The Van Bosstraeten Auction

Working the midnight shift and ending the day with this auction has been exhausting I think I'll just go to bed haha best of luck everyone.
 
The auction is over !
How did everyone do ?
I heard it was hot and heavy
I had 2 doctor appointments this A M
so I was only kept up to date
by a collector friend who was on line live
Steve
 
Steve,
I may have the answer. The Ingolstadt Museum started a procedure for some artefacts of Karels collection. Some of them have been stolen. One example: the bavarian Probe Überzug...

Philippe
;)
Thank you for the report most likely stolen by someone
then passed on to a dealer
then sold to Karel
no doubt he had no idea
so if they prove it was theirs
it will just be returned
Steve
 
I lost all bids but was shooting for the Bavarian generals uniforms and a few helmets. The field gray was too much for me though I understand it’s value may be higher because it belonged to a Bavarian Prince so….
 
Some items were actually reasonable and sold for less than I thought they would bring. An assortment of items actually sold at or below a retail value before commission in some instances in many of the auction item categories. So yes, there were some reasonable "bargains" to be had. But there were many items sold at mind blowing incredibly high prices. The advertising department of Hermann Historica did a fantastic job of promoting this auction to the entire collector world. Was there any collector who did not know about this auction or watch it, lol?

It was interesting for me to watch the 2-bayonets towards the end of the auction sell, that I traded to Karel a few years back. One sold for what we agreed to in trade, and the far rarer example sold for 100 Euros less than what we had agreed to in trade value. I was able to acquire a spectacular condition 100th Lieb Reg't private purchase enlisted helmet with a little cash added for Karel on top of the trade, as he had two examples of this type of helmet at the time. He graciously let me pick which ever of the two I wanted that he had. The one he kept sold on the auction.

Many of the stahlhelme did extremely well; several of the camo examples sold very high, as did many of the factory issue painted stahlhelme. Lot # 4269: a stone mint felt residue camo exterior M18 ear "cut-out" or "telephone talker" helmet sold for a staggering 8,200 Euros, or 10,250 Euros with commission. The new owner quite arguably has the finest M18 ear "cut out" example in the world for their collection. An unusual camo pattern M18, #4261, hammered in at 4,800 Euros.

Lot 4086 Brunswick Infantry Reg't 92 officer helmet of Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg garnered 22,000 Euros. And the grand prize was Lot 4110: Garde du Corps Officer helmet with spike in stunning condition, along with the storage case, the pristine eagle, and the storage case for the eagle. That beautiful set brought 64,000 Euros before commission.

Some enlisted pickelhaubes that stunned me: 2,700 Euros for an M15 Line Uhlan enlisted tschapka? That makes for a 3,375 Euros tschapka with commission. And 2,300 Euros for a beautiful M15 Wurttemburg e.m.? (That was a similar price to the Baldwin collection black lacquered felt example that sold several years earlier.) The green painted Prussian kit helmet with 1914 date went for 3,200 Euros.

Three of Karel's four body armor examples brought very high prices and astonished me.

Some of the rare ersatz bayonets and trench knives went for very strong prices.

This was truly a world class collection of Imperial German items, never to be duplicated again in any of our lifetimes most likely. I think that all of us here lift a toast to Karel for having such an amazing collection and being such an incredible, truly fine gentleman in this world.
 
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Tried the Oldenburg artillery officer, lot 4088, but unfortunately did not get it.

In the end I was successful with 4127.

At least something to remember Karel.

GardeUlan
 
Alan, I have to agree that some of the items are reasonable and I manage to buy 20+ helmets from the auction.

I watched the entire auction (starts at 9pm mine and I finished watching at 4am in the morning) and I have to say that there are many examples in the auction which I already have them like the green painted Prussian kit helmet that went for 3200 euro and M15 Wurttemberg helmet that went for 2300euro. It is just how amazing the collection appreciates in value.

Out of the 20+ helmets that I won, they are not must have but nice to have and they are in pretty affordable price range.

Karel has done a wonderful job by building up the marvellous collection.
 
Money rules the word, it´s not new...
For my part, my very personal law forbids me consequently to bid on those kind of auctions. If I want to destroy my money, I can do it myself and throw my banknotes in my stack.
When the passion of collection ends this way, it´s very sad... Just my two cents :rolleyes: So much money spent just to be able to say, one owns a piece of Karels collection. It´s the Baldwins syndrom...
There still is so good stuff around us, we only have to be patient and to "hit" when the moment and the price are right. It´s absolutely possible!

Philippe
;)
 
The piece for me that was sad to miss out on was the wurttemberg drillich tunic it ended while I was still out on the flight line.
 
Money rules the word, it´s not new...
For my part, my very personal law forbids me consequently to bid on those kind of auctions. If I want to destroy my money, I can do it myself and throw my banknotes in my stack.
When the passion of collection ends this way, it´s very sad... Just my two cents :rolleyes: So much money spent just to be able to say, one owns a piece of Karels collection. It´s the Baldwins syndrom...
There still is so good stuff around us, we only have to be patient and to "hit" when the moment and the price are right. It´s absolutely possible!

Philippe
;)
Well said Argonne , i almost never buy stuff on military shows, Ebay or auctions like this for me the real passion of collecting buying good items for the right prices , not the insanity i saw yesterday.
 
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I knew from the beginning that these items would go for prices way above what I can afford. Subsequently, I did not pursue buying the catalogue or watching the auction. My congratulations to our forum winners!
 

Money rules the word, it´s not new...
For my part, my very personal law forbids me consequently to bid on those kind of auctions. If I want to destroy my money, I can do it myself and throw my banknotes in my stack.
When the passion of collection ends this way, it´s very sad... Just my two cents :rolleyes: So much money spent just to be able to say, one owns a piece of Karels collection. It´s the Baldwins syndrom...
There still is so good stuff around us, we only have to be patient and to "hit" when the moment and the price are right. It´s absolutely possible!

Philippe
;)
Philippe,
I agree with your sentiment to a point, but many folks have few chances outside of auctions or epay to purchase most of the items. However, in the case of this auction, the collector's reputation goes a long way to authenticating the items for sale. Additionally, because of Van Bosstraeten's reputation, many folks went to the auction to get a rare or seldom seen item for their collection, thinking they would not get burned.
Some people save their money to go hog wild for this one time a year event, much like SOS, and then it's back to the grindstone to get more money for the next big show or auction.

Collecting any quantity of items is thought to be OCD/Baldwin Syndrom; I laughed when I searched for the term. I, for one, enjoyed it and was able to get one item and most likely paid too much. I knew upfront that few deals would be had but figured I would give it a try.
Best regards,
John
 
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