posted 06-14-2015 03:07 PM               

A few highlights include an amazing "Omega Speedmaser Mission Collection," a complete set of 23 stainless steel automatic chronograph bracelet watches each honoring a manned mission (this is set #14 of only 22). A small piece of the airship Hindenburg strut (seldom available), a moon rock containment vessel, an extremely rare autographed Apollo 11 signed Bendix cover, and ASTP Flight Dynamics Officer's Console handbook used in Houston Mission Control during flight.

posted 06-28-2015 05:23 PM               

Numerous items they didn't even have a picture of and of some of the ones they did, they put the items in a massive pile covering each other and took one low-res picture.

posted 06-28-2015 08:22 PM               

From the items listed in the first post:

• The "Omega Speedmaser Mission Collection" went for $44,000 - range $80,000-$100,000.
  
• Hindenburg strut $100 - range $200-$300.
  
• Apollo Moon rock containment vessel $3,200 - range $800-$1,000. Not sure why this went for so much since it states it was unused.
  
• 1969 Apollo 11 crew signed Bendix cover $3,100 - range $3,500-$5,000
  
• 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Flight Dynamics Officer's Console Handbook $420 - range $800-$1,000

• Lot 1002: 1969 Apollo 11 FLOWN Kapton foil fragment went for $180 - range $200-$300. It was a beautifully framed piece with COA. I emailed to ask who signed the COA on Tuesday but never got a reply. I learned from you guys, "don't buy unless you are sure" so I let this one go by even though it killed me to do it.

• Lot 1003: 1969 Apollo 11 FLOWN Kaptan foil fragment went for $180 - range $200-$300. It was another beautifully framed piece with COA. Again, I emailed to ask who signed the COA on Tuesday but never got a reply. If I had a bunch of money this would have been well worth the gamble. On eBay these items sell for $350 but they are way better documented. Is it normal to have to take risks like this on these auctions? I guess if you are actually there you can look at the items in person. That would make things a lot easier.

• Lot 1067: 1970 Apollo 13 FLOWN LM webbing strap - two 5" pieces. The range was $250-$500. I *knew* these would go for far, far more because someone could cut them up and make a killing. I was right. Lot 1067 went for $1,450

• Lot 1068: 1970 Apollo 13 FLOWN LM webbing strap - five pieces ranging from 1.5" to 3". Same observation as above. Went for $1,100. I'll probably be buying a 1/8"x1/8" piece from the winner for $250 sometime in the future!

• 1970 Apollo 13 FLOWN ablative aft heatshield fragments - listed for $200-$300. Went for $1,100. I'm guessing it must be because headshield fragments from Apollo 13 are rare?

• Lot 1077: 1971 Apollo 15 FLOWN Apollo lunar sample return container rivet - listed for $300-$400. Thought it would go for a lot more because of its uniqueness. I was right. Went for $1,800.

• Lot 1083: 1972 Apollo 17 FLOWN USA flag - listed for $2,000-$3,000. Went for $4,800. Remind me not to collect flown flags - I can't afford them!

• I guess you have to physically be there to get all your questions answered on some items - especially questions on provenance. On some items they did a good job by saying things like "Ken Havekotte COA" or actually having the provenance in the image. Others they did a terrible job on. It seemed like if you were willing to risk it you could get some incredible deals. It also seemed like the people in attendance had the upper hand because they could get their questions answered and see more than a single picture.

• If you are on the Internet, you have to bid quickly. I don't know what the video lag was but they move very quickly and it seemed some items were sold before the text was done scrolling and I have a 50Mbps connection. My advice would be to "be bold" if you are bidding on the Internet.

• I was amazed that they would take several lots of "consignment balance" and not give an image and do a poor description on these lots. Seemed like a disservice to the seller. If you were physically there I'll bet those were a deal of a lifetime. The description said things like "autographs". Autographs of who? Also said, "personal signed Apollo 11 flight plan". Signed by whom? The astronauts? If so, that lot was the deal of the century. I had emailed for more information on these lots and got zip from Goldbergs.

posted 06-29-2015 04:03 AM               

I can certainly understand that it would take a huge effort to go through the boxes itemizing the content, but taking a few photos of the content spread out on a table top would take just a couple of minutes and would generate much higher results for the consignor, and therefore higher fees for the auctioneer.

I really can't understand why they don't do this. I can only assume it is done to reward their in-person bidders and keep them loyal/happy, even if this is to the detriment of their own consignors.

Incidentally, your report above goes to show that some of the listings were unnecessarily confusing:

Lot 1067 indeed showed two 5" pieces of webbing strap (or possibly two views of one piece) but if you read the description only one was being sold.

Even more confusingly, lot 1068 showed five pieces of webbing strap but again only one was being sold, although it apparently came with a COA for four of the pieces. Why they couldn't have taken a photo of just the piece being sold, or cropped the photo to just this piece I really don't know.