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An extremely short list of notable Guernsey's sales that far exceeded expectations would include the auction of the Topps Archives (the world's leading producer of trading cards), the first auctions ever held in the fields of vintage racing and sports cars, movie posters, science-fiction related material, illustrative art, Graffiti art, Cuban cigars, the animal in art, the Civil War and the American Presidency.
Guernsey's proudly produced in 1998 the major auction of archival material relating to the career of President John F. Kennedy. The sale attracted global attention and saw objects such as JFK's wrist watch and brief case each sell for approximately $1 million. In early 1999, the world was stunned when Guernsey's sold a Mark McGwire baseball for more than three million dollars, twenty-three times the existing world record of $126,000 for any ball ever sold set by Sotheby's when it sold a well known Babe Ruth ball only months before the Guernsey's event.
The aforementioned baseball auction, held at New York City's famed Madison Square Garden, was notable for many reasons. It was the first auction where a traditional auction house employed the use of the Internet to bolster an event. Guernsey's permitted eBay to become involved in the sale by allowing bidders to bid on-line. And although the event was to be the first of several that have demonstrated that "big money" is still spent by those participating "live" at auctions (in person or on the telephone), Internet bidders participated actively on the less expensive items in the sale. The auction was broadcast live by CNN nationally, an absolute first. Millions of viewers were able to watch as the dramatic auction unfolded. (Copies of that CNN broadcast are available.) Indeed, the auction was one of the first to be cited as a truly "global" event with media coverage everywhere. Be it in central Europe, the central U.S. or central Asia, the world has tuned in to the excitement of Guernsey's auctions. (CNN recently mentioned to Guernsey's that news coverage - based upon a ranking system they utilize - listed several of Guernsey's auctions as the most widely covered news stories in the world at the time the events took place.)
Guernsey's
108 East 73rd Street
New York, NY 10021
212.794.2280
www.guernseys.com
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