Philip Weiss Auctions announces schedule for early '09 There will be no rest for the weary at Philip Weiss Auctions, Long Island, N.Y.'s premier auction house that concluded a banner year in 2008 and looks forward to continued success in early 2009.
(Oceanside, N.Y.) – There will be no rest for the weary at Philip Weiss Auctions, which concluded a banner year in 2008 and looks forward to continued success through the first half of 2009 and beyond. The firm, with a spacious gallery located at #1 Neil Court in Oceanside, has been able to fly above the economic storm by offering its customers quality merchandise.
“In terms of overall success, it would be very difficult to duplicate the past year, 2008,” said Philip Weiss of Philip Weiss Auctions,” and a lot of that is due to Parts 1-3 of the Newport Collection, in which six world records were realized for stamp prices. That alone accounted for eight million dollars in gross sales.” Part 4 (the final part of the collection) will be sold Jan. 17.
“As for 2009,” Mr. Weiss continued, “we’ve already secured some truly wonderful collections and other consignments, in a wide array of categories, so the outlook appears to be more of the same – happy clients, bidding on quality, fresh-to-the-market merchandise, from high-end estates and consignors. It’s a formula that has worked through good times and bad.”
Following is a sampling of top lots from the sales that were held throughout 2008:
An unused 1869 24-cent inverted center U.S. stamp, #120b, certified Fine and one of only four examples known to exist ($1.271 million, a record for a U.S. invert).
A 1908 2-cent vertical coil pair of stamps, with original gum and depicting George Washington, the rarest coil pair in U.S. philately, only four pair known ($644,100).
A rare T-206 Honus Wagner baseball card, often called the Holy Grail of sports collectibles and one of only a handful ever released into circulation ($791,000).
A battery-operated “Mr. Atomic” toy robot, made in Japan by Cragston in the early ‘60s and still in the box ($15,820, from Part 1of the B.L. “Phil” Phillips collection).
Original Peanuts comic strip art by the late Charles Schulz was offered at several auctions, grossing $850,000. One Sunday page, from 1962, hammered for $79,100.
A second-class passenger list from the doomed ocean liner the Titanic, produced by White Star Line and dated on the cover ($33,900, from the estate of Ken Schultz).
A Wagon Train playset, made around 1960 by Marx Toys and based on the popular television show of the time, mint in the box ($15,255, a new world auction record).
A recently discovered 14th-century oil on board painting by Italian artist Allegretto Nuzi (1310-1374), framed and depicting figures in a religious setting ($299,450).
Original cover art for X-Men #99, executed in pen and ink in 1976 by noted comic illustrator Dave Cockrum and depicting an intergalactic battle scene ($55,370).
Part 4 of The Newport Collection is slated to begin promptly at 11 a.m. on Saturday,
Jan. 17. The sale will comprise the balance of the U.S. stamp collection, to include mint blocks of four of the $1 to $5 Columbians, $1 and $2 Trans-Miss, and the 50-cent to $5 1903 issues. Also
