Winchester shell box hits $12,870 at SoldUSA.com An extremely rare Winchester New Rival 10-gage empty Christmas shell box, professionally restored, sold for $12,870 in an Internet and catalog auction that ended Dec. 13-14 by SoldUSA.com.
(Matthews, N.C.) - An extremely rare Winchester New Rival 10-gage empty Christmas shell box, professionally restored and with all the labels intact, sold for $12,870 in an Internet and catalog auction held by SoldUSA.com, the premier hunting and collectibles site. The auction went online mid-November and concluded Dec. 13-14. The Winchester box was the top lot of the hundreds of lots sold.
Strong and, in some cases, record prices were realized for many of the items that came up for bid. This, despite the deteriorating condition of the nation's financial markets. “It would seem that when the stock market is down, people begin to switch to tangible items,” said Chris Roberts, the president of SoldUSA.com. “This was a great sale for us. Bidding was fast and furious, especially in the final days.”
Mr. Roberts attributed the sale's success to the huge numbers of people who viewed the firm's advertisements and auctionzip page. “We registered over 500 new people to our mailing list,” he said, “and we had over 3,000 active bidders, 900 of which were winning buyers. We had over 800,000 hits per day the last few days of the sale, and we actually had to enlist backup servers to handle the traffic.”
The Winchester box showed a hunter with two pointers on point, and exhibited only minor soiling and wear. The restoration was so impeccably executed, only a trained eye could ever detect a hint of it. But it was the piece's rarity that drove the price up. “We've only offered four of these boxes in 20 years,” remarked Mr. Roberts. “It would most certainly be the centerpiece of anyone's collection.”
Predictably, hunting and fishing collectibles dominated the event's offerings, but the auction also featured a large selection of World War II German militaria. “This is an area of collecting we are looking to expand into, and I feel we took great steps in that direction with this auction,” Mr. Roberts said. The sale also featured a broad array of general store and advertising items, plus other quality lots.
Additional highlights from the auction follow. All prices include a 13 percent buyer's premium.
A magnificent lithograph on cardboard bullet board for U.M.C., titled Canvasbacks Through the Snow, in the extremely rare green variation, gaveled for $11,865. The image on the 35-1/2 inch by 54-1/2 inch board was bright and clean, in full color. It required a bit of touch-up by SoldUSA.com's conservators, as it was slightly faded when received. Otherwise, it was a fine example of a rare item.
A well-documented first-generation Colt single-action Army pistol, engraved by Cole Agee, hit the mark at $7,998. The pistol, made in 1901, was pictured on the November 1994 cover of The Gun Report, with an article picturing both sides of the weapon. The fine engraving featured a stylized scroll pattern in gold wash. The stocks were in perfect original condition and the firearm presented itself well.
A Peters New Victor 12-gage fully correct shell box – King's Smokeless, for Trap and
