A Buckeye Stages System bus depot sign sold for $52,200 at an auction held October 7-9, 2016 by Showtime Auction Services, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. Headlining the event were the advertising collection of Gus and Trisha Brown, the Eric Hamby cash register collection, the Tiny Moyer salesman’s sample and children’s stove collection and a superb collection of firearms and gun powder posters and calendars from Curt Bowman of Ohio.

The 30-inch by 20-inch deep shelved porcelain sign boasted great color and graphics and was the top lot in a sale that grossed $1.2 million. “This is one of only two known examples of this sign to exist,” said Mike Eckles of Showtime Auction Services, based in Woodhaven, MI.

More than 2,000 lots came up for bid, to include advertising, country store, grocery, dye and spool cabinets, Coca-Cola collectibles, soda, gum, candy, firearms and gun powder posters, coin-op, toys, banks, Black Americana, veterinary and more. “The sale was a huge success,” Eckles said. “Participation was strong in person, online, on the phone and through left bids.”

More than 300 people registered to bid live over the course of the three days, with the bulk of them – about 200 people – attending the Saturday, October 8 session, when the salesmen’s samples, children’s stoves, and firearms and gunpowder posters were offered. Another 2,450 people registered to participate online, via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, and iCollector.com.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted are inclusive of a sliding scale buyer’s premium.

Folks must have had a sweet tooth going into the auction. A scarce Ghirardelli Cocoa die-cut, chain-hanging, three-part tin sign with colorful graphics by Beach Art Company (Coshocton, OH) soared to $27,000; while an equally rare Lowney’s Crest Chocolates three-piece, die-cut, chain-hanging tin sign with graphics by Kaufman & Strauss Company (NY) fetched $25,200.

Tops in the Coke collectibles category were a 1920s era Coca-Cola glass bottle lamp standing 18-1/2 inches tall with no base but in otherwise mint condition that lit up the room for $4,560; and a Coca-Cola festoon piece from circa the 1930s in near mint condition, professionally matted and framed under glass and measuring 26 inches by 26-1/2 inches overall. The piece brought $2,633.

On to cash registers and stoves, where a National Cash Register Company candy store model 5 cash register, professionally restored and obviously made for a saloon, with a rare narrow split indication on the keyboard for “Cigar/Pool”and with a metal till and bronze metal base and a reproduction top sign with a glass insert advertising Coleman’s Ginger Ale, breezed to $4,200.

A large Elberon parlor stove made by Cleveland Stove Company (Cleveland, OH), wonderfully produced in the early 1880s in the shape of a home, went for $11,400. The stove, measuring 33 inches by 41 inches by 29 inches, was beautiful in design and had marvelous ornamentation, plus an intense base heater and a double heater for wood. The lot included a broadsheet ad from 1883.

An extremely hard-to-find Ferris Waists “Good Sense Corset” die-cut tin sign, possibly the only one in existence, measuring 23 inches by 14 inches (framed, under glass), with just a couple of minor scratches but in otherwise excellent condition, changed hands for $17,550. Also, a Stag Tobacco porcelain door push, with some slight edgewear but otherwise near-mint, hit $1,560.

A Remington UMC bullet board, in very good original condition, measuring 41-1/2 inches by 54 inches, garnered $21,600; a Jackpot gambling dice machine, professionally restored and in fine working condition, with key, rose to $10,200; and a J.E. Stevens Company Professor Pug Frog’s great bicycle feat cast iron mechanical bank, known as “The Columbus Bank” and made in 1893, 18-1/4 inches long, with most of the original paint intact, went to a determined bidder for $7,020.

Showtime Auction Services’ next big auction is slated for March 31 through April 2, 2017, also at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. Sold will be the lifetime gambling collection of Richard and Mary Schulte, as well as a 40-year collection of advertising and store displays.

Part 2 of the Tiny Moyer salesmen’s samples and children’s stove collection will be a co-feature of the auction (October 7-9 was Part 1), along with the magnificent collection of Ron Sturgeon of Ft. Worth, Texas, featuring rare German school model cars. Also sold will be an extensive collection of Detroit-related items from the turn of the century, and several consignors will be offering some fresh-to-the-market advertising signs.

Showtime Auction Services is always accepting quality items for future sales. To consign a single item or an entire collection, you may call Michael Eckles at (951) 453-2415 or you can email him at mike@showtimeauctions.com. To learn more about Showtime Auction Services and the upcoming March 31-April 2, 2017 auction, visit www.showtimeauctions.com.