Old Vase Left Behind in House Worth $85 Million

A brother and sister in Pinner, UK, cleaned out the house belonging to their recently-deceased parents. They figured that an old vase that they found might be worth a few bucks, so they decided to have it appraised:

They took it to the local auctioneer Bainbridges, in nearby Ruislip, who were in turn excited by the find and valued it at between £800,000 and £1.2m.

However, no one expected the reaction from Chinese buyers, who pushed the bidding up over 30 frenzied minutes to a world record £43m.

By the end of the auction, the price was increasing in £1m chunks as the final few bidders – understood to be mainland Chinese businessmen – vied for the vase.

The final selling price was about $85 million.

Link | Photo: Bloomberg, Via: Neatorama

World’s Biggest Wine Bottle Goes To Auction

Top drop: Weighing in at 25kg and standing at 75cm high, the bottle towers over regular-size bottles of wine

“For lovers of wine fine, quality drops don’t come much bigger than this 2006 bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc. But those hoping to add it to their collection will need at least $4,900 – and a large wine cellar – because at 18litres it is significantly bigger than the 750ml bottle most people are used to. The large bottle, referred to as a melchior, is expected to fetch between $4,900 and $6,500 when it goes on sale as part of the Finest and Rarest Wines and Vintage Port auction at Sotheby’s next week. A Sotheby’s spokesman said it was ‘phenomenally rare’ to have a bottle of such a size, and even more unusual for it to be a Bordeaux wine. The melchior weighs in at 55 lbs, is 29 inches high with a circumference of 27 inches and contains enough wine to pour 144 glasses of wine.” LINK

World's most expensive Rolls-Royce up for auction

A bespoke, one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce built in 1934 for an Indian Maharaja is set to become the world's most expensive car.

Part of famed Rolls-Royce collector Hans-Gunther Zach's private collection, the luxury car built for the Maharaja of Rajkot and named the 'Star of India' is expected to fetch up to £8.5 million at auction.

Previously the crown jewel of Zach's Rolls-Royce museum in Muhlheim in Germany, the Star will be offered up for bids on September 15th.

When sold the 1934 Phantom II 40/50 HP Continental 'All-Weather Convertible' is expected to eclipse the sale of a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that sold at auction in May for £7.2 million.

One of the Star's unique features is extra headlights that track the steering wheel and therefore follow the road.

This technology was a forerunner of today's 'adaptive-curve lights' found on modern saloon cars such as BMWs and Mercedes. LINK

USA Government Surplus Auctions

GovDeals provides services to various government agencies that allow them to sell surplus and confiscated items via the Internet. Each participating agency has its own auction rules and regulations and may be subject to state and local ordinances.

You can bid on almost everything, from heavy duty trucks to scrap metal, and from clothing to parking meters. LINK