any top-end collection,” said Knight. “And the GTO that recently sold is one of the best five extant.

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

World’s ‘most sought-after’ whisky sells for $2.7 million
Probably UP
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/style/ra ... index.html

For those who appreciate the finer tipples in life, a bottle of the world’s “most sought-after Scotch whisky” sold for more than £2.1 million ($2.7 million) Saturday at Sotheby’s in London.

The Macallan 1926 is one of just 40 bottles drawn after ageing in sherry casks for 60 years, making it the oldest Macallan vintage ever produced, according to the auction house.

Sotheby’s had expected it to raise between £750,000 and £1.2 million ($934,274 and $1.4 million), but were in for a shock when the prized bottle fetched a whooping £2,187,500 ($2,724,967), making it a “new record for any bottle of spirit or wine sold at auction,” the auction house told AFP news agency.

A bottle of The Macallan 1926, the world's most expensive whisky estimated at £750,000- 1,200,000, is unveiled at Sotheby's on October 19, 2023 in London, England. After being aged in sherry casks for six decades, just 40 bottles of The Mcallan 1926 were bottled in 1986. The Mcallan Adami 1926 is one of 12 bottles in the series with a label designed by Italian artist Valerio Adami and is the first bottle to have undergone reconditioning by The Mcallan Distillery ahead of being presented at auction at Sotheby's in London on November 18, 2023.
This bottle of The Macallan 1926, is one of 12 that were labelled by Italian painter Valerio Adami.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Ahead of the sale, Sotheby’s head of whisky Jonny Fowle told AFP that he had tried a small sample.

“I tasted a tiny drop - a tiny drop - of this. It’s very rich, it’s got a lot of dried fruit as you would expect, a lot of spice, a lot of wood,” he said, calling it an “incredible” whisky that should not be taken lightly.

Of the 40 bottles filled in 1986, none were made available for purchase, with some instead being offered to The Macallan’s top clients, a luxury that adds to its appeal, as evidenced in previous sales of the bottles, its description on Sotheby’s website added.

In 2019, Sotheby’s sold a bottle of The Macallan 1926 adorned with one of 14 Fine and Rare labels, for £1.5 million ($1.9 million), at the time making it the most expensive bottle of wine or spirit ever auctioned.

Saturday’s sale was one of 12 bottles covered with a label designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami, a bottle of which is also believed to have been destroyed during the 2011 Japanese earthquake. This bottle is also the first of The Macallan 1926 bottles to have undergone reconditioning, carried out by The Macallan Distillery in Scotland before the auction.

A further 12 were labelled by pop artist Sir Peter Blake, while the remaining two were released unlabelled. Of the unlabelled, one was hand painted by Irish artist Michael Dillon, and became the first bottle of whiskey to surpass £1 million ($1.2 million) when it sold in 2018 for £1.2 million ($1.5 million), the auction house said on its website.

PP

[G-CPTN]

What would you consider to be the minimum quantity required for a meaningful tasting?

Sippers or gulpers?

[Rossian]

A gill (ie 1/8 of a pint).
This purchase is bordering on insanity. Whisky is a drink for god's sake, it's meant to be drunk. Not brought out to show people and say in reverential tones "it's worth $2.7m you know". No it's not, it's "worth" at most £30.
I met two brothers a few years ago in Brindisi, one owned a restaurant and the other a delicatessen at street level. They had paid (each) £10000 per bottle took them home to Italy AND DRANK THEM. Bravissimi! I said and shook their hands. They understood what it was for and enjoyed it.
OK I understand that in ten years time this bottle will be sold for even stupider money and they will still have missed the point.

The Ancient Mariner

[Rossian]

A gill (ie 1/8 of a pint).
This purchase is bordering on insanity. Whisky is a drink for god's sake, it's meant to be drunk. Not brought out to show people and say in reverential tones "it's worth $2.7m you know". No it's not, it's "worth" at most £30.
I met two brothers a few years ago in Brindisi, one owned a restaurant and the other a delicatessen at street level. They had paid (each) £10000 per bottle at Sothebys took them home to Italy AND DRANK THEM. Bravissimi! I said and shook their hands. They understood what it was for and enjoyed it.
OK I understand that in ten years time this bottle will be sold for even stupider money and they will still have missed the point.

The Ancient Mariner

To insert an important omission

[Woody]

Any of the car buffs on here going to admit to this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68466657