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Review of First Prop Store Live Auction and Profiles in History’s Hollywood Auction 65, 67, 68, The Expendables

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The past week has been a significant one for the original television and movie prop, wardrobe, and asset art market, with two of the biggest dealers in the business having their own live auction events.  This marked the first big live auction for Prop Store, which held it’s “Auction of Film & Television Artefacts” on the 16th, and Profiles in History had a multi-day event for their “Hollywood Auction 65” and their Expendables Auction (“Hollywood Auction 67 & 68” – yes, the naming/numbering is confusing… see prior article).  With over 2,600 lots offered for sale collectively, it provides an opportunity for some analysis of each sale on its own merits as well as comparing and contrasting the different companies and their approach with the marketplace.

Prop Store

Prop Store certainly made an impressive splash into the online auction world with their event, with a lot of quality press coverage from big mainstream media outlets.  Much of this coverage had a bit of a different spin than what we usually see, with an emphasis on what they do as a business, and how they do it with perspective of being collectors themselves.

To their credit, they assembled a good selection of material that was in many ways new to market, rather than pieces that have been sold and circulated in the market a great deal.  Additionally, they had very fair estimates/reserves on a lot of the material, which I’ve always felt is the best way to go with the auction business – let the buyers and the market determine the price, and don’t turn people off/away with “buy it now”, hopeful estimates, hoping for one bidder.  I loved the YouTube videos they published, showcasing many of the items, as well as the many, high quality photos posted for all items (the latter of which I’ve griped about with regards to Premiere Props in the past, who publish poor quality images of their items).

Having said all of that, how did they do?

It appears that approximately 33% of the items went unsold (134 of 378).

Below are the top ten prices on items that sold… (prices roughly converted to U.S. dollars; results on their site are in GBP – does not include buyer’s premium or other fees)

ALIEN (1979) – Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) Flamethrower 

  • SOLD FOR: $40,000 (at low estimate)
  • This was the low estimate for the piece, which was one of the best in the entire sale.  While an impressive amount, I could see it doing much better.  I would speculate that they would not have offered it for sale at that price as a fixed price on their site.  Having said that, it was the top value realized at the auction.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: PART II (1989) – Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Mattel Hoverboard

  • SOLD FOR: $36,000 (above high estimate)
  • These used to be in the $10K range around ten years ago; Profiles sold one in 2008 for $55,000 (plus fees), which I think was the highest sale.  Following the Profiles sale, more of these came to market, and this is about where prices have settled it, so I would say that this is a current fair market value for the higher quality ones.

THUNDERBALL (1965) – SPECTRE Underwater Tow Sled

  • SOLD FOR: $32,000 (at low estimate)
  • James Bond memorabilia is very popular, with auction values to match.  The owner of this sled actually contacted me about this piece some time ago.  I think that this is probably as high a value as one might expect at auction.

GRINDHOUSE: DEATH PROOF (2007) – Full-Size Running 1970 Chevy Nova “Death Proof” Car

  • SOLD FOR: $32,000 (at low estimate)
  • This was on eBay in the Summer of 2007 and sold for only $12,000.  I was going to buy it myself, but the Stembridge gun auction with Little John’s was the following week.  The first buyer sold the Death Proof car to my friend, who paid more than what it sold for here.  Cars can be a tough sell, for obvious reasons (can’t quite put it on a shelf in your house for display, shipping, etc.).  Having the sale in the UK probably eliminated a lot of US buyers due to perceived hassle bringing it over.

RUSH (2013) – Niki Lauda’s (Daniel Bruhl) Prop Ferrari 312T2 Formula One Car

  • SOLD FOR: $32,000 (at low estimate)
  • I honestly don’t know anything about this film or collectable appeal of these cars, but for a “prop” Ferrari, it seems like a decent amount.  It was the only one of the four Rush cars to sell.

BATMAN FOREVER (1995) – Remote Control Batmobile Model Miniature

  • SOLD FOR: $32,000 (at low estimate)
  • This was an interesting a rare piece, and a fairly impressive return.

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991) – Complete Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) Costume

  • SOLD FOR: $28,000 (at low estimate)
  • A few of these have traded around over the years.  Profiles sold one for $40,000 in 2007 (jacket-only), $20,000 in 2008, and $40,000 in 2009 (built on display), so this would be within the range, for the most part (a lot of T2 costumes/wardrobe parts have gone unsold over the years as well).  Further down, in the Profiles in History section of this article, you will see that they just sold this weekend a jacket-only for $18,000.

THE LAST SAMURAI (2003) – Ujio’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) Samurai Warrior Costume

  • SOLD FOR: $24,000 (at low estimate)
  • A beautiful piece from a film that isn’t a hit or a classic…  so a respectable value, all things considered.

WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (1971) – Wonka’s (Gene Wilder) Golden Ticket

  • SOLD FOR: $24,000 (at low estimate)
  • Profiles sold one of these for $47,500 (plus fees) in 2010, but only got $27,500 in their sale at the end of 2013.  So this would appear to be the current market value range on these at this time.

BATMAN RETURNS (1992) – Batman’s Batsuit With Cape

  • SOLD FOR: $17,500
  • A *lot* of these have been sold and resold over the year (especially by Profiles), so while you might expect such a recognizable piece going for more, everyone who wants one generally has one, so this isn’t a terrible result

Eight of the ten pieces that ranked in the top prices also sold at the low estimate.

Below are the ten pieces with the highest pre-sale estimates that did not sell:

  • H.R. GIGER – Giger-Owned Aluminium Harkonnen “Capo” Chair
    • Estimate: £60,000 – £80,000
  • THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (2003) – Captain Nemo’s (Naseeruddin Shah) Nautilus Car
    • Estimate: £40,000 – £60,000
  • ALIENS (1986) – Alien Warrior Suit
    • Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000
  • ALIENS (1986) – 1/4-Scale Alien Queen Puppet
    • Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000
  • RUSH (2013) – Niki Lauda’s (Daniel Bruhl) Prop BRM P160 Formula One Car
    • Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000
  • RUSH (2013) – James Hunt’s (Chris Hemsworth) Prop Hesketh 308 Formula Car
    • Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000
  • STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997) – Battle-Damaged Rodger Young Miniature
    • Estimate: £20,000 – £30,000
  • EXCALIBUR (1981) – Mordred’s (Robert Addie) Suit ‘Golden’ Armour
    • Estimate: £18,000 – £20,000
  • RUSH (2013) – Clay Regazzoni’s (Pierfrancesco Favino) Prop BRM P160 Race Car
    • Estimate: £15,000 – £20,000
  • BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (1978-1979) – Colonial Viper Pilot Helmet and Jacket
    • Estimate: £13,000 – £15,000

Regarding the balance of the sale, I don’t know that there were too many surprises one way or another…

Items that I expected to do higher include the Jerry Hall mask from Batman, Kirk’s costume from Star Trek III, C-3PO’s hand from Star Wars, the biker scout helmet from Return of the Jedi, and the Bespin blaster from The Empire Strikes Back.

Overall, I would say that most of the items sold for prices below what they have been or would have been on the Prop Store website.  So there were some opportunities for buyers.

They definitely did a lot of things right, and overall it seemed more pro-collector at the core than anything else.

How could they have done better?  Hard to speculate.  Probably the most significant thing would be holding the event in the U.S. instead of the UK.  I think it would have gotten more exposure, more attendance, and taken away some of the mystery that goes along with words like “import” and “VAT” and the fear of high shipping costs, etc.

If my copy and paste worked, it appears that they had total sales of 811,040 GBP, or about $1.3 million.

Profiles in History

With over 2,000 items offered for sale in two telephone book-sized volumes, it’s a bit daunting to even try to make sense of what happens with these Profiles in History auction events.

592. ORIGINAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN “TRAMP” CANE

  • SOLD FOR: $12,000
  • This seems pretty low for a Charlie Chaplin cane.  It was sold by Christie’s in 1999, and with this offering sold at the low reserve (estimate was $12,000 – $15,000).

609. LAUREL AND HARDY VINTAGE, STAGE-WORN SIGNATURE DERBY HATS.

  • SOLD FOR: $30,000
  • This pair of hats sold for the high pre-sale estimate, which, like with the Chaplin cane, seems very low.

649. ORIGINAL “WINKIE” GUARD METAL SPEAR HEAD FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ.

  • SOLD FOR: UNSOLD
  • Profiles in History sold one of these in 2010 for $22,500.  With this sale, the pre-sale estimate was $15,000-$20,000 and it went unsold.

699. SCREEN-USED HERO “NAUTILUS” UNDERSEA RIFLE FROM 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. 

  • SOLD FOR: $80,000
  • This was a very impressive piece that had an impressive result at auction.  It well exceeded the modest pre-sale estimate of $20,000 – $30,000.

836. ORSON WELLES “KANE” SIGNATURE “PODIUM” JACKET DESIGNED BY EDWARD STEVENSON FROM CITIZEN KANE.

  • SOLD FOR: $85,000
  • Another important piece sold for an appropriately high amount, exceeding the pre-sale estimate.

866. JOAN OF ARC NEAR-COMPLETE INGRID BERGMAN HERO SUIT OF ARMOR WITH PRODUCTION-MADE HELMET.

  • SOLD FOR: $30,000
  • This seems like a low amount for what it is…

1121. PETER FONDA’S “WYATT” ICONIC SCREEN-USED “CAPTAIN AMERICA” PANHEAD CHOPPER FROM EASY RIDER.

  • SOLD FOR: either UNSOLD or $1,300,000
  • The day that this sale was announced, I received an opinion from a knowledgeable source that this particular motorcycle was NOT used in Easy Rider.  I kept this third party opinion to myself (I did not have the time to look into it), but an Associated Press story got picked up by many outlets on October 17th – “‘Easy Rider’ chopper at auction might be phony”.  Regardless, the Los Angeles Times and others reported that it sold anyway for $1.35 million dollars.  However, in the official “Prices Realized” results published by Profiles in History, there is no record for Lot 1121, which indicates no sale.  The only sale result that Profiles is currently promoting on their official site is the Lord of the Rings Gandalf staff (which sold for much less).

1168. ROBIN WILLIAMS “MORK FROM ORK” SIGNATURE SPACE-SUIT COSTUME DESIGNED BY ROBERT FUCA FOR MORK AND MINDY.

  • SOLD FOR: $16,000
  • I’m shocked that this did not sell for much, much more…

1214. MARK ADDY “ROBERT BARATHEON” SIGNATURE HERO CROWN FROM GAME OF THRONES SEASON 1

  • SOLD FOR: $25,000
  • Given the popularity of this series, the quality of this piece, and the fact that there is nothing out there, I’m really surprised that this did not fetch a higher price.

1282. “TURBOLASER” TOWER FROM THE “DEATH STAR” IN STAR WARS: EPISODE VI – RETURN OF THE JEDI. (TCF, 1983)

  • SOLD FOR: UNSOLD
  • This is not surprising that it went unsold with a high $20,000 – $30,000 pre-sale estimate, but interesting in that Prop Store also had a Death Star tower in their own sale, which sold for approximately $13,500.  More, the Prop Store version was much smaller, measuring 2″ x 2″ x 5″, compared with the Profiles one being 3X taller at 15″.

1286. “INDIANA JONES” WHIP USED IN 1981, 1984 AND 1989 INDIANA JONES MOVIES.

  • SOLD FOR: $180,000
  • This was an impressive sale for a very impressive piece (and compared with the several sold by Bonhams in recent years, underscores the impressive provenance and history with this particular piece).

1392. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER “T-800” MOTORCYCLE JACKET FROM TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY.

  • SOLD FOR: $18,000
  • Interesting mostly because Prop Store sold the full costume last week for $28,000.

1428. JUMANJI ORIGINAL SCREEN-USED “CARRY BOARD” GAME WITH LETTER FROM DIRECTOR JOE JOHNSTON.

  • SOLD FOR: $42,500
  • If not for the recent tragedy, I would find this to be crazy high result, but given the circumstances now, completely understandable.  But I would value the Mork costume much higher, and that sold for $16,000.

1451. MICHAEL KEATON “BATMAN” COSTUME AND DISPLAY FIGURE FROM BATMAN RETURNS.

  • SOLD FOR: $25,000
  • As with the T2 jacket, this is more interesting in making a comparison with Prop Store, who sold a Batman Returns costume last week for $17,500 (sans the display figure).

1456. MICHELLE PFEIFFER STAGE 2 “CATWOMAN” COWL FROM BATMAN RETURNS.

  • SOLD FOR: $18,000
  • Another piece in which Prop Store had the same offering last week; their sold for approximately $13,000.

1457. VAL KILMER “BATMAN COWL” FROM BATMAN FOREVER.

  • SOLD FOR: $6,000
  • Again, another point of direct comparison with Prop Store, who sold a better version of the same prop for approximately $16,000.

1462. “BATMAN” STUNT COSTUME AND DISPLAY FROM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

  • SOLD FOR: $40,000
  • As far as I know, this is the first Christian Bale Batman costume to come to market – it really should have sold for much more, even if it is a stunt.

1569. BRANDON ROUTH “FLYING SUPERMAN” COSTUME FROM SUPERMAN RETURNS.

  • SOLD FOR: $35,000
  • As with the Christian Bale Batman, I’m surprised this sold for such a low price.

1651. JENNIFER LAWRENCE “KATNISS EVERDEEN” ARENA COSTUME FROM THE HUNGER GAMES.

  • SOLD FOR: $17,000
  • Given that Blacksparrow Auctions sold a Hunger Games costume for $300,000, this is a pretty poor showing.  The description says it comes with a COA from the Blacksparrow event, so I’m wondering if this was the same one purchased for $36,000 at that sale?

Lots 1671 – 1681 LORD OF THE RINGS PROPS AND COSTUMES

  • SOLD FOR: Various
  • These were twelve of the Lord of the Rings lots that went unsold at the Julien’s Auctions “The Trilogy Collection” sale late last year.  With Profiles, most of the estimates/reserves were dropped substantially, so all but one sold this time around.  Most sold at or near the low Profiles estimate (in some cases half the low estimate set by the consignor with Julien’s).  There was only one real stand out result – the Gandalf Staff which sold for an astounding $325,000 – which is funny, considering it was passed with a $50,000 opening bid less than a year ago with Julien’s.  A missed opportunity for the bidder and underbidder.

I’ve never seen any of the Expendables movies, so I don’t have much input on that portion of the sale.  Across the board, the prices appear to be pretty unimpressive, with most in the three digit range.  Only 32 lots got into four digits, and just one sold for more than that, with the “Splattered Santa Claus” nose section for a plane bringing $12,000.

Jason DeBord