Auction Blog

SHOPitLA is offering for sale a titanium fuel tank designed for spaceflight on the Saturn V missile. It is the attitude control fuel tank that provided fuel for the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo to the moon.

In 1970, NASA announced that it was canceling Apollo missions 18-20 and that Apollo 17 would be the last manned mission to the moon for the foreseeable future.

The remnants of the canceled missiles intended for the moon were declared scrap surplus and sold off. An astute naval captain saw the opportunity and purchased all of the Titanium for 10 cents a pound.

Today, many of these pieces adorn the gardens of the Captain’s Southern California home. This magnificent tank is the largest and most audacious of them all.

Once a member of the Mercury Astronaut Program himself, the Naval Captain was roommates with astronaut Gus Grissom and briefly with Apollo 13’s Jim Lovell. He saw the heroism and struggles of the NASA Space Program first hand and has kept these pieces as reminders for the last 40 years.

Vist www.shopitla.com for more information.

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Saturn Apollo Rocket Fuel Tank on eBay

A Hummer H1, sold unreserved for $69,000 at Shannons Melbourne Summer Auction on November 24.

Egged on by the enthusiastic auction crowd of around 700 people, bidding for the massive off-road vehicle developed from the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) used by US Forces in the Gulf War began at $25,000 and soon soared through its pre-auction estimate of $40-$50,000 before selling to a local Hummer enthusiast in the room.

While the Hummer was the highest-priced vehicle lot of the auction, the top price went to a much smaller piece of metal - the Victorian numeric black and white number plate ‘293′, which made a strong $71,000.

In fact sales of the 11 Victorian black and white plates in the auction totalled $320,000, representing an average price of $29,000 per plate.

While the Hummer was the standout sale of the auction, most of the interest was in affordable entry-level classics in the $10-$25,000 range, with British and European sporting cars all being ‘on the money’.

A three-owner 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe that had covered just 91,508 miles from new sold for $23,000; a 1959 MGA 1600 Mk I Roadster in good condition sold for a strong $21,500; a 1985 Porsche 928S Coupe and a 1966 Jaguar MkII 3.4 manual saloon each made $14,000 and a 1987 (red) Maserati Bi-Turbo Spyder brought $11,500.

Good buying amongst other classics in the auction were a 1994 right hand drive Ford Mustang V6 Coupe that sold for $15,000; a black 1961 Holden EK Special Sedan that made $11,500 and a 1985 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Coupe in need of some body work that sold unreserved for $7,500.

Amongst other good results, a beautiful 1928 Chevrolet National Tourer that had covered less than 1,200 miles since a complete restoration in 1996 bringing $18,000 and a 1960 Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide motorcycle in great condition sold for $17,000.

Further information www.shannons.com.au

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Hummer H1 Auctioned at Shannons

At Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels Auction in Geneva a Pejmani ring proved to be the top seller. The exquisite piece with an 8.02ct Fancy Pink pear-shaped diamond was sold for $1.32 million.

Pejmani is a relatively new player in high-end jewellery. According to the spokesman of the Belgium-based company, Pejmani jewels acquire their uniqueness by the exceptional creation process; the entire design and manufacturing of the jewels is done in-house. Another singularity is the fact that Pejmani designers are not dependent on the supply of the diamond market, as all diamonds are polished by the company itself.

or more information about the Pejmani collection and company, please visit http://www.pejmani.com.

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Pejmani Ring Top Seller at Geneva Auction

APX Group has started the first day-ahead power auction aimed at setting a reliable reference price for electricity traded in Britain, the Anglo-Dutch energy exchange operator said.

“The results today were very pleasing with the clearing price reflective of market conditions,” APX commercial director Les Male said.

“APX is appreciative of and looks forward to…developing the auction as a point for liquidity and an indicative reference price for electricity in the UK.”

The APX UK Power Auction recorded a total auction volume of 2,309 megawatt hours. It produced a baseload index of 68.90 pounds per megawatt hour, a peakload index of 87.41 pounds and off-peak index of 50.40 pounds.

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APX Group UK Electricity Auction

A green cap worn by Australian batsman Don Bradman is expected to fetch more than $1 million at an auction of cricket memorabilia later this month. It will go under the hammer in Melbourne along with a host of cricket treasures on December 15.

The cap will be sold with a letter written by Bradman himself, confirming its authenticity.

It reads: “This memo is to certify that on his twelfth birthday I gave Richard Robins one of my Aust XI caps. If he decides to sell it the auctioneers are hereby assured it is genuine”.

“The most prized possession of any collector of cricket memorabilia is a baggy green,” auctioneer Charles Leski said.

“A Bradman cap, particularly this one, eclipses all others.”

The cap has a pre-sale estimated value of $750,000, but early interest should see it sell for more than $1 million, he said.

Auction info www.leski.com.au

Credit:
Bradman Cricket Cap for Auction Dec 15