BOX SELLS AGAIN FOR ASTOUNDING PRICE: A FOLLOW-UP STORY

The ivory box described as a mid-nineteenth century Persian piece (see ezine Oct. 7, 2009) estimated at $700 to $900 that auctioned in Cleveland for $471,528 is at it again. The box, now identified as a sixteenth-century piece from Turkey, auctioned at Sotheby's London for $3.68 million on April 14, 2010. The verse on the box suggests that the box originally held a scale accurate enough to measure precious gemstones. Keep searching. You may find a treasure!

PROFITABLE AUCTIONS

We keep getting reports of profitable auctions, crowds at shows, and high prices for the very best.

Good news
A piece of sheet music sold on eBay for $5,900, according to an email from a reader. It was the song "Mary Moore," copyright 1904, published 1906, with a picture of Groucho Marx ("Master Julius Marx") on the cover. Probably a record price.

Better Good News
Herter Brothers furniture sold for breathtaking prices at a Bonhams New York auction. An American Renaissance bed went for $326,000. The matching cabinet was $230,000; a dresser, $103,700; a shaving stand, $61,000; and a walnut buffet, $194,000. These were part of a 15-piece group made in the late 1800s for the Thurlow Lodge in Menlo Park, California. The collection, considered the best examples of Victorian American Renaissance furniture ever made, belonged to Warner Bros. Studios. The years the furniture was stored in prop rooms caused some condition problems.

Best Good News
The baseball card of the year is probably the one that auctioned in February for $75,286 (price includes buyer's premium). The card was found by a California dealer in a box of stuff in an attic. It's an 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings card. A picture of the team is on one side, and a red and white ad for Peck & Snyder, a New York sports equipment manufacturer, is on the other. The card will be displayed at Tristar Productions shows around the country.

RECORD PRICE PAID FOR A ROYAL DIAMOND

High price of the week: A 35.56-carat blue diamond that belonged to German royalty sold for $24.3 million in London. That is the most ever paid for a diamond at auction.