A few days ago I wrote about the coming sale of the Magna Carta. . This was the last original copy in private hands.
Well, it sold yesterday for $21,321,000. That is right in line with the pre-sale estimate (which is at once amazing and a little suspicious). Missed your big chance to bid? What the heck, another one will show up on eBay tomorrow, right?
Stay with me here; I can tie these all together - I promise. First things first. As you Revolutionary War scholars already know, the officers of the Continental (and French) Army formed a fraternal, hereditary society after the war ended, called The Society of The Cincinnati. The name comes from the Roman hero Cincinnatus who fought for Rome but declined offers of power and retired to his farm. What I did not know was that that Society still exists and I highly recommend a visit to their site at the link above.
The reason I even looked for information on the Society is because of a little message I got from Sotheby’s, about a medal they recently sold
.
This is the medal presented to George Washington in 1784 by the in Society of the Cincinnati. Naturally, Washington served as the Society’s first president. On December 11, 2007, Sotheby’s sold it for $5,305,000. The provenance is amazing. In 1824 Eleanor (Nellie) Parke Custis Lewis, Washington’s adopted daughter, gave the medal to the Marquis de Lafayette, and it has remained in his family ever since. Wow - deep breath needed here - think about the hands that have held this piece. The eyes that examined it. The minds that read the inscriptions.
Anyway, to my final point (with apologies to any readers from outside the United States) . One of the goals of The Society is to perpetuate the memory of the individuals who fought in the Revolution, and the reasons why they did so. I can tell you from personal experience that this is an area that is being skimmed over in schools today. Our children will grow up without any understanding of what made the revolutionary generation so remarkable if we do not step up and tell them ourselves. We can each serve in our own way, with whatever talents or opportunities we are given, to pass those ideals, and their example, on to the future leaders of our nation.
End of sermon. (Sigh) What would you give to just hold that medal for one minute.
I was just browsing through the casino chips closing tonight on eBay when I saw an inexpensive, but nice coin center chip with no bids and a start of 99 cents. I already have this chip in my collection, but for a buck it would be great trading stock. The shipping of $2 was very reasonable, but what if this guy had 2 or 3 more traders, I thought, getting more for the one shipping price makes the deal even better, right? The last thing I remembered clearly was that “view seller’s other items” button.
What followed was a sort of dream, like I was watching a movie of myself. I could see my hands typing on the keyboard, but had no control or any idea what they were doing. This guy sells old paper money, you see. Silver certificates, and old notes from the 20s and 30s. In the currency area there are more bills and coins - thousands of coins from all over the world, swirling around me, even ancient coins from Greece and Rome.
The coin dealers sell bullion too, in round and rectangular pieces. One ounce, ten ounces. Silver prices are rising… and it’s a great hedge against inflation… floating… swirling… typing…
It must have been the phone, maybe a dog barking, I don’t know, but suddenly I was awake again, sunk down in my chair, covered with sweat. A glance at my watch told my 20 minutes had passed since I entered my trance-like state. I don’t know who, or what, used my fingers to do its bidding or when it may happen again.
Later on I was happy to see I won 2 chips from that seller for a total of $5. I can’t explain the 1923 Star $1 note, the copper drachma or the 10 ounce silver Mount Rushmore paperweight that were also won on my account. But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
When very rare,
chips started showing up on eBay, and the sellers refused to say how many of these chips they had, I stated publicly that I would not buy any high end Binions Horseshoe chip until we knew how many of these once rare chips there are. More experienced collectors scoffed, and bought right in.
Well, a lesser man might be tempted to say “I told you so.” I’ll just show you the numbers. And I promise that all of the Horseshoe pages in my Prices Realized section will be updated this weekend. I would invite your attention to this last weekend’s sale, breaking the $100 barrier with a $99.
For the “unlisted” $1,000 chip (above):
US $138.12, Jun-02-07
US $218.50, May-19-07
US $175.05, May-12-07
US $164.49, May-05-07
US $152.50, Jun-14-07
US $135.83, Jun-29-07
US $113.61, Jul-10-07
US $128.50, Jul-16-07
US $134.82, Jul-24-07
US $107.50, Aug-06-07
US $222.00, Aug-20-07
US $106.50, Oct-05-07 
US $115.00, Nov-16-07
US $99.00, Dec-10-07
The downturn in prices seems contagious, across the board. A $1 arrodie, like the one above, in average condition also sold for a new low, since I’ve been watching:
US $46.56, Dec-02-07
My line hasn’t changed; buyer beware, and wait for the bottom. Oh, and I told yo… nah, you get the point.
I’ve really got it bad folks. Nicholas Basbanes’ books have always touched me somewhere deep down inside, but Among the Gently Mad has really pushed me over the edge. Not that this was such a feat. Where collecting is concerned, one could say that I live on the edge. And, the stacks of books balanced precariously in every corner and crevice of my house where my wife has not out-right prohibited them (and a couple even where she has), not to mention the bankers boxes in the storage unit, all bare witness to my life-long love affair with the written word.
This is different, however. Possessing is not collecting - and this massive gathering of paper and ink is about to form the core of a real collection. To do this right I have a lot to learn, and that is where you come in. As I learn the ins and outs of becoming a serious book collector, I will bring you along for the ride, and share what I learn along the way. Hopefully you will pick up some useful tips, and by writing about the process I will surely profit as well.
Fear not if books are not your thing. The focus of the blog will continue to be general. In fact later today I hope to post on several very high end chips that went unsold this weekend. But as I learn about the rare book trade, you will too.
First things first. One of Basbanes’ first pieces of advice to a new collector is to find an old collector. He puts it more delicately of course, but that’s the gist. Ideally one needs a mentor, or at the very least a local rare book dealer who can offer advice and help the newbie through the early transactions. Even choosing a focus or direction for your collection is something worth talking over with an experienced collector. The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America website is a great place to start. By pressing the “our booksellers” button you can search for members in your area, and there are several great articles under “for collectors.” If you are serious about collecting books, read through the glosser of terms. This hobby, like any other, has a language of its own that we must learn.
One more pointer then I’ll close this long post. Casino chips are bought and sold on eBay. Collectible books are not. AbeBooks.com is where book people go to trade moderately priced collectible books. By “moderately priced” I am referring to the books that Southebys won’t take. That is another game entirely. A fascinating game, no doubt, but one I shall never be big enough to play, so the rules at that level don’t really apply to my/our humble beginnings. So study the terms, get comfy with AbeBooks, and watch for lesson 2.
Bloomberg.com is reporting that a single leaf from a Mozart manuscript was sold by Sotheby’s today (December 4th) for a record $228,931. Will the gavel still be smoke’n when the Magna Carta crosses the block?
This is not a once in a life time event. Oh no. Countless lifetimes may pass before we witness the sale of a document this important again. On December 18th, Sotheby’s will auction an original Magna Carta.
This is the document that started it all. The first time in the history of mankind that the people (if you can call a bunch of Earls and Dukes and Barons people) rose up and placed legal, written, limitations on the power of government. There are only a handful of originals known to survive and this is the only one still in private hands. For a mere $25,000,000, this copy too will probably be purchased by some institution.
The catalog itself is a work of art and a fascinating history of this important document. Consider springing for this one. I plan to.
A link to Boing Boing and a creative, if not completely scholarly collecting idea. Please keep in mind that I collect swords from 1861-65 on the same basis. Just email me for the shipping address.
I recently renewed an old acquaintance with a dear friend I have never met, but who’s company I have enjoyed, if only a little vicariously, on many a long winter’s evening. I am speaking of Nicholas Basbanes. No, I didn’t go to school with Basbanes, in fact we have never met or even spoken to one another. Basbanes is a journalist, a columnist and an author - but most of all he is a lover of books who succeeds in expressing his passion for book collecting and collectors better than any person I have read or known.
Oddly, my favorite of his works is probably the least “important.” In 1995 he wrote A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. Six years later he continued our mass immersion in the book world he so loves with, Patience and Fortitude: A Roving Chronicle of Book People, Book Places, and Book Culture. Both are wonderful reads that I highly recommend to any lover or collector of books. Without waxing too melodramatic, anyone who can read Basbane for an hour and not feel compelled to visit a library or book store, has no soul.
Anyway; I was reading the latest Fine Books & Collections magazine (another great resource - check it out) which contained a top ten list of books about American book collecting. Sure enough, number one was A Gentle Madness, which reminded me that I had picked up a third Basbane book a while back but never made it past the initial perusal before other matters and books pulled me away. I only began to read Among the Gently Mad: Strategies and Perspectives for the Book Hunter in the Twenty-first Century a few days ago, but I can tell you now that I have never read the words of any collector, of any things, which seemed to express my feelings toward the hobby so clearly.
Basbanes has spent his life surrounded by millionaire collectors and priceless, historic works, yet his collection is still personal to him. Early in the book he advises:
For young collectors just starting out and inclined toward fiction, I suggest getting books by authors you believe you will feel comfortable maturing with, and that you build around them as you go along. The books that I have the greatest affection for comprise what I call my Authors I Grew Up With Collection, the books that began to captivate me as a young adult and helped shape my view of the world as I made my way through life.
I could go on quoting here about the problems of storing and organizing an ever growing collection or just the feeling of being among a collection of great thoughts, reduced to writing (what Basbanes calls “the ‘gamma rays’ of so much intellectual energy”), or his preference for real books read by real people which mirrors my preference for a sword with a few dings in the blade over one that never left the crate, but that would be unfair to you who can enjoy discovering for yourself the ideas that touch your collector’s heart. If Madness and Patience were a voyeur’s glimpse into the collectors’ world, Among the Gently Mad is a play-book for those who want to LIVE in that world. Brilliant thought peppered with useful names, addresses, web sites and references - this is not only a must have, but a must read for any collecting nut of any kind. Buy two. One for the shelf, and the updated paperback to carry with you, a testament to the gentle madness we share.
It is probably one of a kind. Uncanceled, in perfect uncirculated condition. No DI chip of such a high denomination appears in any of the reference books. Suppose you are a Desert Inn collector who thought your collection was complete - then this appears on eBay. How high would you go?
How does $4948.98 sound? Enough to buy the car some of us drive. For a little piece of plastic from a well known but relatively modern casino.
It probably - no, definatly - shows my prejudice for old, downtown Vegas chips, but the only chip I can even imagine paying four figures for would be an Apache Club, my holy grail, or perhaps this beauty.
I apologize for the cut up scan, but I don’t own one of these, yet, so we take ehat we can get. There are only a couple of these chips known to exist, it is extremely rare and listed in the Chip Rack with a value of Z7 on a scale where Z1-9 covers values of $800+. It is the most sought after chip by Downtown Las Vegas collectors.
The Boulder Club opened in 1931 at 118 E. Fremont St., right next door to the Apache Hotel, which later housed the Horseshoe.
The Boulder Club closed in 1960 and was absorbed into the ever growing Binions Horseshoe. The chip shown above was issued in 1954. In 1958 another $5 chip with a similar inlay, showing the dam and water, was issued. This one had the same arrodie mold, but was mustard yellow in color with 3 black spots. That chip is also extremely rare. If you spot either of these chips, you should send it immediately to the nearest Collecting Life blogger for safe keeping.
As for the DI chip that started this digression, to each his own I guess. I could buy a lot of great chips with five grand. Or maybe I should buy a better car?
