The 2017 US Fall Auctions: RM and Bonhams

It’s all a far cry from dotcom millionaires and their modern hypercars, but there’s still life in the market for pre-War Americana. The Fall sales held at Hershey (RM) and the Simeone Foundation Museum (Bonhams) are now pretty well the sole outposts of the ‘Brass’ and ‘Great Gatsby’ era cars – we take a look at the figures.

At a glance:

* RM grosses $15.8m at a 95% sell-through rate (2016: $11.6m/92%)
* Top-seller at RM: 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow for $2,310,000
* Bonhams grosses $3.0m at an 82% sell-through rate (2016: $1.65m/88%)
* Top-seller at Bonhams: 1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50HP Silver Ghost 'London-To-Edinburgh' for $1,001,000

Bonhams at the Simeone Foundation Museum, 2 October 2017

The Brits kicked off proceedings with a bumper 366-lot catalogue of cars and automobilia, most at No Reserve. The emphasis at the Simeone Foundation is on originality, so the majority of the 65 motor cars were candidates for the Preservation Class.

The 1924 Bentley 3 Litre was probably well bought at $199,900, the “believed to be” prefix to its coachbuilder – Morgan & Co – no doubt dampening bidders’ ardour. The 1929 4.5 Litre Le Mans Replica Tourer did not sell.

The star of the sale was the cover car 1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50HP Silver Ghost 'London-To-Edinburgh’ (above). With enough brass, polished metal and leather to make enthusiasts for these models go weak at the knees, it sold under low estimate for $910k hammer (est. $1.1m to $1.5m). It was well documented but, unsurprisingly given its age, did not wear its original Barker coachwork.

RM Sotheby’s at the AACA Eastern Division Fall Meet at Hershey, 5 – 6 October 2017

Spread over two days, with 62% of entries at No Reserve and including two notable collections, RM’s sale found buyers for 95% of the motor cars offered. It also sold automobilia to the value of $130,928.

A glance through the lavish catalogue reveals many cars that would have filled out sales at Pebble Beach less than 10 years ago. The average year of vehicles at Hershey this time was 1936. At RM’s Monterey sale this August it was 1966.  But although overall trading volumes of these cars are in decline, prices are steady.

The headlining Pierce-Arrow was estimated at $2m to $3m and it was hammered at $2.1m. In among the No Reserve flivvers, buckboards and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ saloons, cars such as the 1936 Cadillac V-16 Convertible Sedan by Fleetwood ($715k all-in) and the 1935 Duesenberg Model J Cabriolet by d’Ieteren ($1.49m gross) showed there’s still big bucks out there.

Moving more up to date, an original Hot Rod – the 1932 Ford ‘Pete Henderson’ Roadster, pictured above – sold well at $192,500 with premium. This, and the Pierce-Arrow show car, once again proved that ‘quality counts’ in 2017.

We asked Connecticut-based Miles Morris of Morris & Welford for his take on the $2.31m Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow sold by RM at Hershey. What was so special about it?
 
“For serious American car collectors the 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow is about as iconic as it gets. There were very few streamlined cars built in the States at that time. The year is important, 1933, when the World's Fair in Chicago saw the model’s debut. It was a big event and a show-stopping car, one of the pinnacles of American car design and capable of 115mph.
 
“This one was the first produced, one of only three believed to exist of the five originally built, and formerly in the garages of well-known collectors. RM sold Number 3 – quite likely the actual World's Fair show car – for $3.74m in New York in 2015. Barrett-Jackson sold another for $2.2m in 2012 – you could say prices have not really gone anywhere.
 
“Although public sales for these cars are mainly limited now to the AACA Hershey meet in the Fall or at Amelia Island, the pre-War American market is the same as that for 1950s and 1960s European sports cars: quality and rarity still sells. A run-of-the-mill sedan is not going to generate much excitement, but something exciting and sporting such as this 1933 Silver Arrow or coachbuilt classics by Dietrich or Le Baron can command significant sums.”

Photos by Bonhams and courtesy of RM Sotheby’s/Darin Schnabel