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Heritage Aussie number plate to fetch over a million

<p>A South Australian number plate is expected to sell at auction for over a million dollars. </p> <p>The sought-after No. 8 Plate was first issued in 1906 to Arthur Ernest Ayers, the son of South Australian businessman and politician Sir Henry Ayers, the original owner of the Ayers House in Adelaide.</p> <p>The number plate became available for the first time in February this year, with the online auction going live late last month. </p> <p>Almost 1,700 bids have already been made, with the leading bid as of Monday morning at around $1.32 million with the auction closing at 7pm (local time).</p> <p>“It’s very rare and very special,” Historic Plates auctioneer, Stewart Kay, said. </p> <p>The last time the SA Government issued a single digit number plate was in 1985, when plate No. 7 was sold. </p> <p>“These plates are all about the paperwork, so having a set of number plates hanging in grandad’s shed might not necessary confer ownership.”</p> <p>He added that the plate would likely be sold to a prominent Adelaide businessman for around  $1.3 to $1.5 million.</p> <p>This is a record price for a South Australian number plate, with the previous highest being for a SA No. 1 Plate commemorating the Adelaide Grand Prix, which fetched $593,000 in 2020.</p> <p>Kay added that the older the number plate and lower the number, the higher the return expected at auction.</p> <p>“Number plates are a very historic connection back to 120 years ago when they were first issued,” Kay said.</p> <p>“They’re sort of triple threat, they look fantastic on a car, they have a great return in terms of investment and they have a certain level of prestige to them.”</p> <p>Anyone can purchase the rights to a number plate, however the plates can only be affixed to a vehicle that is registered to the state it belongs in. </p> <p>In New South Wales, a No. 1 plate surpassed its $10 million estimate and was sold for $12.4 million in January. </p> <p>Earlier this year, Victoria’s "luckiest" number plate with the number 888-888 sold for an eye-watering $230,000 to an anonymous buyer after it was privately owned for the past 30 years. </p> <p><em>Image: 7News</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Rare coin hidden for decades to fetch eye-watering sum

<p>Three sisters from the US who inherited a dime coin kept it in a bank vault for more than 40 years, and while they know it had some value, they didn't know just how much until a few years ago. </p> <p>The rare coin, struck by the US Mint in San Francisco in 1975, could be worth more than $US500,000 ($748,000), according to Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, the auction house selling the coin. </p> <p>What makes the coin depicting President Franklin D. Roosevelt so valuable is that it is just one of two coins missing the "S" mint mark for San Francisco. </p> <p>The other dime sold for  $US682,000 (over $1 million) at a 2019 auction and then again months later to a private collector. </p> <p>While avid coin collectors have known about the existence of these two extraordinarily rare coins, their whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s. </p> <p>“They were hidden for decades,” Russell said.</p> <p>“Most major collectors and dealers have never seen one.”</p> <p>The three sisters from Ohio, who want to remain anonymous,  inherited one of the two dimes after the recent death of their of their brother, Russell said. </p> <p>They told Russell that their brother and mother bought the first error coin discovered in 1978 for $27,225, which would amount to roughly $135,000 today.</p> <p>Their parents, who ran a dairy farm, saw the coin as a financial safety net, and it was only until last year that one of the sisters saw the coin first-hand. </p> <p>Russell also said that their brother had reached out to him about seven years ago and told him about the coin, but he too kept it a secret. </p> <p>When Russell told one of the sisters about the potential value of the coin, she told him: “is that really possible?”. </p> <p>The coin, known as the “1975 ‘no S’ proof dime,” will be displayed at a coin show beginning on Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, and before <a href="https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1655587" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the auction</a> closes late next month, Russell said.</p> <p>The current highest bidder has offered $US250,000 ($374,000).</p> <p><em>Images: Great Collections/ Professional Coin Grading Services</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Princess Diana's dresses fetch an eye-watering sum at auction

<p>Three dresses worn by Princess Diana have sold for $2.5 million (AUD) at an auction in Beverly Hills, California. </p> <p>The gowns were sold in a <em>Legends: Hollywood And Royalty</em> sale, by Julien's Auctions and featured over 1,400 items to celebrate 100 years of Warner Bros. </p> <p>All three dresses sold for six-figures, with one selling for almost triple it's estimated price. </p> <p>Martin Nolan, the executive director, said the record-breaking sale of Diana's dresses "exceeded all expectations".</p> <p>Princess Diana's black and jade gown was the most expensive item, selling for $895,580. </p> <p>The dress was made by Catherine Walker - her personal designer for over 16 years - which she wore to a gala event in Toronto, Canada, in October 1991. </p> <p>The second most expensive dress sold was a red silk dress made by Bruce Oldfield, which she wore to the premiere of<em> Hot Shots</em> at the Odeon Leicester Square the following month. </p> <p>The Oldfield dress fetched a stunning $895,547 - which was almost triple it's estimated  $312,000 price tag.</p> <p>The final dress was a custom-made black velvet and ivory gown Diana wore to a private function, which was also designed by Walker, and fetched $796,070. </p> <p>The original price of the velvet and ivory gown was estimated to be around $93,000 - $125,000. </p> <p>The three dresses have not been seen in public for over 30 years, according to the auction house.</p> <p>They were originally bought by American businesswoman Ellen Petho, who bought five of Princess Diana's dresses for $234,000 at an auction in New York. </p> <p>Petho, who passed away in January aged 82, ended up only keeping three of the dresses, which her husband has now sold to help raise money for a scholarship fund for mature art and design students in memory of his wife.</p> <p>Petho's daughter Karrie, told the <em>Mail</em>:  "Our mother read the inscription inside [the auction catalogue] about Prince William telling his mother that the dresses should not sit in her closet, that they should be out in the world and doing good. I think that's what inspired her."</p> <p><em>Image: Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Why this 15-bedroom mansion will fetch well under $1 million

<p>As the cost of housing continues to rise, one mansion in the United Kingdom is looking to buck that trend. Located in the north of Wales in a town called Llandudno Junction, this genuine 17-century Georgian manor is heading to auction in a few weeks with a price guide of just $758,000.</p><p>Of course, for this price estimate, you could assume there must be strings attached to purchasing this spacious property and there is. Until 2021, the grand abode was owned by the Warwickshire County Council and used as a training and school trip facility for students.</p><p>As such, the Grade II listed piece of real estate, known as Marle Hall, is currently registered for something called ‘Class C2’, which means it can only be used as a residential care home, nursing home, hospital, boarding school, residential college or a training centre.</p><p>According to the selling agent, there could be the option to apply for planning consent to change the current classification. Once that’s done, Marle Hall could make for a stunning holiday home or even a small boutique hotel given its central location.</p><p>Boasting over 14,500-square-metres of verdant land, aside from the main home, the estate also hosts a number of other buildings, including a small cottage.</p><p>Inside the main structure, which can trace its routes all the way back to the mid-1600s, the manor boasts 15 bedrooms, a professional kitchen and pantry, a substantial dining hall and several sitting rooms</p><p>Marle Hall is expected to be auctioned off on Wednesday the 2nd of March.</p><p><em>Image: Domain Australia</em></p>

Real Estate

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Quirky items that fetched millions at auction

<p>They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that certainly rings true for people who have spent tonnes of cash on some really odd things. Here, we round up the weirdest, and a few of the coolest, things people have paid big money for. Have a look and see if you would have done the same!</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837652/01-art-basel-miami-usa-05-dec-2019-770.jpg" alt="A banana duct-taped to a wall" data-udi="umb://media/6062a14a239c4842b72dc1dec910f3f8" /></p> <ol> <li><strong> A banana duct-taped to a wall</strong></li> </ol> <p>It’s hard to say what is art anymore. One may think of the <em>Mona Lisa</em>, while another might value, say, a banana duct-taped to a wall. We’re not being cute. That is literally what someone bought at the Art Basel art fair in Miami recently.</p> <p>Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial piece, titled <em>Comedian</em>, sold for a whopping $120,000. The point of the piece, said the gallerist who sold the pricey fruit, was to question what “art” is. Looks like someone found the piece rather a-peeling, after all.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837651/02-violin-played-as-titanic-sank-sells-for-900000-wiltshire-britain-20-oct-2013-770.jpg" alt="The last violin played on the Titanic" data-udi="umb://media/5b3a386ddaa14a29804c079b3c90a397" /></p> <ol start="2"> <li><strong> The last violin played on the <em>Titanic</em></strong></li> </ol> <p>One of the most memorable tales from the tragic sinking of the Titanic is the eight-piece band that played until the end. Led by English musician Wallace Hartley, the band played their instruments as the ship sank into the frozen waters of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to help soothe scared passengers.</p> <p>According to CNN, “Hartley’s body was reportedly pulled from the water days after the April 1912 sinking with his violin case still strapped to his back.”</p> <p>More than a century later, in 2013, Hartley’s damaged violin was sold at an auction for $1.7 million in less than 10 minutes. It is the most expensive artefact linked to the doomed ship.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837653/04-john-lennon-shutterstock-524008o-e1578497425466-770.jpg" alt="John Lennon’s toilet" data-udi="umb://media/2cdaff7d7bfa4c66bf34c5341a391711" /></p> <ol start="3"> <li><strong> John Lennon’s toilet</strong></li> </ol> <p>Imagine all the ways you can spend your money…and then think about this. One Beatles fan spent nearly $15,000 on a flowered porcelain toilet once owned by John Lennon.</p> <p>The luxe loo came from an English estate owned by Lennon and Yoko Ono. When Lennon had the toilet replaced, he told the builders “to put some flowers in it or something,” according to the auction catalogue.</p> <p>The estate, Tittenhurst Park, was where Lennon recorded his legendary <em>Imagine</em> album and film. Hopefully, the toilet was as inspiring to its new owner!</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837654/05-queen-victorias-undies-7039790b-770.jpg" alt="Queen Victoria’s undies" data-udi="umb://media/a3bba379744946149c046f6fb712e919" /></p> <ol start="4"> <li><strong> Queen Victoria’s undies</strong></li> </ol> <p>And speaking of bathroom inspiration, cotton knickers owned by Queen Victoria (Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother) sold in 2015 for $16,300.</p> <p>Embroidered with her royal initials, “VR” for Victoria Regina, the undies were in pristine shape, having been wrapped in tissue and kept in a temperature-controlled room.</p> <p>There was something unique about these roomy drawers, which boasted a 114cm drawstring waist.</p> <p>“On these particular knickers, there is a chevron section, which is where they were taken up slightly as Queen Victoria got older and essentially she shrunk in stature,” auctioneer Richard Edmonds told People.com.</p> <p>“That element got the collectors really excited, because you can then date them quite specifically to the last 10 years of her life.”</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837655/06-elvis-presleys-hair-music-icons-auction-by-juliens-los-angeles-america-22-jun-2012-770.jpg" alt="A lock of Elvis Presley’s hair" data-udi="umb://media/e50824ffb48c4fb6af997aa80226b918" /></p> <ol start="5"> <li><strong> A lock of Elvis Presley’s hair</strong></li> </ol> <p>A hunka, chunka hair from the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, sold for $115,000 to an eager fan back in 2002.</p> <p>Saved from his barber, who also used to dye his sandy-blonde hair jet black, the trimmings had been kept in a plastic bag since the singer’s death in 1977, until they were sold for a king’s ransom.</p> <p>Other big-ticket Elvis items that sold at auction include his 24-carat gold-leaf grand piano; his peacock jumpsuit; and one of his very first recordings of a song called “My Happiness,” which was bought by White Stripes musician Jack White.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837656/07-white-dress-worn-by-marilyn-monroe-in-film-the-seven-year-itch-sells-for-4-6million-los-angeles-america-jun-2011-770.jpg" alt="Marilyn Monroe’s white dress" data-udi="umb://media/501546eb4f3c468a94cb5d294bfe098e" /></p> <ol start="6"> <li><strong> Marilyn Monroe’s white dress</strong></li> </ol> <p>It was the dress that launched a thousand gasps. Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white halter dress, which she wore in <em>The Seven Year Itch</em>, sold in 2011 for a whopping $4.6 million.</p> <p>The dress – which was famously blown up while she stood over a subway grate – made Monroe a certified sex symbol. It also made actress Debbie Reynolds some major bucks when she sold it.</p> <p>Reynolds, the iconic star of <em>Singing in the Rain</em> (and also Carrie Fisher’s mum), was a huge collector of vintage Hollywood gowns, and Marilyn’s made her a pretty penny.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837657/08-songwriters-hall-of-fame-annual-induction-and-awards-gala-arrivals-marriott-marquis-hotel-new-york-usa-13-jun-2019-770.jpg" alt="Justin Timberlake’s leftover French toast" data-udi="umb://media/44029608333c496b9ac50a08bcd82f73" /></p> <ol start="7"> <li><strong> Justin Timberlake’s leftover French toast</strong></li> </ol> <p>Twenty years ago, a young band member from NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, was interviewed by the Z100 morning show in New York City when he left some of his uneaten French toast behind. The station’s DJ jokingly put two slices of it for sale on eBay, where it was sold to a teenage girl named Kathy Summers for $1,025.</p> <p>When asked what she would do with the leftover and slightly burned toast, the teen fan said, “I’ll probably freeze-dry it, then seal it…then put it on my dresser.”</p> <p>Mmmm… a wise investment, indeed.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837658/09-damien-hirst-exhibition-tate-modern-london-britain-02-apr-2012-770.jpg" alt="A dead shark in formaldehyde" data-udi="umb://media/92f6a7d11ab04a1691ee03df6da5a728" /></p> <ol start="8"> <li><strong> A dead shark in formaldehyde</strong></li> </ol> <p>Weird art always seems to sell well and big. (See item one on this list.) But a piece by British contemporary artist Damien Hirst really takes the shark.</p> <p>Hirst is known for his obsession with death, seen in his high-priced and macabre styles of art. In 2004, he sold a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde, titled <em>The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living</em>, for a reported $8 million.</p> <p>The 22-tonne shark, which is obviously dead but kept scarily preserved, embodies life, death and just what its title aptly describes.</p> <p> <img style="width: 500px; height:281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837662/01-albert-einstein-gettyimages-544750041-o60.jpg" alt="Albert Einstein’s theory on happiness" data-udi="umb://media/b55dbd43f1d4478fb402c48e324e1077" /></p> <ol start="9"> <li><strong> Albert Einstein’s theory on happiness</strong></li> </ol> <p>A Japanese bellboy received the tip of a lifetime when he made a delivery to physicist Albert Einstein in 1922.</p> <p>Einstein was in Tokyo on a book tour when he found out he’d won the Nobel Prize. Overwhelmed by the honour and attention, Einstein put some of his thoughts to paper, which he gave the bellboy when he couldn’t find change for a tip.</p> <p>“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness,” Einstein wrote in German on a piece of hotel stationery, according to the <em>New York Times</em>.</p> <p>On the second paper, he wrote, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”</p> <p>The two papers, his take on happiness, sold at a 2017 auction in Israel for $1.56 million and $250,000, respectively.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837659/11-auction-jeff-koons-new-york-usa-03-may-2019-770.jpg" alt="A giant steel rabbit" data-udi="umb://media/7d20e9bfc8a74e468e1fe1ddff23e3fc" /></p> <ol start="10"> <li><strong> A giant steel rabbit</strong></li> </ol> <p>And we’re back with some really expensive art. A 90cm stainless steel rabbit created by the artist Jeff Koons in 1986 sold at auction in 2019 for the breathtaking price of $91 million.</p> <p>It went to Robert E. Mnuchin, an art dealer and the father of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and it set the world-record price for a work by a living artist.</p> <p>The rabbit is considered one of the most iconic works of art of the 20th century, and a blow-up version of it appeared in the Macy’s Day parade in 2007.</p> <p>The work has influenced generations of artists, even the aforementioned Damien Hirst. And on a funny side note, when Koons was deciding on what animal to sculpt a likeness of, he almost chose a pig. It seems like the bunny paid off.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837660/12-truman-capote-shutterstock-6651421a-770.jpg" alt="Truman Capote’s ashes" data-udi="umb://media/ea15b52150ef4978b69cc65f0e3e97af" /></p> <ol start="9"> <li><strong> Truman Capote’s ashes</strong></li> </ol> <p>The author of <em>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</em> and <em>In Cold Blood</em> certainly did love an adventure, and so maybe it’s not that big of a surprise that his ashes continue to have a life of their own.</p> <p>Housed in a Japanese wooden box, the writer’s remains belonged to Capote’s longtime friend Joanne Carson – ex-wife of the famed late-night talk-show host Johnny Carson – until her death in 2015. (Capote died in 1984.)</p> <p>The ashes have had quite a ride, having been stolen once before and luckily returned, until they were finally sold for $45,000 in 2016, to an anonymous buyer who promised: “that Truman will continue his adventures.”</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837661/13-leonardo-s-exhibit-new-york-usa-770.jpg" alt="Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester" data-udi="umb://media/a999ec5f51ae449d9028a43ffcd4c3fa" /></p> <ol start="10"> <li><strong> Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester</strong></li> </ol> <p>While most people associate Leonardo da Vinci with his paintings, like <em>The Mona Lisa</em> and <em>The Last Supper</em>, da Vinci was also a scientist and engineer whose notes about inventions and thoughts on the planet (its origin and end) were captured in a journal titled the “Codex Leicester.”</p> <p>In 1994, Bill Gates purchased the journal for $30.8 million at auction, a price that made it one of the most expensive books ever sold.</p> <p>Da Vinci’s ideas and musings in the Codex are written in his famous mirrored cursive writing, and it’s currently on loan to museums and schools across the United States.</p> <p><strong>Images:</strong> Shutterstock / Getty Images</p> <p><em>Written by Robyn Moreno. This article first appeared on <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/culture/13-quirkiest-items-that-sold-for-millions-at-auctions" target="_blank">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a rel="noopener" href="http://readersdigest.com.au/subscribe" target="_blank">here’s our best subscription.</a></em></p>

Money & Banking

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Celebrity items that fetched top dollar at auctions

<p>Bob Dylan’s guitar, which he used on his first electric tour in 1966, recently sold at auction for an eye-watering US$490,000!</p> <p>The 1965 Fender Telecaster had also been used by other musicians like Eric Clapton and George Harrison.</p> <p>That’s certainly not the first time celebrity memorabilia have sold for a huge chunk of change.</p> <p>Check out these other instances:</p> <p><strong>1. Russell Crowe’s movie memorabilia (US$2.8 million)</strong></p> <p>The Gladiator star held an auction dubbed “The Art of Divorce” in Sydney last April to sell 227 of his personal valuables and movie memorabilia.</p> <p>Among the items that sold were a leather jockstrap he wore in Cinderella Man, an antique violin he learned how to play for the movie Master and Commander, and his director’s chair from American Gangster.</p> <p>The auction netted the actor an impressive US$2.8 million.</p> <p>Not bad for an afternoon’s work.</p> <p><strong>2. JK Rowling’s chair (US$394,000)</strong></p> <p>The chair that author JK Rowling sat on when she worked on the first two Harry Potter novels sold for US$394,000 in 2016.</p> <p>According to a note that Rowling sent to the new owner, this was the comfiest of four mismatched chairs she had been given when she lived in a council flat in Edinburgh, which was why it became the chair of choice in front of her typewriter.</p> <p><strong>3. Albert Einstein’s notes (US$1.8 million)</strong></p> <p>The Nobel Prize-winning physicist had given a courier two handwritten notes in 1922 in lieu of a tip when he was staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.</p> <p>Those two notes sold for a whopping US$1.8 million in October last year.</p> <p>One of the notes reads: “A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.”</p> <p>Very practical - but expensive - advice indeed.</p> <p><em>Written by Siti Rohani. This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/true-stories-lifestyle/entertainment/celebrity-items-fetched-top-dollar-auction">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</em></p> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p>

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