That Dollar in Your Pocket Could Be Worth Way More Than a Buck

Welcome, Collectors.

Before we get started, take a second to check your wallet. You may be holding onto a dollar bill worth way, way more than $1. Based on a tip from a Mantel member, we took a look into a currency printing error that has bucks with duplicate serial numbers floating around the country. They aren’t easy to track down - only 37 have surfaced so far - but we’ll be checking every greenback we come in contact with just in case.

Catch up on all of the details here:

Speaking of ‘searching’ for collectibles, we just added a Search bar on Mantel. So whether you’re looking for a specific post, profile, or community member, you can simply type in the keyword for immediate results.

Now let’s get into it.

A Dog Day Afternoon For Christie’s

You may remember that hackers nearly derailed a number of high-profile Christie’s sales over the last few weeks. Although Christie’s reclaimed control of their website, the hackers, known as “RansomHub”, have resorted to – you guessed it – ransom. The group says it will publicize sensitive information tied to 500,000 high-profile clients on Friday unless they receive an undisclosed sum. Christie’s claims “there is no evidence that any financial or transactional records were compromised.” However, RansomHub provided proof that they possess info such as birthdates, legal names, and nationalities. Stay tuned, and maybe change your passwords…

Like Ike, If I Could Be Like Ike

Ever dreamt of golfing like… Ike Eisenhower? Your opportunity is here, for upwards of $80,000. The golf clubs and custom bag, originally a gift to President Eisenhower from Steve Tobash, a staff member at Ike’s go-to course, Fort Meade, are headed to the open market with Heritage Auctions, featuring ten irons and five woods. Tobash ensured that the bag was adorned in All-American red, white, and blue, as well as Eisenhower’s name circled by five stars (as he was a five-star General, of course). Tobash’s daughter has been in possession of the clubs for decades, and this will be their first sale on the open market. The last time a former President’s golf equipment went under the hammer, RR Auctions netted $30,015 in 2016 for a set of clubs owned by both George H.W and George W Bush.

Watch Market Gets A Hand from Churchill

In another auction tied to a head of state, an 18-carat gold watch formerly owned by Sir Winston Churchill has sold for £76,000 (~$97,000) through Dawsons, far exceeding initial estimates of £20,000 - £30,000. The watch was a Christmas gift from another former Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith, in 1905. At the time, Churchill was a fledgling politician who made international headlines by changing parties after disagreements with Conservative leadership. Asquith had the Churchill Coat of Arms engraved on the watch with a message: “To Winston with gratitude.” Competition for the watch was stiff, notably from American bidders, but it will remain on British soil in the hands of a private collector.

These Guitars Need No Bidding “Help!”

Prince’s yellow “Cloud 3” guitar – used on-stage throughout the 80s and 90s – will make its way to a new owner today, with bidding at the Julien’s sale sitting at $400K at the time of publishing. The guitar last sold in 2005 for $8,114. Why the massive jump in value? It’s taken years to verify that this is the exact guitar Prince used on tours such as “Purple Rain”. Julien’s was able to confirm authenticity through the use of a CT scan, and confirmation from its original creator. If bids surpass $700K today, it will become the most expensive Prince item ever sold. 

But it won’t be the most expensive guitar sold this week. A John Lennon-used guitar, which we mentioned back in April and was played in recording sessions for “Help!” and “Rubber Soul”,  sold on Tuesday for a whopping $2.86M, besting the all-time Beatles record of $2.4M.

🚨Giveaway🚨

Finally, we’ve got a giveaway you don’t want to miss. We collaborated with card artist Tom Fallos (aka The Card Carver) on a custom trading card packed with easter eggs of some of the greatest collectibles on earth, and we’re giving (at least) one away! To have a shot at one of these limited edition cards, plus a Mantel hat, all you have to do is answer the question: If you had to choose just one player/person, character, or team to collect, who would it be?

Click the link, drop your response, and stay tuned, because we’re picking winners on Monday, June 3rd.