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Author
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Topic: A Walk Down Memory Lane ...
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capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 01-11-2007 07:10 PM
   
I was just taking a few minutes to look through some of my old auction books (mostly from Superior) from the 1995-97 time frame. I remember thinking at the time how incredibly expensive some of the items were. Now I realize that, not only were the prices (for the most part) incredible bargains, but the selection seemed to be of much higher quality than some more recent auctions (primarily because many of the lots included memorabilia directly from the astronauts' own collections). One lot from Feb 1995 was Buzz Aldrin's sunglasses that he used on Gemini XII (including the beta cloth case) for $414! Ah, if I only had a time machine to go back 10 years and take my current ability to pay with me ...  ------------------
John Capobianco
Camden DE |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 02-21-2007 09:29 AM
John you make an excellent point. As with most collectibles, people entering the hobby cause prices to rise over time. You can do no better than to buy the things you like and enjoy and can afford NOW - it's rare that waiting brings lower prices.I think eBay is a wonderful tool for this. If I bought something for $1,000 years ago and no longer care for it, better to get $500 for it and see someone enjoy the piece than have it sit in my basement. |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2169
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 02-21-2007 08:17 PM
Agreed. I have been interested in the space program all my life, but never really collected anything until the 1990's. For the first few years, I made a few bids on things in auctions, but I didn't win much (if anything) because I really didn't understand the space memorabilia market.I have learned a great deal since then (although many others on this site are far more knowledgable than I). Now that I have followed quite a few auctions and spent time on this site, I can usually at least recognize obvious forgeries or autopens, and I have a general idea of what things have traditiojnally sold for. It's been a great learning experience. My wife doesn't understand why I keep my old auction catalogs, but I have used them quite frequently to compare items against things that previously sold at auction. ------------------
John Capobianco
Camden DE |
connoisseur
New Member Posts:
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posted 02-23-2007 06:42 PM
FYI - Your comments about the quality of the material in the old Superior auctions brings to mind my own feelings when looking back. Having acquired and described all of this material at the time, it tended to become somewhat commonplace. I agree with you that the prices things sold for were, with today's eyes, quite low. I knew that at the time but the market just had not matured enough for everyone to realize it. Say what you will about Buzz, it was his memorabilia that awakened the market, attracted the buyers and led to todays more realistic values (of course, in 10 years we can only guess that todays prices will also seem like bargains)
As to your comments about the lack of "astronaut direct" memorabilia in auctions today, I think you should be sure to get the upcoming RegencySuperior catalog (the sale is April 19-20). The sale contains major items from Aldrin, Collins and Jean Loup Chretien as well as the Estates of Cooper, Slayton and White. It is the nicest, highest quality sale I have put together since the "good old days". A press release will be sent collectSpace shortly giving some (not all) of the highlights of the sale. Just to give you an example of a highlight, the cover of the catalog illustrates the Congressional Space Medal of Honor - the first such medal ever offered for sale.
Catalogs will be in the mail shortly after mid-March. You can request catalogs by emailing me at morenstein@regencysuperior.com
Good hunting...Michael Orenstein, Space Memorabilia Consultant
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