Collecting

The iconic Bowmore whisky and the legendary Aston Martin DB5 are linked by the bottle of single malt whisky incorporating an Aston Martin DB5 piston

Automotive

Aston Martin and Bowmore create $65,000 per bottle whisky

Aston Martin and Bowmore have linked brands to create a limited edition whisky that incorporates an Aston Martin DB5 piston along with 700 ml of Black Bowmore 1964 single malt, one of the rarest and most sought-after single malt whiskies ever created.

Elvis Presley’s 1942 Martin D-18 guitar was on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, until just prior to this Gottahaverocknroll auction in 2020 where it fetched $1,320,000. It is often referred to as The Sun Sessions guitar as it was used during the period that Elvis recorded at the Sun Studios in Memphis, putting down classics such as Mystery Train, Blue Moon of Kentucky and Good Rockin' Tonight and That's All Right (Mama), the song many believe to be the first Rock and Roll record.

Music

Elvis Presley’s “Sun Sessions” Martin D-18 guitar fetches $1.32 million

Elvis Presley’s 1942 Martin D-18 guitar sold at auction this week for $1.32 million, becoming just the tenth guitar in history to sell for more than $1.0 million. Clearly, the music memorabilia marketplace is red hot right now.

For sale: KTM 1000 with less than 2000 km on the clock. Only ridden on weekends. Very well maintained. $340,000 not negotiable. Potential purchasers must provide references.

Motorcycles

KTM to sell two factory MotoGP bikes to the public at $340,000 each

KTM Motorsports is selling two race-prepared 2019 KTM RC16 factory MotoGP bikes in a move that seems certain to attract global attention.

This 1911 Pierce Arrow 696cc four-cylinder is now the most expensive Pierce motorcycle to sell at auction. Despite a shine that suggests new paint, this bike retains the original paint with which it left the showroom 109 years ago. Sold by Mecum Auctions, Sunday, 12 July 2020 for $225,500 including buyers premium

Motorcycles

Unrestored 1911 motorcycle sets auction record – still looks brand new

An extraordinary unrestored 109-year-old motorcycle has sold at auction for US$225,500, setting a new world record price for a Pierce Arrow Four-cylinder and further confirming the trend toward complete authenticity in the motorcycle collector market.

Auctions prices for concours restorations of the Kawasaki Z1 have surged past the $20,000 mark in the last two to three years, with the record price now £28,175 (US$36,792) for this bike which was sold by Bonhams in 2018.

Motorcycles

Kawasaki begins manufacturing reproduction Z1 cylinder heads

The importance of the secondary motorcycle market was acknowledged this week when Kawasaki announced it has begun manufacturing reproduction cylinder heads for its milestone Z1 900cc motorcycle from the 1970s.

This important collection of patents appears to have been the European patent archive of the original Edison-Swan Company, the company formed by Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan that successfully commercialized the electric light

Good Thinking

Original Thomas Edison "light bulb" patent archive sells for $75,000

Thomas Edison’s original patents surrounding the light bulb and an archive of 37 original British Patent Letters related to the incandescent lamp have been sold at auction for US$75,000.

The1985 Air Jordan 1 Vintage Originals were produced for Jordan in the white, black and red of his Chicago Bulls, and were the colourway he wore most often on court. In 1984, Nike gave Jordan a signature line of shoes and clothes – a crucial, unprecedented move to entice Michael Jordan to sign with Nike. Produced between February to April 1985, Jordan wore this pair of Air Jordan 1s during an early, pivotal point of his career, catalysing an unprecedented sales spike and paving the way for Scottie Pippen, Penny Hardaway, Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James to have their own signature shoes … and ultimately for the birth of sneaker culture.

Collectibles

Original Air Jordan sneakers fetch $672,000 and smash auction records

Michael Jordan’s autographed game-worn 1985 Nike Air Jordan 1s sold at auction yesterday for $672,000 ($560,000 plus 20 percent buyers premium) to set a new world auction record for any footwear.

Two examples this week of concert posters selling for more than $100,000, despite a financial climate that would suggest otherwise

Collectibles

The imagery of youth becoming investment-quality art

It isn’t hard to see why artefacts of landmark cultural events are continually gaining value at auction, but it is becoming clear that the imagery of baby boomers' youth is increasingly morphing into investment quality art.

Alexander Raymond’s first Flash Gordon comic strip debuted on January 7, 1934, introducing the handsome “Flash Gordon, Yale graduate and world-renowned polo player” and his lovely companion, Dale Arden, who parachute out of a crashing plane and are ‘shanghaied’ by Dr. Hans Zarkov aboard his rocket ship launched to intercept the threatening planet Mongo hurtling towards Earth. Thus began the fantastical space opera that, by the late 1930s, was published in 130 newspapers across the globe, translated into eight languages, and read by over 50 million people.

Collectibles

Original Flash Gordon comic strip sells for $512,000

As we forecast in our recent extensive feature covering the 2019 science and technology auction year, science fiction memorabilia is getting hotter. This was validated with the $512,000 sale of the original comic strip artwork for Flash Gordon #1.

Detective hat camera, c. 1880 - 1890, is a standard bowler with built-in fixed-plate, fixed-focus camera – estimate €12,000 - €18,000

Collectibles

Snappy spy cameras head to auction

Spy cameras of the past are to be auctioned along with rare and important items of photographic and film history later this month.

Collectibles

Duane Allman's Gibson SG and Graham Nash's Woodstock Martin D-45 sell at auction

Our top 100 most valuable guitars listing added two more famous guitars last week, when Duane Allman's 1961/1962 Cherry Gibson SG fetched US$591,000 and the Martin D-45 that Graham Nash played at Woodstock fetched $162,500.

There are three landmark scientific artifacts set to go to auction this week

Collectibles

Three landmark scientific artifacts go to auction this week

Three important scientific auctions this week: a 13-m (43-ft) Diplodocus skeleton (US$1.5 to $1.8 million), a first edition Luca Pacioli’s "Summa de Arithmetica" ($1.0 to $1.5 million) and a presentation copy of Charles Darwin’s "On the Origin of Species" ($200,000 to $300,000).