With a rare 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow selling for $2.31 million and a Model J Duesenberg also topping the million-dollar plateau, RM Sotheby’s annual Hershey Fall sale again proved to be a good place to sell pre-war classic vehicles.
Overall, the auction posted $15.9 million in sales with 129 of 136 vehicles going to new owners, a 94.85 percent sell-through. All 24 lots of automobilia also sold, contributing more than $213,000 to the auction total.
“The RM Sotheby’s Hershey auction remains one of the premier destinations for die-hard classic and brass-era enthusiasts,” Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s global head of auctions, said in a post-sale news release.
Cars from the Thomas F. Derro and Ralph Whitworth estate collections headlined the sale, with Duff saying the auction house was honored to have been entrusted with such vehicles.
Among the cars from the Whitworth collection was the hot rod that beat the race horse, the 1932 Pete Henderson Ford roadster, which brought $192,500 (prices include buyer’s fees).
Another ’32 Ford hot rod, a three-window coupe, sold for $90,750, nearly double its pre-sale estimate.
RM Sotheby’s also noted that “novelty” vehicles tend to do well at Hershey; the auction is held in conjunction with the huge AACA Eastern Regional Fall Meeting swap meet, car corral and concours.
For example, a 1937 White Model 706 Yellowstone Park tour bus, now updated to serve as a party bus, drew bids from nearly 20 people before selling for $165,000, four times its high pre-sale estimate. A 1961 Nash Metropolitan 1500 convertible originally delivered in Canada brought $74,250, double its pre-sale expectation.
A 1941 Packard Custom Super Eight 180 convertible Victoria featured in the 1970s NBC television series Banacek brought $407,000
Overall, Duff said, “The mix between cars with outstanding provenance against the backdrop of our annual Hershey sale continues to provide the recipe for sweet success.”
Top 10 sales, RM Sotheby’s at Hershey Fall Meet 2017
- 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow, $2,310,000
- 1935 Duesenberg Model J cabriolet, $1,485,000
- 1936 Cadillac V-16 convertible sedan, $715,000
- 1932 Duesenberg Model J town car, $594,000
- 1935 Packard Twelve sport phaeton, $495,000
- 1937 Cord 812 supercharged cabriolet, $412,500
- 1941 Packard Custom Super Eight 180 convertible, $407,000
- 1933 Packard Twelve convertible Victoria, $390,500
- 1957 Dual-Ghia convertible, $341,000
- 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A ‘Flying Star’ re-creation, $302,500
(Prices include buyer’s fees.)
RM Sotheby’s next auction is the “Icons” sale scheduled for December 6 at Sotheby’s headquarters in New York City.
