Hake’s Auctions has set another house record when their premier Auction #231 rose to $2.9 million. Not only did the auction set a new record, it also eclipsed their previous sell-through rate, volume of bidders, and amount of bids placed.

What makes Hake’s premier events so special is the sheer volume of collecting categories represented. The auction that closed on February 24-25, 2021 continued that tradition with some of the rarest, most desirable, and historically significant collectibles from Americana and pop culture collecting.

“Our goal in every auction is to give our bidders the best opportunity to purchase rare, high caliber items from any collecting category that grabs their interests. Whether they are passionate about comics, baseball, original art, political, toys, historical items, you name it, they will find something in our auctions,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said. “This was easily proven in this auction with the most bidders for a single premier event and a new Hake’s auction record. We are excited by the bidder turnout and anticipate growing it more in the future.”

The auction had two six-figure sales within the political and historical categories, starting with the Lincoln and Hamlin “Wide Awake” 1860 hand-painted all-seeing eye parade banner that rallied to $143,104. The Wide Awakes was a group of young Lincoln supporters who made an impression on the future president and inspired him to encourage young people to vote. Banners created and used by the Wide Awakes are almost non-existent, especially in private hands.

“This banner was part of the action at parades and torchlight demonstrations during the critical 1860 election, its production was no doubt spurred by the political awakening then occurring in reflection of Lincoln’s words and ideas. Its survival offers a rare tangible connection to the spirt of Lincoln’s champions who undoubtedly helped propel him to the Presidency. Speaking frankly, it is a national treasure,” Hake’s Americana Specialist Scott Mussell said.

The other was the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King multi-signed Birmingham Jailhouse logbook pages that hammered for $130,909. The lot consists of four logbook pages that were hand-signed 12 times by Dr. King during his 1963 incarceration. This was not only the first time they were offered in an auction but their first public display.

“As pleased as we are by the record setting result it is even more pleasing to see the deep level of appreciation extended by the dozen bidders and countless individuals who reacted to this offering. The result is indicative of the importance of not just Martin Luther King but the struggle for Civil Rights and how it shaped and continues to shape our shared history,” Mussell said.

Baseball memorabilia took a big swing with the very rare Babe Ruth “1915 Champions” Boston Red Sox Royal Rooters button that sold for $52,367. This piece features a group photo of Ruth and his 21 teammates, team owners, and trainer adorned on a red display stocking. Only two examples of this button are known to exist and of those, this example is the only one that retains its original issue stocking.

The Cox and Roosevelt 1920 jugate button Hake #2010 – considered the Action Comics #1 of political campaign collecting – realized $42,480. Since enthusiasm was low for the Democratic field in 1920 the volume of material produced was also low, which provides a challenge for modern collectors. Featuring portraits of the candidates when Roosevelt was still a relatively unknown figure, there are only around 60 examples known.

Arguments can be made for who is the greatest basketball player of all time, but there’s no denying that the market for Michael Jordan memorabilia is hot right now. This was proven at Hake’s when a 1984-1985 Star Co. Basketball Jordan #101 rookie card BGS 7.5 Near Mint+ hit $30,863 and the 1986-1987 Fleer Basketball #57 Jordan rookie card BGS 9 Mint cleared $28,556.

Back on the baseball diamond, a 1930 Homestead Grays real photo postcard exceeded its top-end preauction estimate when it reached $23,364. Featuring future Hall of Famers Oscar Charleston, Judy Johnson, Smokey Joe Williams, and Cumberland Posey, it is one of only two known examples.

A trio of original art for Mickey Mouse daily strips claimed top spots on Thursday night. The February 4, 1931 strip from the “Mickey Mouse vs. Kat Nipp” story featuring pencils by longtime Mickey comic artist Floyd Gottfredson and inks by Earl Duvall drew bids to $61,729. The February 26, 1931 strip by Duvall (the first of his Mickey Mouse syndicate art to ever come to auction) hammered for $36,054. The October 25, 1930 strip by Gottfredson (his earliest Mickey strip to come to auction) and Hardie Gramatky achieved $24,013.

Action Comics #329 original cover art by Silver Age Superman artist Curt Swan and inked by Sheldon Moldoff soared to $48,964. The oversized 12-1/2” x 18-3/8” thin artboard features the pen and ink twice-up cover that was originally published by DC in October 1965. The cover is dominated by a large, full body image of Superman in the center wielding the Super-Sword of Krypton and a large Super-Shield.

Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 4.0, the major Silver Age key that introduced Spider-Man, soared to $35,850. Largely considered the top book of that era, it also introduces Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and boasts the work of Marvel greats Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko.

The Vault of Horror #41 unpublished comic cover original art by Johnny Craig scared up a total of $27,258. The Vault of Horror ended at #40 (December 1954-January 1955), so for this piece EC artist Craig imagined what the cover of #41 would have looked like if it was published.

A rare Batman Batplane premium from 1943 flew to a total of $25,960, crushing the $5,000 high-end estimate. When Columbia’s The Batman serial was released in ’43 this Batplane was one of three giveaway items available. Other than comics, there are no known Batman collectibles from his debut in 1939 to ’43. This is the only example of the Batplane premium that Hake’s has offered.

Toys from the ‘70s and ‘80s were led by the Transformers Series 2 Jetfire AFA 90+ NM+/MT that assembled a total of $24,806. This original factory-sealed window box contains the Autobot Air Guardian Jetfire. It was made by Hasbro in ’84 using the design of a Super Valkyrie mecha from the anime series Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. This is the AFA highest graded example.

“We want to thank everyone who participated in this auction as consignors and bidders. We plan to carry this momentum into future auctions in 2021 and invite anyone interested in selling with Hake’s to reach out to us soon,” Winter added.  

All items include an 18% buyer’s premium. Lists of the top selling items in Part I and Part II of the auction are available on Hake’s website.