Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint, enjoys watching the items sold at auctions held by our WorthPoint Industry Partners. We thought it would be a great idea for him to select some of his favorite sold items and explain why those sales stood out to him. Gaining insights from Will is an excellent way to learn about buying and selling trends in our industry. We want to empower you to buy and sell with confidence. Take a look at his thoughts on a few of our partners’ recent sales.
Saturday was a great day in our data world, as WorthPoint added 257,907 items to its Price Guide, bringing the total value to $22,131,979—about $85.81 per lot. It’s always exciting to see so many valuable items added, and this batch certainly represents a lot of intriguing finds!
A First Edition Find
While a lot of our data comes from eBay, it’s not as much as people might think, and it’s actually decreasing as a focus more and more each day. As a result, we don’t often write about it, but I was intrigued by a recent sale of a first edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on eBay. You might know this book was quickly republished as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. after the word “Philosopher” was swapped out for “Sorcerer.” The original edition, published in the UK, was supposedly released in a limited print run of 500 copies—200 of which were distributed outside of libraries, and 300 went into libraries, where they’re often heavily used.
Several of these first editions have popped up on Goldin auctions over the years, with prices reaching around $120,000 for near-mint copies. One less pristine copy supposedly sold on eBay for $148,000, though it was relisted, making me think it never actually sold. So, when I saw this particular copy show as sold for $40,000, if that’s true, someone got an absolute steal. While it did show signs of wear (as expected from a former library book), it wasn’t one of those “ripped off” listings we’ve seen on eBay or Goldin. The interesting part here is that this edition lists the author as “Joanne Rowling,” before she became widely known as “J.K. Rowling.” For $40,000, I’d certainly be thrilled to have this magical piece of literary history in my collection!
A Unique Piece
Eldred‘s recently held a specialty auction focused on Chinese snuff bottles, and it was an exciting event for collectors. These small, portable bottles, often carved or jeweled, were traditionally used to hold snuff—a powder that was scooped out with a long stem and inhaled through the nostrils. While snuff was commonly made from tobacco, rumors suggest that aristocrats sometimes used it with other substances, such as perfumes or even drugs, likely to mask the unpleasant odors of the streets. The auction featured ninety-nine items, bringing in a total of $33,299, with the top lot being a finely carved white jade gourd-shaped bottle adorned with vines, leaves, and a butterfly, which sold for $3,200. It’s worth noting that Eldred’s has done a fantastic job showcasing these unique pieces, and their focused sale was a refreshing change. For context, the record for a snuff bottle was set at Doyle’s in 2017, when one sold for $85,000, while another white jade bottle, shaped like a pebble, fetched $67,000 at Freeman’s in 2011. It’s clear that these collectible items continue to capture the interest of serious buyers.
Could Be Ivory
My favorite item of the day, in closing, was a stunning 23″ tall carving of a heron that sold at Big Al’s for just $460—what a bargain! Although it was cataloged as bone, I suspect it’s likely ivory, and it’s probably of Japanese origin. As someone who has a collection of antique Japanese exotic figures and netsukes carved from ivory and wood, I can’t help but admire this piece. The craftsmanship was exceptional, with the heron appearing to be hand-carved in sections and expertly assembled. It would have easily towered over my collection and become a deity for them to worship. Big Al’s, I’ll be setting up alerts for live lots on these kinds of treasures soon on WorthPoint, because this is the kind of piece I’ll be keeping an eye out for!
Will Seippel is the founder, president, and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with an emphasis on ephemera— since 1984. He is also the creator and founder of HIP, a website devoted to recording the best of the world’s history that has been saved on film.
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