Pickin’ through Chester County with Tara Dugan
In the grand tradition of Ponce de Leon, Indiana Jones and the forty-niners, a growing population of treasure hunters have an “X” marking the spot right here in Chester County. Hunting for valuables, or “picking”, at auctions, estate sales, flea markets and yard sales is a new hobby for many, much to the chagrin of the experts. Several factors have inspired the new wave of treasure hunters: the lousy economy, renewed appreciation for old-time craftsmanship, and the eco-friendly mantra of “reduce, re-use, recycle”. A host of shows debuted this year focusing on turning a find into cash. “American Pickers”, “Cash & Cari”, “Auction Kings”, and others are turning ‘junkers’ into bona fide celebrities. Even if you plan to buy nothing, an auction can be an exciting night out. Want to hit the jackpot? You just might want to bring along a nine year-old.
The sharp eye and memory of my son paid off last year as he dutifully slogged behind me at Briggs Auction in Boothwyn. Born to nerdy parents, my kids have become accustomed to suffering through “Antiques Roadshow” and tagging along to auctions. This particular day, I hadn’t seen anything special, so I turned to tell Jake we could go hit Maggie Moos (that’s right, I bribe them. Don’t judge me.). He was staring at a pile of junk in the back corner of the room, and raised his finger to point. “Hey, Mom” he began, “isn’t that…” “SHUSHIE SHUSHIE!” I responded, leaping over a chair to push down his pointing finger and drown him out with my gibberish, for I had seen it too. And I was not about to call attention to it if others had seen it without seeing it. “It” was Andy Warhol’s famous ticket poster in pristine condition. It was featured on “Antiques Roadshow”, and Jake remembered it.
This poster was commissioned by Lincoln Center to commemorate the Fifth New York Film Festival, and there were 500 unsigned posters made. The silk screening process made the colors unbelievably bright – garish even. The perfect condition makes me suspect that someone brought this home from the 1967 Film Festival, only to have it hastily banished to the attic by a disapproving spouse.
Although I couldn’t attend that night’s auction, I arranged to bid by phone. The clerk looked at the subject of my interest, looked back at me, and said, “Um, you realize phone bidding begins at $100, right?” I assured her I did, and that night we waited for our call. On the phone, the auctioneer could only be heard in a garble, but I did hear the deafening silence from the crowd when the opening bid was announced at $100. Actually, I may have heard someone say “For that?” Clearly, this was not a Factory crowd, because we were thrilled to nab it for $100. The Roadshow appraised one for $1,500 in 2002, and Christie’s New York sold one with condition problems for $4,000 in 2009. Suffice it to say, Jake’s “find” is the investment that’s beating the pants off everything else in his 529 account.
Happy hunting!