The most valuable costume from a TV programme was the Superman suit from the 1955 series of the Adventures of Superman (USA), which was sold for $129,800 (£81,307) at the Profiles in History auction, Los Angeles, USA on 31 July 2003. The buyer placed the bid by telephone and remained anonymous. The suit, complete with the S and red pants, was one of two costumes from the TV series which were worn by George Reeves (USA) in the title role. The series was produced from
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The highest price ever paid for a coin collection is $44,900,000 (£31,800,000) for the Eliasberg Collection sold over three auctions in 1982, 1996 and 1997 at Bowers and Merena Galleries, New Hampshire, USA. From the 1930s until 1950 Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (1896-1976), a leading Baltimore banker and financier, attempted and accomplished what had never been tried before – to collect an example of each and every major United States coin variety from the 1793 half cent to the 1933 double eagle.
The most expensive coin in the world is the 1933 Double Eagle, a $20-gold coin which was auctioned at Sotheby’s, New York, USA on 30 July 2002 and fetched $7,590,020 (£4,856,370) including buyer’s premium. As reported in The New York Times 31/7/2002: ‘In 1792 it was decided that all gold and silver United States coins would bear the depiction of an eagle, but gold pieces were issued only after the Gold Rush Boom, in 1850. They were called double eagles because their face value was
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The most valuable antique dress sold at auction is an 1888 court dress designed by Charles Frederick Worth (UK) which was sold by Monica Alexandra Seggos (USA) and Robert Frederick von Kampen (USA) on 3 May 2001 at Doyle New York, New York, USA to an anonymous buyer for $101,500 (£70,894). Charles Frederick Worth is considered the world’s first couturier. The court gown has a 23-inch waist and a 10-and-a-half-foot detachable train. It belonged to Esther Maria Lewis Chapin (1871-1959), the great-great-grand daughter of George
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Walt Disney’s Tarzan (USA 1999), first released on 17 June 1999, was made with a budget of US$150 million (then £94 million). It was the first film to use the technique ‘Deep Canvas’, which allows 2D hand-drawn characters to exist in a 3D environment.
The most expensive movie made is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007 USA), which had an estimated production budget of around $300 million (then £146 million). If the budgets of films are adjusted for inflation to 2010 dollars, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End remains the most expensive production of all time, its $315 million budget narrowly beating Cleopatra (1963 USA), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (both UK), which cost $44 million (then £16 million) in 1963, the equivalent of $310
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The highest price paid at auction for a piece of Chinese furniture is $1,102,500 (£708,002) for a Ming Dynasty, marble, huanghuali and tielimu standing screen, sold at Christie’s, New York, USA on 19 September 1996. The screen dates from the 17th century and was bought by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, USA.
The largest amount of money for which a house has been advertised is $165 million (£81.7 million) when the former home of William Randolph Hearst (USA) was listed on the property market by Westside Estate Agency in July 2007. The 6,967-m² (75,000-ft²), H-shaped Mediterranean villa is set in 2.6 ha (6.5 acres) of land in Beverly Hills, California, USA and boasts 29 bedrooms, 40 bathrooms, three swimming pools and even its own nightclub. It also featured in the film, The Godfather (USA, 1972). The house
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The most money paid for a draught horse is $112,500 (£69,440) when a 2-year-old Belgian stallion, McIlrath’s Captain Jim, was sold at the Mid-America Draft Horse Sale, Gifford, Illinois, USA on 20 February 2003. The previous owners, William Helmuth & Allen F. Detweiler (both USA) sold the horse at the public auction to James A. Raber and Orla W. Yoder (both USA).
The most valuable hair clippings sold at auction are a mass of dark black cuttings from the head of Elvis Presley which were sold by his personal barber, Homer ‘Gill’ Gilleland, for $115,120 (£72,791, buyer’s premium included) to an anonymous buyer during an online auction held by MastroNet Inc, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA on 15 November 2002. The mass of hair is approximately 3 in (8 cm) in diameter and is accompanied by letters of authenticity from Tom Morgan Jr. (detailing their history), John W.
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