#Insights #Auction #Sales #Circus #Calliope #Wagon #Gaming #Magazines #WorthPoint
Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint, enjoys watching the items sold at auctions held by our WorthPoint Industry Partners. We thought it would be a great idea for him to select some of his favorite sold items and explain why those sales stood out to him. Gaining insights from Will is an excellent way to learn about buying and selling trends in our industry. We want to empower you to buy and sell with confidence. Take a look at his thoughts on a few of our partners’ recent sales.
On February 5, 2025, WorthPoint added 232,437 new items to its Price Guide, with a total value of $14,389,343.85. The average sale price for these items is $61.90. I have highlighted some of the most interesting finds from this update that caught my attention.
Life is a Circus
For today’s bizarre find, leading the charge was a Cress Circus Calliope Wagon, which recently sold at Beloit Auctions for a surprising $3,830. I’m still scratching my head over the lack of description—it didn’t clarify if “Cress” refers to the circus or the wagon’s manufacturer, but either way, it got a lot of attention. This wooden, horse-drawn wagon had a calliope powered by what appeared to be a car battery, which is not your everyday auction item. It’s a shame we don’t see these iconic circus instruments much anymore. Back in the ‘60s, our town would bring in a restored pipe calliope for the fall fete, and it was a blast to hear those tunes echoing down the street. I’m guessing this one would have had the same magic if only I could’ve heard it play!
Gaming Gems
Someone’s childhood just got a little richer after scoring a stack of gaming magazines on CTBids, which sold for an impressive $3,717. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I did some research with WorthPoint—an issue #1, graded at least a “9,” can go for several thousand dollars. This lot had one of those coveted issues featuring none other than Mario on the cover. The rest of the 18-magazine lot included gems with game reviews and info on classics like Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! and R.C. Pro-Am. The bidder knew what they were after—this lot wasn’t just about nostalgia. It was about serious value! Wow!
Ties to Rookwood
As a Rookwood collector, I couldn’t help but appreciate a recent Fred Rothenbusch piece that went for a fair price at EJ’s Auctions—$2,360. The winter landscape, framed at 9.75” x 13.75”, is a lovely example of his work. Rothenbusch holds a special place in the world of Rookwood, the oldest ongoing ceramic producer in the U.S., dating back to the mid-1800s in Cincinnati. This piece, signed in the lower right corner with a secondary signature on the reverse, features a soft vellum pastel landscape over ceramic. While the frame has some scuffs and scratches, the artwork is a beautiful and respectable find.
Take a Seat
Freeman’s Hindman recently had a couple of standout sales in American furniture, with a set of six Queen Anne walnut chairs fetching $64,000. These beauties, with a documented provenance tracing back to Israel Sack and the Eddy family of Warren, Rhode Island, were all marked with their respective numbers, though it looks like two chairs, numbers “2” and “8,” are missing from the set. It could be a thrilling find for the right collector if they’re out there. While this lot stole the show, I couldn’t help but admire a smaller piece: a painted pipe box that sold for $21,760. Although its provenance didn’t trace back to its origins in Pennsylvania, it still had a solid history and brought a nice price for a piece of its size.
Concert Disaster
The last standout item from a bizarre day at Omega’s Auctions was an original 1968 “Pink Floyd / The Move and More” festival poster, which went for $5,089. This piece is a rare find, especially since it’s been reproduced countless times, making an original quite valuable. The poster, designed by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, features a memorable, futuristic design and measures 73 x 52 cm—size matters when it comes to authenticity. It’s important to go to reputable auction houses like Omega when looking for these hard-to-find gems.
The concert itself, however, was anything but a success. Intended to be Europe’s answer to the Monterey Pop Festival, it attracted some big names, including Pink Floyd, Donovan, and The Move. But things quickly went south. The Move set the stage on fire with their pyrotechnics, leading to arrests, and Jimi Hendrix couldn’t even make it. The event turned into a financial disaster and ended much earlier than planned. It’s a strange piece of history, but it leads us back to the first item of the day—a reminder that sometimes life really does feel like a circus.
Will Seippel is the founder, president, and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with an emphasis on ephemera— since 1984. He is also the creator and founder of HIP, a website devoted to recording the best of the world’s history that has been saved on film.
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