On Oct. 7, at its downtown Dallas headquarter, Heritage held its Space Exploration Auction for a rapt in-person audience and an engaged buying public bidding over the phone and via Heritage Live!, the gallery’s online, real time bidding service. When the rocket fuel had cleared the showroom and the Ethernet lines the total sales of the auction exceeded $826,000, a remarkable amount considering the finite amount of lots available and against the $713,000 pre-auction high total estimate.
“Many of the consignments in this sale were received directly from the Apollo astronauts themselves,” said Howard Weinberger, Senior Space Consultant for Heritage. “Demand for Apollo 8 and 13 memorabilia is very high, and the availability of it very low. Heritage feels extremely fortunate to not only be able to auction these items, but also to get them straight from the source.”
What really shone in the sale were items from the Apollo Space Program, in specific Apollo 8, 13, 14 and 17, which saw fierce bidding and unexpected prices. Just as human kind didn’t know what to expect when it took those first steps into outer space, Heritage continues to help a rare and important market define itself with its Space Exploration auctions and the attendant prices. In many cases excited bidders pushed the prices of space flown memorabilia to three and four times its pre-sale estimate. The prices realized not only help to establish the true market value of such important memorabilia, but also places Heritage squarely atop the space memorabilia market and shows the continuing strength of Heritage’s collectibles business in the face of an uncertain world economic climate.
Many items in the sale were as hot as they’ve been since their first re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere, including the Apollo 17 Command Module Flown Flight Plans, Volumes I and II, which realized an astounding $35,850 against a pre-auction estimate of $7,500-$10,000. The Apollo 8 Flown Update Book, signed by Mission Command Module Pilot James Lovell, garnered another interstellar gavel price with a final bid of $33,460 against its pre-auction estimate of $7,500-$10,000. Another important piece of Apollo 17 memorabilia that created a significant buzz was the Lunar Module Flown Lunar Rover Malfunction Procedures Checklist Card, with smudges of lunar dust on it, and signed by Mission Commander Gene Cernan; it brought $28,860 against a pre-auction estimate of $7,500-$10,000.
Of particular interest to space buffs were the very strong prices realized for signed photos by Neil Armstrong, the first human being to set foot on the moon. Two different photos, both signed, realized higher prices than have ever been recorded before for the famous space explorer’s autograph. An Armstrong color spacesuit photo, inscribed, sold for $7,170 against and pre-auction estimate of $800-$1200, while another Armstrong color spacesuit photo, not inscribed, realized at $8,365 against a pre-auction estimate of $1800-$2500. Both prices are at-auction records for signed 8×10 Armstrong photos. All prices quoted include a 19.5% Buyer’s Premium.
Following on the success of this sale, and the increasing demand for such rarified material, Heritage is already moving its plans for its May Space Exploration Auction plans onto the launch pad. The auction, coming as it will in the year that marks the 40th anniversary of human kind’s first step on the moon, is expected to garner just as much interest and as many record prices – if not more – than the previous three, and a tremendous amount of national and international interest.
Highlights Include:
Apollo 17 Command Module Flown Flight Plan
Volumes I and II, Both Signed by Mission Commander Gene Cernan. Estimate $7500-10,000, sold $35,850.
Apollo 8 Flown Update Book Signed by Mission Command Module Pilot James Lovell.
Estimate $5000-7500, sold $33,460.
Apollo 17 Lunar Module Flown Lunar Rover Malfunction Procedures Checklist Card
Signed by Mission Commander Gene Cernan with smudges of lunar dust. Estimate $7500-10,000, sold $28,680.
Neil Armstrong Color Spacesuit Photo Signed and Inscribed.
Estimate $800-1200, sold $7,170.
Neil Armstrong Color Spacesuit Photo, signed but not inscribed.
Estimate $1800-2500, sold $8,365.
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