The highlights of the 2021 science, sci-fi and technology auction year
By Mike Hanlon
January 17, 2022
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The highlights of the 2021 sci...

Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 Flown LM Lunar Surface Checklist Page (1969) was sold for $143,750 at RR Auction on 21 October 2021
RR Auction
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This copy of "Etymologiae" by Isidorus Hispalensis (c.560-636) was sold for $100,000 at Christie's on 23 April 2021
Christie's
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This one page letter signed by Albert Einstein (1944) was sold for $100,000 at University Archives on 6 January 2021
University Archives
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Two angles of "R2-SHP" (also known as "Shep") from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019). Shep was sold for $100,000 at Propstore on 1 July 2021
Propstore
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This full-size "T-800 Endoskeleton" from "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" (1991) was sold for £ 75,000 ( $100,238 ) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore(T-800) / Heritage Auctions (poster)
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This "Starbug 1" filming miniature from "Red Dwarf" (T.V. Series, 1988 - present) was sold for £ 75,000 ( $100,238 ) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore
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This oversized 18 x 24 inch signed orotone print of "The Vanishing Race" (1904) by Edward S. Curtis was sold for $100,312 at Bonhams on 30 June 2021
Bonhams
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This full Tyrannosaurus Rex tooth was sold for $100,800 at Sotheby's on 3 December 2021
Sotheby's
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This Alex Raymond Flash Gordon Sunday Comic Strip Original Art (1936) was sold for $102,000 at Heritage Auctions on 15 January 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Zelda II: The Adventure of Link" (1988) NES Nintendo Game was sold for $102,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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Vasquez's (Jeanette Goldstein) "Lightweight M-41A Pulse Rifle" from "Aliens" (1986) was sold for $106,250 at Propstore on 1 July 2021
Propstore
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This autograph Einstein scientific manuscript (early draft on unified field theory - 1925) was sold for £81,250 ($107,461) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's
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This "2 ½-Inch Pocket Globe and Armillary Sphere" (circa 1715) by Johann Baptist Homann was sold for £ 77,750 ( $107,466 ) at Bonhams on 15 September 2021
Bonhams
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This set of "A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans" (1833-1835) by John Gould was sold for $108,000 at Arader Galleries on 23 January 2021
Arader Galleries
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This set of "Monumenti dell Egitto e Della Nubia" (Elephant folio - 1832 to 1834) by Ippolito Rosellini was sold for € 92,500 ( $108,410 ) at Fonsie Mealey on 22 September 2021
Fonsie Mealey
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This "Logica vetus" (parchment manuscript , around 1250) by Aristotle was sold for €90,000 ($109,881) at Ketterer Kunst Doerling on 31 May 2021
Ketterer Kunst Doerling
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This Pokémon Blue Version (1998) GameBoy Nintendo Game was sold for $114,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "A Monograph of the Phasianidae, or Family of the Pheasants" (1870-1872) by Daniel Giraud Elliot, was sold for £ 81,900 ( $115,004 ) at Sotheby's on 13 May 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "Le Theatre du Monde" (1643-1645) by Willem and Joan Blaeu was sold for £81,900 ($115,004) at Sotheby's on 13 May 2021
Sotheby's
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This "Tony Stark" (Robert Downey Jr) "Mark 42 Iron Man" helmet from "Iron Man 3" (Marvel, 2013) was sold for $115,625 at Heritage Auctions on 16 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This signed Albert Einstein letter (1919) was sold for €104,125 ($117,880) at International Autograph Auctions on 2 December 2021
International Autograph Auctions
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This Isaac Newton Autograph Manuscript Relating to the Principia (C. 1715-25) was sold for $118,750 at University Archives on 26 May 2021
University Archives
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This Krechet-94 ("Gyrfalcon") lunar spacesuit (1962) was sold for $119,700 at Sotheby's on 20 July 2021
Sotheby's
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This First issue of "Geographical, Historical, Political, Philosophical and Mechanical Essays" (1755) by Lewis Evans was sold for $119,700 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "A Collection of Portraits of the Most Celebrated Chiefs of the North American Indians" (1836–1838) by James Otto Lewis was sold for $119,700 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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Albert Einstein's Pipes and Menorah Pipe Holder were sold for $125,000 at RR Auction on 25 September 2021
RR Auction
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This Apollo 11 Vintage NASA "Red Number" Color Photo was sold for $125,000 at Heritage Auctions on 24 September 2021
Heritage Auctions
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Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 Flown Flight Plan Page (1969) was sold for $129,694 at RR Auction on 21 October 2021
RR Auction
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Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 Flown Flight Plan Page (1969) was sold for $129,694 at RR Auction on 21 October 2021
RR Auction
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Alan Turing Autograph four-page analysis of the Monte-Carlo betting system (1933) was sold for £94,000 ($129,927) at Bonhams on 15 September 2021
Bonhams
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This set of "Birds of Great Britain" (1862 -1873) by John Gould was sold for $132,000 at Arader Galleries on 23 January 2021
Arader Galleries
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This "Metroid" (1987) NES Nintendo Game was sold for $132,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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"128K Macintosh Motherboard Display", signed by Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin (1989), was sold for $132,049 at RR Auction on 19 August 2021
RR Auction
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"Da Qing wannian yitong dili quantu" (19th century) by Huang Qianren was sold for £94,500 ($132,697) at Sotheby's on 13 May 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "Dialogo" (1632) by Galileo Galilei was sold for $137,500 at Christie's on 15 October 2021
Christie's
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This set of the "A Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish Settlements Adjacent thereto" (1733) by Henry Popple was sold for $138,600 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This set of "Les Voyages de la Nouvelle France occidentale" (1632) by Samuel de Champlain was sold for $138,600 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This "A Map of the British and French Dominions in North America" (1755) by John Mitchell was sold for $138,600 at Sotheby's on 16 July 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "Les Grands Voyages" (1590-1624) by Theodor, Johann Theodor and Johann Israel de Bry was sold for $138,600 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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Buzz Aldrin's Apollo 11 Flown LM Lunar Surface Checklist Page (1969) was sold for $143,750 at RR Auction on 21 October 2021
RR Auction
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This original cover art for "Star Wars: Heir to the Empire" #1 of 6 (Dark Horse Comics, 1995) by Mathieu Lauffray was sold for $143,750 at Heritage Auctions on 3 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "Novum ac magnum theatrum urbium Belgicae" & "Belgicae liberae ac foederatae" (1649) by Joan Blaeu was sold for €106,250 ($143,894) at Marc van de Wiele Auctions on 2 October 2021
Marc van de Wiele Auctions
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This "De Wit's Composite Atlas" (1715) by Frederick De Wit was sold for $144,000 at Arader Galleries on 11 December 2021
Arader Galleries
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This "Final Fantasy VII" (1997) PS1 Game was sold for $144,000 at Heritage Auctions on 11 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Mega Man" (1987) NES Game was sold for $144,000 at Heritage Auctions on 2 April 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Tomb Raider" (1996) PS1 Game was sold for $144,000 at Heritage Auctions on 11 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Super Smash Bros." (1999) N64 Nintendo game was sold for $144,000 at Heritage Auctions on 11 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This autograph letter signed by Charles Darwin (1860) describing the success of his "Origin of Species" book was sold for $144,020 at RR Auction on 8 December 2021
RR Auction
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This copy of "Collection of travels by Mr Thevenot" (1681) by Melchisédech Thévenot was sold for $144,900 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This autograph manuscript draft of a scientific paper on Unified Field Theory (early 1940s) by Albert Einstein was sold for £106,250 ($147,114) at Christie's on 14 July 2021
Christie's
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This copy of "Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle" (1839) by Charles Darwin and Robert Fitzroy was sold for £106,250 ($147,114) at Christie's on 14 July 2021
Christie's
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This "Contra" (1988) NES Konami Game was sold for $150,000 at Heritage Auctions on 9 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This one Sheet (27" X 41") poster for "The Wolf Man" (Universal 1941) was sold for $150,000 at Heritage Auctions on 4 November 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This original art for book dust jacket of "At the Earth's Core" (1922) by James Allen St. John was sold for $150,000 at Heritage Auctions on 4 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This original art for the book dust jacket for "The Chessmen of Mars" (1922) by James Allen St. John was sold for $150,000 at Heritage Auctions on 4 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This NFT of the world's first SMS ("Merry Christmas") was sold for €132,680 ($150,260) at Aguttes on 22 December 2021
Aguttes
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This Plan of the City of New York in North America, surveyed in the years 1766 & 1767, was sold for $151,200 at Doyle New York on 29 April 2021
Doyle New York
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This copy of John Graves Simcoe's privately printed journal of the American Revolution (1787) was sold for $151,200 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This set of three torpedo boat navigator's silver open-faced Patek Philippe watches (1912) was sold for $151,200 at Sotheby's on 9 December 2021
Sotheby's
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This autograph and signed Albert Einstein letter with Gravitational Field Equations (1933) was sold for $152,920 at RR Auction on 20 May 2021
RR Auction
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This early 19th century Planetarium, Lunarium, And Tellurium by Thomas Blunt was sold for £112,750 ($155,843) at Bonhams on 15 September 2021
Bonhams
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This Pokémon Red Version (1998) Nintendo GameBoy game was sold for $156,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This Malling-Hansen "Writing Ball" (1867) was sold for €135,000 ($158,234) at Auction Team Breker on 25 September 2021
Auction Team Breker
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This copy of "Versuche über Pflanzen-Hybriden" (1865-66) by Gregor Mendel was sold for €143,750 ($162,136) at Ketterer Kunst on 29 November 2021
Ketterer Kunst
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The Star Wars Boba Fett Rocket-Firing Prototype Action Figure on the left was sold for $165,200 at Hakes on 30 June 2021. The fully-colored version at right sold at Hake's two years ago when it fetched $185,850.
Hake's
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This copy of "Birds of Europe" (1832-1837) by John Gould was sold for $168,000 at Arader Galleries on 24 January 2021
Arader Galleries
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This set of "Description de l'Egypte" (Second edition 1820-1830) was sold for $175,000 at Christie's on 15 October 2021
Christie's
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This Stormtrooper Helmet from "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" (1983) was sold for £131,250 ($175,416) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore
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This copy of "Essay on the Principle of Population"(1798) by Thomas Malthus was sold for $187,500 at Christie's on 15 October 2021
Christie's
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This Nintendo World Championships 1990 Grey - Wata 8.0 Cart [#0273] for NES Nintendo was sold for $180,000 at Heritage Auctions on 9 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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Jimmy Wales’s personal iMac used in the creation of Wikipedia was sold for $187,500 at Christie's on 16 December 2021
Christie's
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This Christopher Reeve's "Superman" Costume from "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (Warner Bros., 1987) was sold for $187,500 at Heritage Auctions on 7 November 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison" (1637) by René Descartes was sold for £137,500 ($190,383) at Christie's on 14 July 2021
Christie's
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This "GoldenEye 007" (1997) Nintendo N64 Game was sold for $192,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "16th-century terrestrial globe" by Francois Demongenet was sold for £145,000 ($192,952) at Hanson's on 16 December 2021
Hanson's
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This Autograph letter signed ‘A. Einstein' (1915) was sold for £150,000 ($198,390) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's
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This copy of "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu" (late 17th/early 18th century) was sold for $200,000 at Christie's on 15 October 2021
Christie's
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This copy of “The Wealth of Nations" (1776) by Adam Smith was sold for $200,000 at Christie's on 14 September 2021
Christie's
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This Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak Signed Issue of Macworld #1 (February 1984) was sold for $201,021 at RR Auction on 19 August 2021
RR Auction
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This First Edition copy of "Les voyages du sieur de Champlain Xaintongeois" (1613) by Samuel de Champlain was sold for $201,600 at Freemans on 18 February 2021
Freemans
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This large (21 inch - 53.3 cm) Iridescent Ammonite was sold for $201,600 at Sotheby's on 3 December 2021
Sotheby's
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The "Final Fantasy" (1990) NES Nintendo game was sold for $204,000 at Heritage Auctions on 9 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This lunar panorama (The First Earthrise recorded by Mankind, 23 August 1966) was sold for £150,000 ($206,475) at Christie's on 26 October 2021
Christie's
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This "Eagle Transporter" filming miniature from "Space: 1999" (T.V. SERIES, 1975 - 1977) was sold for £156,250 ($208,828) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore
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This NeXSTEP software package (1993) signed by Steve Jobs was sold for $210,235 at RR Auction on 19 August 2021
RR Auction
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This autograph signed letter by Charles Darwin to British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1872) was sold for £162,500 ($214,923) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's
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This "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" (1998) N64 Nintendo game was sold for $228,000 at Heritage Auctions on 11 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "Theatrum orbis terrarum" (1592) by Abraham Ortelius was sold for $237,500 at Christie's on 15 October 2021
Christie's
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This collection of Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) Ressikan Flute, Box and Costume Continuity Script from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (T.V. SERIES, 1987 - 1994) was sold for $237,500 at Propstore on 1 July 2021
Propstore
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"Untitled (Banana)" (1985) by Andy Warhol was sold for $250,000 at Christie's on 27 May 2021
Christie's
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This 1836 Joseph Chadwick Map of Col. James Fannin's Defenses at Fort Defiance, the site of the Battle of Goliad, was sold for $250,000 at Heritage Auctions on 28 February 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Type-2 Phaser Pistol" from "Star Trek: The Original Series" (Paramount, 1966-1969) was sold for $250,000 at Heritage Auctions on 16 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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Andy Warhol's Bust of Leonardo da Vinci (ca 18th century) was sold for $252,000 at Sotheby's on 28 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "Relation de ce qui s'est passé en la Nouvelle France en l'année 1639 … and 1640, and ..." (1641-1673) was sold for €226,800 ($256,556) at Sotheby's on 8 December 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of 2 ¾-inch Pocket Globe (circa 1675) by Joseph Moxon was sold for £187,750 ($259,508) at Bonhams on 15 September 2021
Bonhams
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This "Resident Evil" (1996) Sony Playstation PS1 Game was sold for $264,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "On Computable Numbers” (1936) by Alan Turing was sold for £200,000 ($264,520) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's
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This 1980 Nobel Prize awarded to The Father of Immunogenetics, George Snell, was sold for $275,000 at Nate D Sanders on 28 October 2021
Nate D Sanders
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This copy of "Harmonia Macrocosmica" (1661) by Andreas Cellarius was sold for £212,500 ($281,053) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's
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At left is the most valuable single page sold from a copy of “Birds of America” this year - the “Snowy Heron or White Egret” (Plate 242) which fetched $295,200 ($240,000 plus 23% Buyers Premium) at Arader Galleries, Other top sales of plates from “Birds of America” include (clockwise) “White Pelican” (Plate 311) which fetched $271,830, “Snowy Owl” (Plate 121)which fetched $196,800, “Iceland or Jer Falcon” (Plate 366) which fetched $199,875, and “Whooping Crane” (Plate 226) which fetched $221,400.
Arader Galleries
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This fully-functioning 1935 Enigma I cipher machine used by the German military in WWII was sold for $299,981 at RR Auction on 12 May 2021
RR Auction
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This copy of "Elementa Geometriae" (1482) by Euclid was sold for $300,000 at Christie's on 14 September 2021
Christie's
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Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) Lightsaber from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" (2005) was sold for £225,000 ($300,713) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore
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This "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!" (1987) NES Nintendo game was sold for $312,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1991) Genesis Sega game was sold for $312,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This 1990 Nobel Prize Awarded to the Scientist Who Developed Bone Marrow Transplants as a Treatment for Leukemia was sold for $312,000 at Nate D Sanders on 9 December 2021
Nate D Sanders
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This Light-up ILM X-wing Filming Miniature from "Star Wars - Return of the Jedi" (1983) was sold for £237,500 ($317,419) at Propstore on 11 November 2021
Propstore
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This "Super Mario Bros. 2" (1988) NES Nintendo game was sold for $324,000 at Heritage Auctions on 29 October 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This sphere cut from the Seymchan Meteorite was sold for $325,000 at Christie's on 23 February 2021
Christie's
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Steve Jobs’ job application (1973) including NFT sold for $343,000 on 28 July 2021
NewAtlas.com
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This sphere cut from the Muonionalusta Meteorite was sold for $350,000 at Christie's on 23 February 2021
Christie's
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George Reeves' "Superman" costume from "Adventures of Superman" (Warner Bros. TV, 1952-58) was sold for $350,000 at Heritage Auctions on 7 November 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This Queen Anne ebony quarter table clock (circa 1707) was sold for £264,600 ($350,701) at Sotheby's on 7 December 2021
Sotheby's
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This October 1781 Yorktown Campaign Map from the personal archive of the Comte de Rochambeau was sold for $352,800 at Sotheby's on 13 April 2021
Sotheby's
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This sealed, players-choice copy of "Super Mario World" (1991) for SNES was sold for $360,000 at Heritage Auctions on 9 July 2021
Heritage Auctions
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This copy of "Civitates orbis terrarium" (1597-c.1606) by Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg was sold for £277,200 ($389,244) at Sotheby's on 13 May 2021
Sotheby's
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This copy of "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (1543) by Nicolaus Copernicus was sold for £277,200 ($392,598) at Sotheby's on 25 May 2021
Sotheby's
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This massive 139 kg natural sculpture from the Gibeon Meteorite was sold for $437,000 at Christie's on 23 February 2021
Christie's
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This fully-operational Enigma I WW2 cipher machine was sold for $441,000 at Sotheby's on 28 April 2021
Sotheby's
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Matthew Flinders copy of "Encyclopaedia Britannica" was sold for £343,750 ($454,644) at Christie's on 15 December 2021
Christie's