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RM at Hershey in 2024: a magical $16.4m step back in time

RM at Hershey in 2024: a magical $16.4m step back in time 11th October 2024

There probably wasn’t a Berluti belt or Hermès handbag within a range of 100 miles, but RM’s latest Hershey sale was a resounding success. One hundred and sixty-three cars from the golden age of motoring were catalogued. With one car withdrawn, all but three sold, grossing $16,361,450 – the highest-ever figure for the event.

Like the more mature adherents who follow this market, these cars refuse to die. Exactly a fifth of the entries offered beat their upper estimate. When you compare the prices realised for vehicles that were fabulously expensive when new, sold to the richest families in the country, many represented exceptional value: a PT Barnum family 1938 Cadillac Series 75 V16 Five-Passenger Imperial Sedan was bought for $30,250 with reasonable 10% premium.

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: $16,361,450 (2023, $10,221,600)
* Percentage sold by number: 98% (2023, 91%)
* Top-selling car: 1935 Auburn 851 Supercharged Speedster $781,000 gross, $710,000 net (est. $750k to $850k)

Sticking a pin in the catalogue, another example was the 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Weymann Fixed Head Coupé by H.J. Mulliner (pictured, top) bought new by Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Duveen, a scion of the British Duveen art dealing family, sold for $159,500 all-in (est. $200k to $250k).

Duveen clients included: Henry Clay Frick (steel), William Randolph Hearst (inheritance and publishing), Henry E. Huntington (railroads), Samuel H. Kress (retailing), Andrew Mellon (banking), J. P. Morgan (banking and finance), John D. Rockefeller Sr. (oil, the richest man in the world), Edward T. Stotesbury (banking and stockbroking), and a Canadian, Frank Porter Wood (stockbroking).

Joint founder of the art dealing business Joseph Duveen once opined: “Europe has a great deal of art, and America has a great deal of money.” Enough said. And for the “How many did they make?” brigade, the answer on this car is just one.

These are the fascinating back-stories that keep interest in the car collecting hobby alive. It will be a sad day when they are no longer told or appreciated.

RM Sotheby’s at Hershey, 9-10 October 2024 – results (2023)

Total gross cars: $16,361,450 ($10,221,600)
Number of cars not sold: 3 (12)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (1)
Total number of cars: 162 (134)
Number sold: 159 (122)
Percentage cars sold by number: 98% (91%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 82% (71%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 53% (68%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 71% (80%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 20% (12%)
Average value of cars sold: $102,902 ($83,784)
Average year of cars offered: 1943 (1940)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 75% (72%)

Photo by RM Sotheby’s