ONE OF THE RAREST COINS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, AN 1870-S $3 GOLD PIECE, MAY FETCH $2-$4 MILLION AT FOUR SEASONS AUCTION GALLERY ON JUNE 2

The lure of Hollywood’s Golden Age proved to be a tremendous draw on Nov. 9, as Heritage Auction Galleries Vintage Movie Poster Auction brought intense bidding from the Internet, the phones and the auction floor. The end result was an amazing $2.17 million total in prices realized, with a poster for one of 1930s Hollywood’s most opulent musicals leading the way.

Flying Down To Rio, featuring the inimitable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, was a flamboyant, rare and simply gorgeous 1933 movie, and its equally amazing one sheet movie poster gaveled at $239,000, including seller’s commission.

Across the spectrum buyers were out in force and ready to spend. Whether they were inspired by the simplicity of the era these films represented, or they simply saw numerous good examples at good prices and wanted to capitalize on them, it’s clear that the market turmoil of the last few months has had little, if any affect on the market for rare vintage movie posters.

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Grey Smith, Director of Movie Poster Auctions for Heritage. “With results like the ultra rare one sheet to Flying Down to Rio and the Frankenstein three-sheet, which brought $38,837, this was an outstanding final Signature Auction of the year.

The major posters in the sale all realized expected substantial prices. As always, though, there were a few posters and lobby cards that stood out by bringing spirited bidding and unexpectedly high prices. Among those surprises was a Benson Murder Case insert poster that brought $33,460 and a Casablanca rare half sheet that brought $38,837.

An Italian poster for the Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone spaghetti western For a Few More Dollars fetched an extraordinary $11,950 when the gavel finally came down, and a one sheet to The Oregon Trail, featuring a very young and charismatic John Wayne,was even more impressive when it fetched a final total of $21,510.

Auction info www.ha.com

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