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Garage-Find van Gogh's, Zuck's Hoodie, & JD Vance Needs a New Watch

Above the Mantel 061

Author

Evan Parker
February 06, 2025

Good morning, Collectors.

Forgive me for three shameless plugs to kick off our 61st edition of Above the Mantel.

  1. The fellas at Cardlines discovered Mantel this week and dropped a great review of our product and our community. Check it out here.

  2. Drama with Backyard Breaks has taken over #TheHobby; if you want to catch up, JR Fickle dove in headfirst in this week’s Mail Day, and it’s a worthy read.

  3. We dropped a new piece ad spot, produced by Mantel community member, Kendra Little. Give it a watch and drop us a like (and follow!).

via NYT

Dave Bergner, a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, has worn a different Birds jersey daily for over 145 days, which hasn’t been too difficult given he has more than 300 in his collection. In fact, over the years it’s been rare to see Bergner in anything BUT Eagles gear, though his wife Andrea, who apparently encourages his fandom, did draw the line at wearing a jersey to a wedding. After the 2017 Super Bowl win, Bergner got a Lombardy Trophy tattoo- if Philly wins the big game this Sunday, we’re guessing more ink is coming.

Stadium renovations at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou have given collectors the rare chance to own a piece of soccer history—specifically, the lockers of legendary players. Back in November, Real Madrid auctioned off its dressing room lockers, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić’s former spaces selling for nearly $24,000 each. Now, with Messi’s locker up for sale, those prices look like bargains in comparison. Bidding at Goldin, which runs through February 12th, is already at $366,000.

via BI

We know Mark Zuckerberg only wears oversized designer t-shirts and thick gold chains these days, but you might recall when Facebook started, his ‘uniform’ was a simple hoodie. Now one of those early sweatshirts, this one from 2010, the year The Social Network dropped and he was named Time’s Person of the Year, is up for auction at Julien’s. Originally given away for free on Facebook Marketplace, the hoodie has already smashed its high estimate, with bidding at $6,000 and weeks to go.

File this under: Why Does This Never Happen to Me? A painting bought for $50 at a Minnesota garage sale might be a lost van Gogh worth $15M. Experts spent four years researching it, analyzing canvas thread count and even DNA from hair on the painting. The artwork, possibly titled Elimar, was reportedly based on a Danish fisherman. While independent experts support its authenticity, the Van Gogh Museum has yet to confirm. If verified, it would be one of the most valuable garage sale finds ever.

via ARTNews

Crypto entrepreneur and art collector Justin Sun is suing music mogul David Geffen over the ownership of Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture Le Nez, worth north of $78M, which Sun claims was sold without his consent by a former art adviser. Sun alleges the adviser forged his signature and orchestrated a fraudulent deal, exchanging the sculpture for $10.5M in crypto and two paintings worth roughly $55M. The $6.2M banana Sun purchased last year is not part of the dispute.

No politics here, I swear! But one of our favorite newsletters, Watches of Espionage, (written by a former CIA case officer), has an interesting piece this week about Vice President J.D. Vance and the security risks associated with him wearing an Apple Watch. The author, who emphasizes vulnerabilities like remote microphone activation, GPS tracking, and data collection by third parties, urges Vance to switch to mechanical (and therefore more collectible) watch, all in the name of national security.