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Raises for probation office supervisors have been a bone of contention between the Washington County commissioners and President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca since last year.
The latest showdown occurred Thursday in the Courthouse Square office building at a meeting of the county salary board.
The judge asked that the salary board grant raises she requested for court employees in November.
"We don't want to raise taxes," Commission Chairman Larry Maggi said during the course of a more than 15-minute discussion with O'Dell Seneca. In the ensuing discussion, Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan said the county Human Resources Department is reviewing job descriptions and assigning points in accordance with duties performed, but Charles Nichols, human resources director, was just told Wednesday to include court employees.
"For four years, the court has been asking to review some things and we've been doing some things piecemeal and I've been hearing about a point system that I know nothing about," O'Dell Seneca said.
"I'm not sure that I buy into a point system. I need to know what you're going to do to address some of these issues, and I need to know what your plan is."
According to county salary records, two Juvenile Probation Department supervisors, both hired since 2000, made $60,781 last year, while three probation officers who were hired in the 1980s and are members of the bargaining unit made $63,232.
The chief juvenile and adult probation officers, both hired in the mid-1990s, made $67,602. An adult probation assistant chief made $64,250.
Compounding the pay gap is overtime pay for probation officers under the terms of the union contract. Longevity, or length of county employment, also carries a monetary incentive.
The probation officers' contract expired Dec. 31, and they are continuing to work under the terms of the old pact.
"I feel that a four-year wait has been sufficient and I've got to go forward," O'Dell Seneca told the commissioners. "This point system, in my eight years as president judge, has never been invoked."
Commissioner Harlan Shober said Washington County has gone as far as comparing salaries with those in other fourth-class counties, but the judge said in some counties "the chiefs are making $81,000-plus. I don't want to get bogged down on one specific position."
This dispute over court employees' salaries became apparent during the county's 2013 budget preparations in November when the commissioners said the treasury had not received $235,000 from the courts in 2012.
The money paid by offenders is first forwarded to the state and remitted back to courts to offset costs, including salaries of probation department employees. If the money had been deposited in the county treasury, as has occurred in the past, the commissioners said they could have retained more of its surplus.
Roger Metcalfe, county finance director, requested the $235,000 in April but was told by Tom Jess, deputy court administrator, that he didn't know when the money would be turned over.
Irey Vaughan tabled the judge's motion for raises pending a review of court employees' salaries that should be completed within the next two months. The commissioners can make raises retroactive to the beginning of the year if they choose.
The commissioners and Controller Michael Namie voted to table the judge's motion for raises for court employees. O'Dell Seneca cast the lone negative vote.
"In fairness, we need to get the point system done," Irey Vaughan said after the meeting.
"We've got close to 1,000 employees," Maggi said after the meeting. "She's asking for raises which are very substantial, which throws the whole county compensation out of whack."
At the beginning of the year, the commissioners granted 3 percent raises to county employees not covered by union contracts that are still under negotiation or will end up before a labor arbitrator.
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I think he's a must have. I know that they want to focus on the rest of the vintage line, and the heavy hitters from NA and POP, but I think Eldor SHOULD be done too. I hope Mattel considers him important cannon.
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Ya know... After looking at some of the other concept characters, I really would like to get most of these. It's a shame so many people are against them.

subset: commoncrawl


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Shown in Charcoal finish and Seeded glass - Touch image to zoom
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Canon-McMillan next up for Upper St. Clair
After toppling the No. 1 team in Quad-A, Upper St. Clair welcomes Canon-McMillan into its lair at Panthers stadium for a Southeastern Conference contest at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6.
Under new head coach Ron Coder, the Big Macs enter the fray fresh off a 39-17 loss to Penn Hills.
Of primary concern for USC is quarterback Jordan Smith. He threw for 121 yards versus the Indians. One of his six completions enabled CM to stake a short-lived lead. Jake Martin's 42-yard TD reception coupled with Luke Starcevic's extra point gave the Big Macs a 7-0 advantage in the first frame. Starcevic also added a 38-yard field goal. Jules Gdovic's 2-yard run in the third frame capped CM's scoring.
Meanwhile, USC impressed scholastic football fans with its hard-fought victory, 16-10 against Woodland Hills. On a hot August night at the Wolvarena in Turtle Creek, USC overcame a 7-0 deficit to record the win.
Mac Pope's 1-yard plunge into the end zone capped an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive and Max Herold's extra point tied the game, 7-7. Rori Blair blocked a punt for a safety, giving USC the lead for good, 9-7, with 7:41 left before intermission. After Joe Repischak's 24-yard TD run to close the first half, USC held off the Wolverines.
Though Woodland Hills started the second half with a 19-play drive, the USC defense stiffened,and the Wolverines settled for a 27-yard field goal. Plus, a fumble recovery by Pope thwarted another attempt at a comeback by the Wolverines late in the game.
In addition to the defense, a unit that returns nine starters plus Blair from a 2012 squad that allowed only 120 points, special teams is a bonus for this year's USC club, which is striving for its first title since winning both the WPIAL and PIAA championships in 2006.
Against Woodland Hills, Jesse Slinger excelled. He averaged 50 yards per punt. His best kick went for 62 yards and put the Wolverines in a tight spot on its final possession.
While USC's defense was as stifling as the weather, limiting Woody High to 203 total yards, 22 through the air, Miles Sanders broke loose for 101 yards on 11 carries. He scored the first touchdown of the game on a 5-yard scamper.
Penn Hills at Peters
Peters Township welcomes Penn Hills in its home opener at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6.
The Indians escaped Baldwin with a 33-28 victory in their Southeastern Conference opener last week. With the game tied, 7-7, they outgunned the Highlanders, 26-21, in a frantic fourth quarter.
Mark Minjock sparked PT's comeback. He scored back-to-back TDs on 10- and 24-yard runs to vault the Indians into the lead. The senior is the younger brother of Mike Minjock, who rushed for 1,300 yards last year before matriculating to Carnegie Mellon University.
Cory Owens rambled for three more scores of 59, 47 and 2 yards behind PT's powerful offensive line.
CV at Hopewell
Moon spoiled Niel Loebig's debut as head coach when the Tigers tripped up Chartiers Valley, 56-23, in the Parkway Conference opener for both squads.
This Friday at 7 p.m., the Colts try again at Hopewell. The Vikings are also 0-1 after their 20-14 loss to Montour.
Tyler Ishman is CV's primary concern. The sophomore averaged 5.8 yards per carry last year and appears up to snuff this season. He rolled up 141 yards and scored twice on runs of 15 and 59 yards in the loss to the Spartans.
Down 21-0, CV scored its first TD of the Loebig era, oddly, by an offensive lineman. Ryan Bush pounced on a Tiger fumble in the end zone for the score.
Against Moon, Tom Kovach kicked a 22-yard field goal, Anthony Voss rushed for a 21-yard TD and Tanner Garris returned a kick 85 yards to complete CV's scoring.
Josh Lapiana, however, showed signs of the Loebig passing style. Loebig threw for neary 6,000 yards and 65 scores in high school at South Fayette and more than 10,000 yards and 100 TDs in college at Duquesne University. Against Moon, Lapiana completed 12 attempts for 201 yards. Last fall, Lapiana passed for more than 1,000 yards and eight scores.
KO at SF
An airshow over South Fayette takes place at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 as the Lions host Keystone Oaks in this Century Conference clash.
The Lions are fresh off a 41-14 triumph over McGuffey while the Golden Eagles are licking their wounds after a 47-13 debacle against Steel Valley.
Brett Brumbaugh leads the Lions. The junior is well on his way to eclipsing last year's totals of 2,283 passing yards and 37 TDs. Against the Highlanders, he completed 17 of 24 aerials for 245 yards and three scores to Justin Watson, Conner Beck and Logan Sharp.
Beck finished with six receptions for 75 yards.
SF was not without a ground game as J.J. Walker rushed for two, 5-yard scores and Grant Fetchet ran for a 3-yard TD.
While his team got off to a rocky start, Kobe Phillippi flashed signs of last year's 1,000-yard season. The junior signal caller completed 6- and 28-yard TD strikes to Braydon Griffiths in the loss to the Ironmen.
McGuffey vs. SLS
Although a different stadium, Seton-La Salle hopes for similar results in week two of Century Conference action when the Rebels host McGuffey at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at Chartiers Valley. In their opener Aug. 31, the Rebels blasted South Allegheny, 40-3, at Baldwin's Cibik Stadium.
Tom Rizza proved Mr. Touchdown for the Rebels as the senior racked up four scores in the win over the Gladiators. He rushed for scores of 5, 16 and 8 yards. He also an 11-yard TD strike from Tyler Perone.
Rick Mellick, who recovered a fumble to set up a SLS score in the third quarter, put the Rebels on the scoreboard with his 3-yard plunge into the end zone at the 8:41 mark of the second stanza. The score erased SA's 3-0 advantage, waged by a 31-yard field goal by Audra Lewis. James Ross caught an 11-yard TD aerial for SLS's other score.
Perone completed 16 of 20 attempts for 196 yards. Rizza was the top target, hauling in five passes for 59 yards.
Canevin at CH
The 1-2 punch of Tyler Reddy and Giovanni DeMarzo are Chartiers-Houston's top concerns as the Buccaneers host Bishop Canevin at 7 p.m. Sept. 6. It is the second straight road game for the Crusaders.
In Darren Schoppe's debut as head coach, the Crusaers thumped United, 31-3. Because Imani Christian's football program folded officially in August, the Indiana County school filled the vacancy on Canevin's schedule.
In the triumph, Reddy and DerMarzo led the way, rolling up 151 and 100 yards respectively to lead Canevin's ground game. Reddy scored twice on rambles of 13 and 31 yards while DeMarzo raced 85 yards for his score.
Also for the Crusaders, Ryan Durbin kicked a 37-yard field goal and Zach Cortese returned an interception 31 yards for another touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are 0-1 overall after being mauled by the Bears from Clairton, 35-0, in their opener. Clairton is the four-time defending state champion.


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Expensive Collectibles
Bat Thrown by Clemens at Piazza Sells for $47,800
"The Piazza-Clemens incident is one of the most infamous in modern baseball history and this bat shard was central to the entire episode," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Collectibles at Heritage Auctions. "The Rocket lost his cool in the game and hurled this at Piazza in what is likely the most famous throw of his entire career."
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Flawless Blue Diamond Up for Auction at Sotheby's
An employee holds a 10.10 carat internally flawless blue diamond at Sotheby's auction house in London, March 15, 2016. The oval fancy vivid blue diamond is expected to fetch between $30-35 million at the auction house's Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite auction in Hong Kong on April 5.
Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Rare Spider-Man Comic Sells for $454,100
A stallholder holds up a copy of the first comicbook to feature Spiderman at the London Film and Comic Con 2014 in Earls Court, London, July 13, 2014. The comic sold for $454,100 at an auction house, Feb. 18, 2016.
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
An oil painting by Alibaba founder and president Jack Ma and artist Zeng Fanzhi, called "Paradise," sold for 42.2 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $5.4 million, on Oct. 4, 2015 at a Sotheby's auction. Sotheby's estimated that it would sell for significantly less at 1.5 to 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars. The sale's proceeds benefit the Paradise International Foundation, an environmental group established by Ma and Fanzhi. The buyer was fellow Chinese billionaire Qian Fenglei.
Ted Williams' All-Star Bat Hits Auction Block
Ted Williams' 1960 All-Star Game autographed bat he used for his final All-Star game appearance and base hit will be auctioned July 14, 2015 at the MLB's All-Star FanFest in Cincinnati. With an approximate value of $150,000, the bat was recently discovered within his former personal residence in Florida along with a handwritten note by him. The note states, "1960 Last Bat used single NY Kansas City."
Hunt Auctions
Queen Victoria's Undergarments For Sale
Undergarments that formerly belonged to Queen Victoria were sold at auction at Chippenham Auctions Rooms on July 11, 2015 for £12,390, or approximately $19,194.59. An auctioneer was able to date the intimate apparel by measuring the waistband and calculating Queen Victoria's waist measurement through photos of her. The pants bear the stamp "VR," which is short for Victoria Regina.
Chippenham Auctions Rooms
'Spectacular' Emerald-Cut Diamond
The "Ultimate Emerald-Cut Diamond," weighing 100.20 carats, D color, Internally Flawless, was sold by Sotheby's on April 21, 2015 for $22.1 million, the highest price for any colorless diamond auctioned in New York. The auction house calls it the largest "perfect diamond" with a classic Emerald-cut ever sold at auction.
Courtesy Sotheby's
$2 Million for a Pretty Penny
A copper and silver 1792 experimental penny that sold at auction in Schaumburg, Ill., April 19, 2012. It is currently up for auction at Stacks Bowers in Baltimore, with an estimated value of $2 million.
AP Photo/Heritage Auctions
#WhiteandGold Dress Auctioned Off
A white and gold version of the dress that took the internet by storm last month was sold on eBay for approximately $2,001.52. The dress, made by Roman Originals, "is being made only once and will not be sold by us to the public," according to the eBay listing. A spokesperson for Roman Originals said Tomas Petru, of the Czech Republic, bought the dress for his wife. The auction benefited Comic Relief, a charity in the United Kingdom.
Roman Originals
Marilyn Monroe's Final Photo Shoot Images May Be Worth $36,000
Images from Marilyn Monroe's last photo shoot, known as "Last Sitting," may sell for a combined $36,000 during an auction in Dallas, Texas, March 10 to 15, 2015. Heritage Auctions is offering the "contemplative collection - from early, wide-eyed shots of Norma Jeane in 1945 to raw, sensual photos taken just two weeks before her death."
George Barris/Heritage Auctions
Marilyn Monroe's Final Photo Shoot Images May Be Worth $36,000
The auction's selection of roughly 45 lots includes Monroe's final photo shoots, including color and black and white photos on the beach in Santa Monica and the Hollywood Hills.
Bert Stern/Heritage Auctions
Marilyn Monroe's Final Photo Shoot Images May Be Worth $36,000
Images from Marilyn Monroe's last photo shoot, known as "Last Sitting," may sell for a combined $36,000 during an auction in Dallas, Texas, March 10 to 15, 2015, including works by Bert Stern and Andre De Dienes.
Bert Stern/Heritage Auctions
Autographed Photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson Sold for $179,000
Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, holds a 1911 autographed photo of Cleveland ballplayer Joe Jackson, Jan. 22, 2015. The photo of Jackson, who is mostly remembered for being banned from baseball for his role in the 1919 World Series scandal and later being depicted in the movie "Field of Dreams," brought in $179,000. It sold to an anonymous collector.
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo
Boxing Gloves Sold for $956,000
Boxing gloves worn by Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston are displayed in New York, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015. The gloves were worn by the boxers during their infamous 1965 rematch. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions said the gloves sold for $956,000.
Seth Wenig/AP Photo
Indian Prime Minister's Suit Sells for $690,000
Indian people and businessmen view Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's controversial 'name-striped' bandhgala suit which he wore during the visit of President Barack Obama, in Surat, some 265 kms from Ahmedabad on Feb. 18, 2015. The memorable suit was sold for $690,000 at an auction in the western Indian city of Surat on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015.
AFP/Getty Images
Dog Collar Worth Millions
The U.S. dog jewelry company Tsavari caters to celebrities and the mega wealthy with a line of dog collars that ranges from $2,500 to millions of dollars. Its most expensive collar, "The Majesty," costs $12.3 million, according to the company, for the company's customer base in Asia and the Middle East. Made of 22 karat and "pearlized mirrabella lambskin," it has 3.51-carats of fancy vivid pink diamonds and 1.2-carat white diamonds. Tsavari is a branch of Evans Collars, which is a family-owned dog collar manufacturer in business since 1957 and based in Missouri.
Courtesy Lindsey Clouse
General Services Administration Auctions posted a lot consisting of six 24KT gold plates.
General Services Administration Auctions
1793 Penny Sells for $2.35 Million at Auction
This U.S. penny from 1793 was sold by Heritage Auctions for $2.35 million. Referred to as a "chain cent" because of the 13-links on the reverse side that represent the original 13 colonies, the design was soon replaced by a wreath in later versions.
Heritage Auctions
Pricey Christmas Cards
A luxury card company is producing custom Christmas cards with materials like gold and rubies. The prices range from $395 to $10,000. The designs of Gilded Age Greetings, based in Florida and New Jersey, are painted on calfskin vellum -- a type of medieval parchment. Each card can take up to a month to create.
Caters News Agency
A 1962 Nobel prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA has sold at auction for $4.7 million, a world auction record for any Nobel prize. Christie's says the gold medal won by James Watson was purchased on Dec. 4, 2014 by a buyer who wished to remain anonymous. The New York City auction house says it's the first Nobel medal to be offered at auction by a living recipient.
Christie's/AP Photo
In this Sept. 4, 2014 file photo, a vintage "Easy Rider" Captain America motorcycle is shown at Profiles in History auction house in Calabasas, Calif. Officials say a motorcycle reportedly featured in "Easy Rider" sold for $1.35 million Saturday night, Oct. 18, 2014.
Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo
Most Expensive Wine Ever Sells at $1.6 Million
This photo from Sotheby's shows the 114-bottle Romanee-Conti Superlot 1992-2010 (6 bottles per vintage) with an estimated value of $1,500,000 - 2,500,000. An auction in Hong Kong broke the world record for the most expensive lot of wine ever sold, with the 114 bottles of Burgundy going for $1.6 million. The Romanee-Conti sold for the equivalent of $14,121 for each bottle or $1,700 per glass.
Hermès Diamond Himalayan Birkin Bag Sells For $185,000

 Called "the rarest handbag in the world" by Heritage Auctions, this Hermes Extraordinary Collection 30cm diamond, matte Himalayan Nilo Crocodile Birkin bag with 18K white gold hardware sold for $185,000 on Sept. 23, 2014 through the auction house in Beverly Hills. The handbag has 242 diamonds with a total weight of 9.84 carats.

Heritage Auctions
Princess Diana and Prince Charles' Rotten Wedding Cake Slice Sold for $1,375
Princess Diana and Prince Charles' rotten wedding cake slice sold for $1,375. The piece of dessert from July 29, 1981 was sold through Nate D. Sanders Auctions. The sale included the white and silver presentation box and a card that reads, "With best wishes from / The Royal Highness / The Prince & Princess of Wales." Several royal wedding cake slices have sold in the past. In 2013, a piece of Prince William and Kate Middleton's two-year old cake sold for $4,160 in Beverly Hills.
Courtesy Nate D. Sanders Auction
Pricey 'Superman' Comic Sold Through Ebay
The winning bid on eBay for this copy of "Action Comic #1," the first introduction of Superman, was $3.2 million. When it was first issued in June 1938, it cost 10 cents. The auction closed Sunday, August 24, 2014 with 48 bids. It's the only comic to have sold for more than $2 million for a single copy. The listing describes the copy as the "nicest that has ever been graded."
Darren Adams/Pristine Comics
Batman Creator's Comic Books For Sale
This image shows a May 1939 copy of Detective Comics, which featured one of the earliest appearances of Batman. Batman creator Bob Kane's personal copies of the "Caped Crusader's" earliest versions and other comics will be auctioned through Aug. 29, 2014. Though auction house ComicConnect declined to estimate their value, an issue of a 1962 issue of the Incredible Hulk may be worth $300,000 and a 1942 Archie comic book may be worth $150,000, the Associated Press reported.
ComicConnect.com/AP Photo
World's Most Expensive Sunglasses?
These Linda Farrow brand sunglasses, with 18 karat gold frames, 440 diamonds and 24 karat gold-plated lenses, sell for a whopping £27,000, or about $45,000. British luxury department store Harvey Nichols is selling the eyewear.
Linda Farrow Luxe/Harvey Nichols
Lou Gehrig Signed Ticket Sells for $95,600
A Yankee Stadium ticket stub signed by Lou Gehrig on July 4, 1939, the day he retired from baseball, is shown in this undated file photo. The ticket was sold at an auction by Heritage Auctions of Dallas, July 31, 2014, for $95,600.
Heritage Auctions/AP Photo
Dalai Lama Replica Chair Available for $10,000
Toms-Price Home Furnishings, a Chicago-area furniture chain, is selling 100 limited editions of a chair originally designed for the Dalai Lama out of its location in Wheaton, Illinois. The Stickley Eastwood Chairs are replicas of the custom-designed model used by the Dalai Lama during recent public appearances, the Chicago Tribune reported. The $10,000 price includes an ottoman.
Courtesy Toms-Price Home Furnishings
Is This the World's Priciest Clutch Bag?
A House of Borgezie bag and matching diamond basque belt each at 105,000 British pounds, or about $177,860, is shown. The Borgezie clutch bag du palais is made from solid 18 ct. gold and 345 diamonds. The designer Christopher Shellis calls it "one of the world's most expensive clutch bags."
Christopher Shellis
Michael Jordan's $33 Million Contract

 What was believed to be NBA great Michael Jordan's original $33 million 1997-98 Chicago Bulls contract, the highest-ever for a single NBA season, was to be sold through Heritage Auctions in Cleveland, Ohio, July 31, 2014. But the auction item was pulled, because there is reason to believe it is a copy, a spokesman for Heritage told ABC News.

Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Bid of $10,755 Wins 1937 'Snow White' Billboard
Grey Smith, director, vintage movie poster auctions with Heritage Auctions poses near a billboard from the 1937 release of the animated film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', July 14, 2014, in Dallas, Texas. The billboard sold at an auction for $10,755.
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo
Is This the World's Most Expensive Surfboard?
A designer in New Zealand has created a surfboard from Paulownia timber with a 23-carat gold leaf lion that will set buyers back by $1.3 million.
Caters News Agency
Babe Ruth's Contract Sells for $1.02 Million
This photo shows the 1919 promissory note from the New York Yankees to the Boston Red Sox in payment for the sale of Babe Ruth, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, in Baltimore, during a media preview of sports memorabilia slated for auction to mark the 100th anniversary of his major league debut. It sold for $1.02 million, the highest price paid for a sports contract, at an auction Saturday, July 12, 2014.
Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
Lone Ranger's Outfit Sells for $195,000
This photo provided by A & S Auction Company of Waco, Texas shows the outfit Lone Ranger actor Clayton Moore wore when he made appearances as the character after retiring from television. The outfit has been sold by the Texas auction house for $195,000 on July 12, 2014.
A & S Auction Co./AP Photo
No Sour Grapes Here
"Ruby Roman" grapes are shown at Kanazawa central wholesale market on July 5, 2014 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. A wedding hall operator bought the grapes at auction for 550,000 yen or $5,400. Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported the 30 grapes weighed some 800 grammes, or 28 ounces. The red-skin grape can be as big as about 1.2 inches in diameter. Costing around $180 a pop, the grapes will be served at the wedding hall in Kanazawa, central Ishikawa.
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
Unmade Bed Sells for Over $4M
This expensive bed might not be ideal for sleeping. Artist Tracey Emin's art installation, titled "My Bed," sold for 2,546,500 British pounds, or about $4.3 million, at Christie's art auction in London on July 1, 2014. First executed in 1998, "My Bed" was Emin's actual bed cluttered with empty vodka bottles, slippers, underwear and other objects.
Christie's Images LTD. 2014
Frank Sinatra's 1934 Driver's License Sold
Frank Sinatra's 1934 New Jersey Driver's License, seen here in a photo provided by LegendaryAuctions.com, was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $15,757. The yellowed, text-only license was issued, typo and all, to the 19-year-old.
Rediscovered Painting by Artemisia Gentileschi
A rare work by the Italian 17th century Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi sold in Paris on June 26, 2014 for about $1.2 million, a world auction record for the artist. This masterpiece, Mary Magdalene In Ecstasy, was rediscovered by Sotheby's Paris Old Master Department in an old collection in the South of France, after being hidden from view for 80 years.
Sotheby's/ArtDigital Studio
Rare Stamp Sells for $9.5 Million
The 1-cent 1856 British Guiana stamp sold through Sotheby's auction house in New York on June 17, 2014 for a record $9.5 million, including buyer's premium, becoming the world's most valuable stamp and breaking the auction record for a single stamp for the fourth time. Sotheby's said the buyer is anonymous. WATCH: Rare Postage Stamp Sells for Millions
Sotheby's Auction House/AP Photo
Buffalo Bill's Necklace and Gun Sold
A Colt .45 six-shooter, right, and a necklace made from the claws of a grizzly bear once owned by ex-scout and showman "Buffalo Bill" Cody sold through Heritage Auctions in Dallas for more than $40,000 each on June 14, 2014.
Heritage Auctions/AP Photo
Lunch With Warren Buffett Auctioned Off for $2.1 Million
A lucky person and up to seven friends will have lunch with Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., to benefit San Francisco charity GLIDE. Buffett has auctioned off the lunch via eBay for the past 12 years. An anonymous bidder won this year with a winning bid of $2,166,766. The lowest winning bid was $18,000 in 2001, before the auction moved online through eBay.
Chris Goodney/Bloomberg/Getty Images
D-Day Flag Sold for $350,000
A U.S. flag from one of the thousands of Allied ships that delivered troops to the Normandy beaches sold for $350,000 at a New York City auction of hundreds of D-Day and other World War II artifacts on Thursday, June 5, 2014, a day before the 70th anniversary of the invasion.
Modigliani Painting Sells for Millions in Paris
Portrait of Paul Alexandre, by Amadeo Modigliani, 1911-1912. The painting sold for 13,537,500 euros, or approximately $18.4 million, at a Sotheby's auction in Paris, June 4, 2014. The painting has been in the possession of descendants of Alexandre, a physician who was Modigliani's only buyer until 1914, and has never been sold. The sale is an auction record for a painting by the artist in France.
Courtesy Sotheby's/ArtDigital Studio
George Harrison's Guitar Sold
This photo provided by Julien's Auctions shows the 1962 Rickenbacker 425 guitar that George Harrison played as The Beatles recorded "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at Abbey Road Studios. It sold for $657,000 on May 17, 2014, exceeding its estimated value of $400,000 to $600,000.
Julien's Auctions/AP Photo
'Miracle on Ice' Medal Auctioned Off
This photo provided by Heritage Auctions shows the Lake Placid 1980 winter Olympic gold medal of U.S. ice hockey player Mark Pavelich. Heritage Auctions of Dallas says it fetched $262,900 in an online-only sale on Friday, May 16, 2014.
Heritage Auctions/AP Photo
Baseball Depicting Marilyn Monroe Sells for $95,600
This undated photo provided by Heritage Auctions, shows a baseball decorated by sports artist LeRoy Neiman in 1992 depicting Marilyn Monroe and signed by Joe DiMaggio, who was briefly married to the Monroe. The ball was offered in a Heritage Auctions online sale on May 16, 2014. Heritage Auctions says the top-selling ball sold for $95,600.
Heritage Auctions/AP Photo
Baseball Depicting Marilyn Monroe Sells for $95,600
This undated photo provided by Heritage Auctions, shows a baseball decorated by sports artist LeRoy Neiman in 1992 depicting Marilyn Monroe and signed by Joe DiMaggio, who was briefly married to the Monroe. The ball was offered in a Heritage Auctions online sale on May 16, 2014. Heritage Auctions says the top-selling ball sold for $95,600.
Heritage Auctions/AP Photo
Diamond Stilettos For Sale
A pair of stilettos encrusted with 1,290 diamonds are on sale for 200,000 British pounds, or about $337,000. Dubbed the Diamond Princess Constellation stilettos, the shoes are available in solid platinum or 18-karat gold. Both options total 65 carats in diamond weight. The design has taken over two years to develop and each pair takes about three weeks to create. Within 24 hours of launching, British designer Chris Shellis of House of Borgeize said he has received inquiries from around the world, including New York, Dubai, and Hong Kong. He says the shoes come with a free lifetime supply of replaceable soles and heels.
Caters News Agency
Hermes Makes $14,100 Baseball Glove
This "gold swift" calfskin baseball glove by French luxury retailer Hermes costs $14,100 and requires 25 hours of work to hand stitch and finish, its web listing states. The company is also selling on its website a baseball bat "in ash and gold swift calfskin" for another $1,925.
A piece of the backdrop from The Ed Sullivan Show that is signed by the Beatles is for sale by Heritage Auctions on April 26, 2014. The band, right, performed for the first time on the show on Feb. 9, 1964, their first live appearance on American television. Adorned with individual drawings from each member of the band that day, the 48-inch long fiberglass or plastic includes a signature by Paul McCartney as "Uncle Paul McCartney." The auction house calls it a true "Holy Grail" of Beatles memorabilia.
Heritage Auctions | Getty Images
A pair of clip-on rhinestone earrings owned by Marilyn Monroe has sold at an auction for $185,000. The actress wore the jewelry when she attended the opening of "The Rose Tattoo," Julian's Auctions said in a statement Sunday, April 13, 2014.
Business Wire
Porcelain 'Chicken Cup' Sold for $36 Million
The Meiyintang Chenghua "Chicken Cup" is displayed by Deputy Chairman for Sotheby's Asia Nicolas Chow after it was sold for a record $36.1 million (HK$281.2)in Hong Kong on April 8, 2014. It's known as a "chicken cup" because it is painted with a rooster and hen tending to their chicks. Read More: 3.1-Inch Diameter Cup is More Than 500 Years Old
Aaron Tam/AFP/Getty Images
A cruiser bike that was reportedly used in the 1985 film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" is for sale on eBay for more than $25,600. The eBay auction closes on March 6, 2014. The dismantled bike comes with an autographed photo of Paul Reubens, who played Pee-Wee Herman in "Pee-wee's Playhouse" television series and the film, a photo of him signing the photo. The seller claims to be the third owner after buying the bike for $10,000 in 2010, according to the listing.
usmc_vet2008/eBay | Getty Images
Bat Thrown by Clemens at Piazza Sells for $47,800
The baseball bat thrown by former New York Yankees' pitcher Roger Clemens at New York Mets' Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series brings $47,800 at Heritage Auctions, Feb. 22, 2014. That is almost five-times its $10,000+ pre-auction estimate. The bat was consigned by Yankees' strength and conditioning coach Jeff Mangold, who retrieved it from the clubhouse after it was tossed by a bat boy.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Bat Thrown by Clemens at Piazza Sells for $47,800
"The Piazza-Clemens incident is one of the most infamous in modern baseball history and this bat shard was central to the entire episode," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Collectibles at Heritage Auctions. "The Rocket lost his cool in the game and hurled this at Piazza in what is likely the most famous throw of his entire career."
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Earliest Superman Cover Art Goes to Auction Block
The earliest Superman cover art known to exist -- Fred Guardineer's visage of the Man of Steel from Action Comics #15 -- was purchased for $286,000 in Heritage Auctions' Vintage Comics Signature Auction in New York, Feb. 20-22, 2014. Richard Evans, of Houston, Texas, who owns Bedrock City Comics Company, purchased it with plans to display the cover in his shop. "I'm just a big fan," he told the auction house.
Heritage Auctions
Rare jackets worn by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, of "The Beatles," in the filming of The Beatles 1965 film "Help!" and for the soundtrack album cover are for sale. The comedy adventure, directed by Richard Lester, depicts the group against an evil cult and fleeing to the Austrian Alps to seek refuge. Omega Auctions' sale event will take place March 20, 2014 in Liverpool, England. They are expected to sell for more than 50,000 pounds (about $83,000). The more than 200 lots for sale include rare vinyl and autographs.
Courtesy Omega Auctions
The Harley Davidson Super Glide Custom A 1,585cc, donated to Pope Francis and signed by him, is displayed ahead of Bonham's auction at the Grand Palais in Paris, Feb. 5, 2014. It sold for 241,500 euros ($327,000), including taxes and fees, to benefit Caritas Roma, a soup kitchen and hostel for the homeless in Rome.
Thibault Camus/AP Photo
Babe Ruth Watch Auctioned
Babe Ruth's 1923 World Series Championship watch, for the Yankees' first championship win, sold for $717,000 on Feb. 22, 2013. As Ruth's cancer progressed, he asked his friend Charlie Schwefel if he wanted anything from his collection. The Manhattan hotelier asked for the watch. It remained in his possession for two years before his wife gave it to her nephew, Lewis Fern.
Heritage Auctions
Babe Ruth's Watch Auctioned
Babe Ruth's 1923 World Series watch, given to all his New York Yankees teammates after they beat the crosstown rival New York Giants in six games, represented the first franchise World Series victory of 27 to date. Heritage Auctions said it sold three other watches awarded to other players, but "none can even begin to compare in importance to this one." He batted .368, with three homers.
Heritage Auctions
$628,000 Whiskey - Most Expensive Ever for Single-malt at Auction
A large crystal decanter filled with rare Macallan "M" whisky sold for 4.9 million Hong Kong dollars (about $630,000) at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong on Jan. 18. The sale of the 6-liter "M" Decanter by Lalique beat the previous record of $460,000, set through a Sotheby's sale in New York in 2010. Sotheby's said only four of the hand-blown Imperiale "M" Decanters were made by Macallan.
The Macallan
1890 $1,000 "Grand Watermelon" note brings world record $3.29 million
A legendary 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note, popularly referred to as the "Grand Watermelon note," became the single most valuable piece of currency in existence when it sold for $3,290,000, Jan. 10, 2014. It's known as the 'Grand Watermelon' due to the large zeroes on the back of the bill. It was estimated to be worth $2 million. The last time this note was at auction was 1970, when it brought $11,000.
Heritage Auctions
Record-Breaker: Two famous rare coins bring a combined $7.87+ Million
A 1787 Brasher Gold Doubloon shown in this photo brings $4.58 million and 1913 Liberty Nickel, "The Hawaii Five-O Specimen" brings $3.29 million on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014 at Heritage Auctions in Orlando, Fla. The two famous rare coins bring a combined $7.87+ million which is considered to be a record breaker.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Record-Breaker: Two Famous Rare Coins Bring a Combined $7.87+ Million
A 1787 Brasher Gold Doubloon brings $4.58 million and 1913 Liberty Nickel, "The Hawaii Five-O Specimen" shown in this photo, brings $3.29 million on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014 at Heritage Auctions in Orlando, Fla. The two famous rare coins bring a combined $7.87+ million which is considered to be a record breaker.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Hermès Kelly Bag Brings World Record $125,000
A one of a kind Hermes 32cm Matte Geranium Porosus Crocodile & Black Togo Leather Sellier Kelly Bag with Feet set a world record as the most valuable Kelly bag sold at auction when it realized $125,000 in Heritage Auctions' Holiday Luxury Signature Auction in Dallas earlier this month.
Heritage Auctions
Olympic Medal of Legendary Jesse Owens Sets Auction Record
Size 13 autographed sneakers that Michael Jordan wore in Salt Lake City, when the Chicago Bulls played Utah Jazz sold for $104,765, ESPN reported. Game 5 of the '97 NBA Finals, June 11, is known as the "flu game." While sick, he scored 38 points. Grey Flannel Auctions sold the shoes, consigned by former Utah Jazz ballboy Preston Truman. Last month, his rookie season sneakers sold for $31,070.
Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images
Jesse Owen's Gold Medal Auctioned
One of track and field star Jesse Owen's 4 gold medals from the '36 Berlin Games sold for $1,466,574, the highest paid for Olympic memorabilia. It belonged to the estate of Elaine Plaines-Robinson, the wife of entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, a close friend of Owens who died in 1949. The previous record was an $865,000 silver cup from the first modern-day Olympic marathon in 1896.
Raquel Dillon/AP Photo
Harrison Ford 'Han Solo' Blaster up for Auction
The blaster pistol belonging to Harrison Ford's "Star Wars" character Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" is up for sale. The prop, based on a Mauser C96 pistol, will be up for auction online at Invaluable on Dec. 21, 2013. It is expected to fetch from $200,000 to $300,000.
Record Goodwill Art Sale
A $23,473 sale of an African art collection through Shopgoodwill.com topped the Washington record of a Salvador Dali etching, "Reflection," that fetched $21,005 in Nov. 2012. The 55 items were dropped off at a Tacoma, Wash., store by an anonymous donor. The overall Shopgoodwill.com record goes to a $165,002 Frank Weston Benson oil painting.
Courtesy Goodwill
The Oldest Book in the U.S., Sold for $14.2 Million
This April 2013 photo shows the Bay Psalm Book, the first book ever printed in what's now the United States, which sold for $14.2 million at auction.
Sotheby's/AP Photo
Rare Leica Camera Auctioned for $620K
An extremely rare Leica camera was sold at auction by Bonhams in Hong Kong, for approximately $620,000 on Nov. 22, 2013. The gold-plated Leica Luxus II, with a crocodile-skin case, dates back to 1932. According to Leica's records, only four of its kind ever made and the whereabouts of the other three is unknown.
See the Most Expensive Warhol Painting Ever Sold
After a bidding war, "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)" by Andy Warhol sold for $105.4 million, a new record for the Pop artist. The 8' x 13' silkscreen print includes photos of a car that collided into a tree. His works grabbed four of Sotheby's top 10 lots on Nov. 13: Liz #1 (Early Colored Liz), $20.3 million; Flowers (Five Foot Flowers), $11.4 million; and 5 Deaths on Turquoise, $7.3 million.
Sotheby's/AP Photo
Record $1.1 Million Paid for Daytona Rolex
"Three Studies of Lucian Freud," a triptych by Francis Bacon of his friend and artist Lucian Freud. The 1969 painting by Bacon set a world record for the most expensive artwork ever sold. It was purchased for $142.4 million at Christie's postwar and contemporary art sale Nov. 12, 2013.
Christie's/AP Photo
Record Paid for Daytona Rolex
A stainless-steel 1969 Rolex Daytona chronograph sold for $1.1 million, the highest for a Daytona at a public auction, at a Christie's sale in Geneva on Nov. 10, 2013. Another Rolex Daytona made for the Sultan of Oman sold for $864,285. The highest paid for any Rolex was $1.16 million in May. The Daytona was Rolex's first chronograph with the tachymeter scale printed on the bezel, not the dial.
Christie's Images Ltd. 2013
Hugh Jackman Auctions Personalized Voicemail For Charity
Get Hugh Jackman to record a personalized message on a cell phone or home phone answering service to benefit the charity Children of Chernobyl on Nov. 25. The fantasy auction item description states: "The message must be of a personal nature and cannot be used to promote a product or business. Value: Priceless. Donor: Hugh Jackman." Online fans can bid for this and other fantasy items at cah.net.
Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Christie's Napoleonic-Era Wine Auctioned
A bottle of port wine dating back to the Napolenoic Wars, Macedo Porto Vieux, Garrafeira 1808, sold for $2,568, or 2,350 Swiss francs, at a Christie's auction, Nov. 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland. A bottle of Manoel Beleza de Andrade 1812, from the year Napoleon Bonaparte retreated from Moscow, was also on the auction block.
Courtesy Christie's
Titantic Violin Sells In Auction
A violin believed to have played on the Titanic before the ship sank was auctioned for more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) on Oct. 19, 2013. The now unplayable instrument is thought to have belonged to bandmaster Wallace Hartley.
Henry Aldridge and Son
Gold Coin Sold for $2.5 Million
A rare four dollar "Coiled Hair Stella" U.S. gold coin from 1880 was auctioned for $2.5 million at Bonhams in Los Angeles. It is made of six grams of pure gold. It was never released into circulation due to a lack of public support.
Rupert Murdoch's Yacht For Sale at $29.7 Million
Media mogul and News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch is selling his luxury yacht for $29.7 million following his divorce from former wife Wendi. The 184-foot Rosehearty has six cabins, Hermes leather furnishings, and a large Jacuzzi. "She comfortably accommodates up to 12 guests in a full-beam master suite, two identical VIP staterooms, two doubles and a single with Pullman berth," the listing states.
Camper & Nicholsons International
Engineer wins auction to meet Warren Buffett
The winning bid to meet Warren Buffett at See's Candies' factory in L.A. was $156,000. Engineer and business owner Jack Staub snagged the tour at Charitybuzz.com. The Creative Artists Agency "School Day" Auction raised $450,000 for Communities In Schools of L.A. The bid is a steal compared to the $1 million auctioned earlier this year for the annual Buffett power lunch and last year's $3,456,789.
Dave Weaver/Invision/AP Photo
Lucille Ball's Signature Dress Sold For $168,000.
Lucille Ball's signature Lucy Ricardo black and white polka-dot dress worn on "I Love Lucy" sold at auction by Profiles in History on July 30, 2013. The estimated price was $40,000 - $60,000 and it sold for $168,000. The Dreier Lucille Ball Collection began when Chad Dreier acquired a large collection from the estate of Academy Award-winning costume designer Elois Jenssen (1922– 2004).
Courtesy Profiles in History
'Frankenstein' Poster May Fetch $100k at Auction
A one-of-a-kind 1931 Frankenstein insert movie poster, purchased by a Chicago man when he was a teenager and stored in a closet for three decades, sold for $262,900 by Heritage Auctions in Dallas on July 27. Keith Johnson, 59, bought the poster from an antiques shop for just a few dollars in the 1960s. It is the most valuable movie poster insert ever sold at auction.
Courtesy Heritage Auctions
Wooden Chest Auctioned for $9.5 Million
Auctioneer Aymeric Rouillac poses on June 7 at Cheverny by a Japanese chest that belonged to Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-16661). The wooden box was auctioned for $9.5 million to Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum on June 9 at a sale organized by the Chateau de Cheverny. A French man in London bought it in the 1970s and used it to store liquor and as a TV stand.
Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: The world's largest yacht.
The world's largest yacht launched for the first time in Germany in April following the vessel's completion. It spans about 590 feet long and though the price has been kept under wraps, it's reported to be worth about $600 million.
Claus Schaefe / SWNS.com
Jackie O's Yacht Goes Up On The Block
The yacht, Christina O, that belonged to the late Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis is for sale for 25 million euros ($32.4 million). He bought the WW2 Canadian frigate for $34,000 in the 1950s, spent millions to convert it into a yacht and married Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on it in 1968. His daughter, Christina, gave the 99-meter boat to the Greek government after he died in 1975.
AP Photo
Mick Jagger Hair to be Auctioned
A lock of hair from The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger was sold for $6,069 (£4,000) to an unnamed buyer. The sale benefits the U.K. charity, Changing Faces, which supports people with disfigurements. The lock of hair was estimated to be worth £1,500 to £2,000, or about $2,300 to $3,100. Cut in the 1960s, the hair was saved by the grandmother of Jagger's old girlfriend Chrissie Shrimpton.
Courtesy of Bonhams
KFC's Col. Sanders' White Suit Auctioned
KFC founder Colonel Sanders' suit and clip-on bow-tie fetched $21,510 on June 22, 2013 in an auction held by Heritage Auctions. Consigned by Cincinnati resident Mike Morris, whose family house was bought by Col. Sanders and where Sanders lived with the family for six months, Morris was given the suit by the Colonel, who was close to Morris' family. "Kentucky Colonel" was an honorary title.
Heritage Auctions
First Apple Computer Could Fetch $500,000 or More
An Apple 1 prototype computer, built in 1976, accompanied by an operation manual and schematic as well as a photo of its inventors, Steve Wozniak, left, and Steve Jobs, is shown in this undated photo. One of the very first Apple 1 computers, worth about $500,000, goes on sale later this month at Christie's auction house, the latest vintage tech sale. An Apple-1 sold for $671,000 in May in Germany.
Christies Images Ltd. 2013/AP Photo
24 Carat Gold Shoes on Sale
Italian designer Alberto Moretti announced the launch of exclusive 24 carat gold shoes. The shoes are made from velvet and covered in gold. The shoes, pumps for women and loafers for men, cost £1,700 or about $2,664. They were presented for the first time during the Monte Carlo Grand Prix on May 25, 2013. A spokesperson for the designer said Barneys New York will sell them in September.
Courtesy Alberto Moretti
Auction for Lunch with Warren Buffett
The 14th annual charity auction for lunch with Berkshire Hathaway chairman/CEO Warren Buffett ended June 7. The winning bid this year was $1,000,100. Last year's winning bid on eBay was a record $3,456,789. The auction raises money for GLIDE Memorial Church's charity work in San Francisco. The prize is lunch with "The Oracle" and up to seven of your friends at Smith & Wollensky in New York City.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Carpet Auctioned for $33.7 Million
A Sickle-Leaf Carpet, an early 17th century Persion rug from Washington, D.C.'s Corcoran Gallery of Art, was auctioned in New York, June 5, 2013 by Sotheby's for $33.7 million. Sotheby's said the price was more than three times the previous auction record for a carpet. It measures 8 feet 9 inches by 6 feet 5 inches.
Sotheby's/AP Photo
Lady Gaga's Nail For Auction
A black acrylic nail worn by Lady Gaga during her "Born This Way Ball" tour and designed by Aya Fukuda reportedly sold for $12,000. A member of the stage crew for her concert in Dublin, Ireland on Sept. 15, 2012 listed the item. The seller said in the listing: "As I was about to start work I noticed an object on the floor of the stage... when I picked it up, I saw it was an acrylic nail."
Plcollecta.com | Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
Basquiat Painting Sold
A Jean-Michel Basquiat painting titled "Dustheads" set a new auction record for the graffiti artist at a sale of postwar and contemporary art in New York. Christie's says "Dustheads" sold for $48.8 million on May 15, 2013. Basquiat's "Untitled" held the previous record when it sold in November for $26.4 million. Christie's made $495 million in total, the highest at any art auction, said the AP.
Christie's/AP Photo
'Little Pastry Chef' Sells for $18 Million
"Le petit patissier" (the "little pastry chef") by Chaim Soutine sold for $18,043,750 at Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art sale in New York on May 8, 2013. The sale set a new world auction record for the artist.
Christie's Auctions Giant Egg
Christie's scientific specialist James Hyslop holds up a chicken egg to scale the size of a sub-fossilised pre-17th century Elephant Bird egg that sold for $101,679, or 66,675 pounds, at the auction house in London. The Elephant Bird egg measures over 100 times the average size of a chicken egg, and stands at 21cm in diameter and 30cm in height. It was estimated to be worth $30,500 to $45,750.
Matt Dunham/AP Photo
Francis Crick's Nobel Medal
The1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine awarded to Dr. Francis Crick sold for $2.27 million, including a buyer's premium, on April 11, 2013 through Heritage Auctions. Jack Wang, the CEO of biomedical firm Biomobie in Shanghai, who flew into New York for the auction, was the highest bidder. Drs. James Watson and Maurice Wilkins were also awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of DNA.
Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo
Letter Sells For Record Amount
A letter by British scientist Francis Crick to his 12-year-old son sold for $6 million, including a buyer's premium, at an auction on April 10, 2013. Weeks before Crick and James Watson published their DNA discovery in Nature, Crick described DNA's "beautiful" structure in a seven-page letter. "My dear Michael," the letter starts, "Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery."
Honus Wagner Baseball Card Sells for $2 Million
The front and rear of a 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card is shown. The rare T206 card, one of 44 originally released by the American Tobacco Co., sold for $2,105,770.50 in an online Goldin Auctions sale, April 6, 2013. While the company said the price was a record for a baseball card sold at auction, a similar Wagner card in mint condition was purchased for $2.8 million in a private sale in 2007.
Goldin Auctions/AP Photo
World's Most Expensive Pacifier
An 1865 card of the Brooklyn Atlantics baseball team was sold for $92,000 on Feb. 6, 2013 in Biddeford, Maine by the Saco River Auction Co. The Atlantics card, which shows 10 players, is a carte de viste, a type of small photograph usually made of thin albumen print and mounted on a thicker piece of paper. A man found the card at a rural yard sale in Maine.
Saco River Auction Co./AP Photo
Aung San Suu Kyi's Handknit Sweater Sells for $74K
A teenage photo of the late Lady Diana labeled "not to be published," sold at an auction for $18,396. The photo is stamped Feb. 1981, taken some time before she moved into Buckingham Palace on Feb. 23, 1981. She married Charles, the Prince of Wales, on July 29, 1981.
Caren Archive
John Lennon autograph sold for $72K
John Lennon's "last autograph" sold for $72,000. Gotta Have It! Collectibles, Inc. states an engineer at The Record Plant studio asked for an autograph for his friend on Dec. 8, 1980. He mistakenly thought it was for someone who replaced a broken guitar string, writing: "To Karl, who strung me along, thanks John Lennon 1980." He was later shot in front of The Dakota apartment building.
Simple Auction
First Book Published in N. America to be Sold
A church in Boston is selling a rare psalm book from 1640 that could fetch between $10 million to $20 million, the Boston Globe reported. Old South Church voted to allow its trustees to sell one of its two copies of a 1640 Bay Psalm Book to help pay for building repairs and support its ministry.
Boston Public Library
Eric Clapton's Watch Sold for $3.6M
Mark Rothko's "No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)" from 1954 sold to a telephone bidder for $67 million, or $75.1 million with Sotheby's fees, on Nov. 13, 2012. The painting sold above its expected sale price of $35 million to $50 million.
$100,000 Kitchen Range for Sale
An "ultra-rare" watch by Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe from musician Eric Clapton sold for $3.6 million by Christie's. Only two of this particular model were cased in platinum. Made in 1987, it's described as a "platinum perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch with moon phases." The watch had an estimated value of $2,668,650 to $4,278,080 or 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 Swiss francs.
Christie's Images LTD. 2012
Judy Garland's 'Wizard of Oz' Dress Has Sold
Judy Garland's blue gingham dress from "The Wizard of Oz" was sold for $480,000 at the two-day auction event held at Julien's Auctions Beverly Hills, Calif. Nov. 10-11, 2012.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
Posters Seized by Nazis Worth Millions
Claude Monet's painting titled "Nymphets," from his water lilies series, has fetched $43.8 million at auction. The iconic 1905 painting had been estimated to sell for $30 million to $50 million, but went just below the middle of that range when sold at Christie's auction house in New York this week.
Christie's New York/AP Photo
Kanye West, Kim Kardashian in a Lamborghini
George Washington's annotated copy of the Constitution and Bill of Rights (1789) sold for $9,826,500, setting a new world auction record for an American book or historical document, according to Christie's New York.
Alex Brandon/AP Photo
'Flying Hovercraft' Sells for $190K
Andy Warhol's portrait of Elvis Presley depicted as a cowboy with a silver background, "Double Elvis [Ferus Type]," sold for $37 million on May 9, 2012. The silkscreen image, estimated to be worth $30 million to $50 million, was first displayed in Los Angeles' Ferus Gallery in 1963. It was the first "Double" Elvis to appear on the market since 1995 out of the 22 images Warhol created of Elvis.
Sotheby's/AP Photo
Rare Baseball Card Sold For $1.2M
Edvard Munch's painting, 'The Scream,' was auctioned in 12 minutes for $119.9 million on May 2, 2012 at Sotheby's in New York by a mystery bidder, a record price for an artwork sold at auction. Christie's sold Pablo Picasso's 'Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust' for $106.5 million in 2010. 'The Scream' that was auctioned is one of four versions and the only one that is privately owned.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Chinese 'Chicken Cup' Breaks Auction Record
Go Inside the late Johnny Carson's $81.5M beach house
Banksy's 1st US Street Art Auctioned for $209K
"Costume jewelry" diamond really worth hundreds of thousands
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text:
Don't shoot the messenger, or better yet, don't run over the petroleum marketer.
"We're the same as you," Baca says. "You have your car and you go and fill it up and it holds 14 gallons. We send our truck to the loading rack and buy 8,000 to 8,500 gallons at a time. Whatever price is posted when we get there, that's what we pay."
Baca gets out of bed at 6 am each morning, plugs in his coffee machine, then reads the newspaper cover-to-cover, highlighting and setting aside any article that could potentially have an impact on the gas market. He drives his three grandkids, who live with him, to school and then runs whatever small errand is on the way back to his home office. As bad as his long-term predictions are, Baca's fairly proud of his ability to peg the prices at the pumps before he even leaves the house.
"I can come pretty close by just looking at the price of oil and then I look at the refinery levels and see what their price is," Baca says. "I can come within 2 to 3 cents every time." Contrary to popular myth, Baca says, gas stations in New Mexico don't profit off the price spike—the windfalls belong to the oil corporations, who have largely quit the retail game in New Mexico. Eight years ago, Chevron and ExxonMobil sold off all their company-operated stores and ConocoPhillips is in the process of doing the same. Neither Shell nor Texaco operate stations in New Mexico. The retail side only produces a fraction of the profit a corporation can make from oil production and refining.
Oil is pushing $140 per barrel, more than triple the price five years ago. Baca says he started calling publicly for a change in national energy policy approximately eight years ago but even then the US was more than a decade behind the curve.
"The United States has missed the boat," Baca says. "We don't have an energy policy that is of any significance, so therefore we pay the price. That's about it. We had it too good for too long.
In the 1970s you could operate the United States on the oil we were pumping out of Texas and across the country if we had to. By the mid-1980s, we started having to buy more and more overseas and that should've set off some sort of warning signal, some sort of red flag that we needed to do something else. But we didn't."
In short, Americans can only blame themselves and their elected officials for the price of gas. New Mexicans are particularly responsible because the state's two senators, Bingaman and Republican Pete Domenici, are the ranking members of the Senate Energy Committee. President Bush even held the signing ceremony for their Energy Policy Act of 2005 at Sandia National Laboratory. That bill, Baca says, was as light on energy reform as it was heavy with pork projects—particularly for companies connected to Texan politicians. (For the record, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton both voted against the Act, while Sen. Barack Obama voted for it. Bingaman told an MIT audience in January that Congress had the problem wrong in 2005; it focused on cutting back on foreign oil, when the US needed to be cutting back on all oil, period.)
But if New Mexicans want someone other than themselves to bludgeon, look no further than commodity futures traders, Baca says. By Baca's estimates, barrels of oil are overpriced by a good $30 to $40 because speculative investors are essentially aggravating the market. Whether the commodity is cotton, sugar or crude oil, futures traders push prices higher than the market value when a commodity is already on the increase, and drag the prices down when the commodity begins to slump.
Oil is not going to slump any time soon; unlike bananas, gasoline doesn't grow in groves. Once the global supply is depleted, that's it.
"I don't want to say that it's market manipulation, but there's several bills in Congress to reign in the commodities people," Baca says. "They're becoming extremely rich while the rest of the country is going down the tubes."
Rita Ryan, a commodity futures trader who lives in Rio Rancho, doesn't disagree.
"For any other market I would say the cure for high prices is high prices and eventually it burns itself out, but not in this case," Ryan says. "I'm glad they're investigating the brokerage houses. I'd like everybody to be on the up and up, but that's not life. There very well could be some serious manipulation that's going on in this market and we just don't know."
But don't blame her either; Ryan's just the "Corn Lady," trading mostly on agricultural futures. She'll occasionally dabble in crude oil—it's hard to resist a market so dynamic—but she watches oil prices closely because, at this stage, the price of every commodity, from seeds to pork bellies, hinges on how much it costs to ship it. In the case of her specialty, corn prices are currently trading at more than double what she'd usually expect in a bull market like this.
And she's never seen anything like it. Ryan got her start as a runner for soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade, where transactions were conducted with colored paper and tickers.
"In the old days, I lived that trading floor experience," Ryan says. "When there was a trade you knew what house it was coming from just because you were on the floor and you could see what was happening. In today's markets, where everything is done electronically, all of this has become very anonymous. You're sitting at your computer terminal and you're watching the prices go up, up, up, up, up and then you see some selling come in and the prices go down, down, down and then up, up, up, up and then down, down, down, down, but you don't know who's hitting the market with all those buys and sells."
And it used to be that when prices broke sharply in one direction or another, the reason for it—for example, a sudden shortage of cotton in China—would become obvious, if not immediately, then within a matter of weeks. It's what commodity traders call the "fundamental," the basic supply-and-demand driving the market.
In the case of crude oil, Ryan knows that countries like China and India are driving up the demand for fuel as their economies boom. But, like Baca, she doesn't see how those fundamentals account for such large and wild swings on the oil market. On June 5, for example, Ryan was dumbstruck when, after a week of gradually decreasing prices, crude oil suddenly shot up $6 per barrel in an instant. She doesn't expect to ever learn why.
"Before, there was always something to tie to the move; Maybe you didn't see the fundamental right away, but you saw it later," Ryan says. "So, here's the big dilemma with the crude oil: A lot of it isn't making sense. It's not just the average person sitting at their house, going, 'Wow, where did this $4 gasoline come from? I just paid $3.79 for gas and I'm considering that a bargain.' Even professionals in the business don't know what's going on."
There are many reasons why politicians like the phrase "energy independence." It's patriotic. It implies strength through self-reliance and, to the war-weary, it guarantees that America's fuel needs will never again be a motive for the invasion of a sovereign nation.
Perhaps most of all, politicians use "energy independence" because it sounds a whole heck of a lot better than what it actually means: "Much, much, much more drilling at home."
The US can't wean itself off foreign oil without surrogating it with domestic oil. And domestic oil can't be drilled without domestic risk, whether it's the Arctic Wildlife Refuge in Alaska's Anwar Province or the Galisteo Basin here in Santa Fe County.
The question, then, is what's in it for New Mexico, a state that already produces more oil than it consumes? Some might suggest that the rules of economics that state where there is increased supply, lower prices follow, might bode well for local drivers.
But really, Baca says, any effect of an increase in local production would be slight and indiscernible.
"The problem with oil is that it's traded on the commodities market," Baca says. "I don't care if you drill it in New Mexico and produce it in New Mexico and you sell it to a refinery here in New Mexico, it's still the same price as if you would sell it in Houston or you were to ship it up to Utah."
When Houston-based Tecton Energy held its public meetings about drilling in the Galisteo Basin last fall, Managing Partner Bill Dirks promised that whatever sweet crude it sucked from the ground would be refined locally into gasoline. That would potentially create jobs and help the economy, but Dirks stopped short of what could have been the deal-clincher for many skeptics. Had he promised relief at the gas pump, perhaps that would have won over at least a handful of converts. It also would have been a lie.
Instead, the anti-drilling community successfully lobbied Gov. Bill Richardson and the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners to pass temporary moratoriums on drilling in the Galisteo Basin. Tecton announced it would hold no more public meetings and all press inquiries would be handled by a local public relations agency.
In his first public communication since January, Dirks confirms via e-mail that Tecton has indeed signed an oil contract with the Western Refining (formerly Giant) refinery in Farmington. Tecton, Dirks says, will have no control over gasoline sales. Furthermore, he adds, it doesn't matter whether Tecton finds 100 barrels or 100 million barrels beneath the Galisteo Basin—New Mexico's refineries have a fixed production capacity. This means there wouldn't actually be an increase in local supply.
"No amount of locally refined Galisteo Basin crude would be able to dramatically lower prices at the pump in Santa Fe," Dirks writes. "The price will just keep going up with rising global demand unless the US adds major new domestic supply."
Dirks says there's another awful truth. Although allowing Tecton to drill won't reduce gas prices, denying the company the opportunity to drill does have the potential of raising gas prices. Perception is the driving force on the futures market and not-in-my-backyard activists fuel the "scarcity mentality," he says.
"I do believe Santa Fe and other counties to some extent influence the commodity traders when imposing drilling moratoria," Dirks says. "But you have to put that into context against other fear factors like Nigeria losing 2 million barrels a day capacity because of tribal conflicts, etc., which are much bigger news."
And that doesn't even touch on the obvious: The longer Santa Fe County postpones Tecton's drilling, the more the company's potential profit margin grows. Oil prices maybe rising, but the cost of drilling remains unchanged.
It's May 23, the thick of silly season in politics, and Jon Elliott, host of a late-night Air America talk show, has opened the phone lines. It's free topic Friday and every issue is on the table.
The caller on the line is an articulate, youngish-sounding man who wants to talk about gas prices and he seems to have a grasp, if not on the nuances of congressional politics, then at least the big names. And the big names he drops are: Senate Majority Leader Harry Read, D-Nev., and international pop star Shakira.
As the caller explains to Elliott, Shakira visited Capitol Hill the day before to lobby for the Education for All Act, a bill to provide funding for school construction in the developing world. The caller claims that, in between press conferences, Reid and Shakira stuck a backroom deal: She would become a covert "oil ambassador" to South America, using her powerful connections (she's engaged to the son of the former Argentinean president) to negotiate oil aid for the US. In return, Reid would ensure passage of the bill and, as a bonus, arrange for her appointment as secretary of state in a Barack Obama administration.
The caller said he read it on the Internet. Elliott hung up on him.
Craig O'Hare, special assistant for renewable energy in the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, happens to be an early Shakira fan—he had her third album, Pies Descalzos, well before she made it big.
Nonetheless, O'Hare didn't mention Shakira during his testimony to the New Mexico Legislature's Interim Committee on Radioactive and Hazardous Materials at the end of May. But gasoline prices were a central theme of his PowerPoint presentation, "The Rapidly Changing Global Energy Landscape—Implications for New Mexico."
O'Hare told the committee that the price of a barrel of oil could hit $150 this summer and $200 by next year, which would translate into $7-per-gallon prices at the pump. While the commodities traders certainly play a role, O'Hare points to the concept of "peak oil" as the root of the problem.
In short, he explains, peak oil production is the date when half of the world's oil supply has been consumed. The US reached peak domestic oil production in the 1970s, but the global point has either already been breached or is on the verge.
Newly tapped oil fields won't make a dent in the problem, O'Hare says, pointing out that Brazil's newly discovered 8-billion-barrel oil field will only fuel the planet for four months. If the US were to open drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, the product would only satisfy US consumption for a year.
So, if there's nothing that can be done on the supply end, it only makes sense to look at the demand. And that's where O'Hare pointed legislators: Early evidence of driving habits indicate that $4 is the breaking point for New Mexicans. In 2008, they're driving less, riding buses more and the car dealerships can't stock hybrid cars fast enough.
"We're into a complete paradigm shift," state Rep. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, who sits on the Interim Committee, says. "The days of driving large, inefficient vehicles are coming to an end."
This election cycle, politicians have been careful to measure their talking points about gas prices, even though it will likely be one of the central issues of debate leading up to November. Short-term solutions are contentious, as illustrated by how quickly the debate over a national gas tax holiday fizzled once economists pointed out that such a move would provide, at best, a one-tank-of-gas savings. In DC, Bingaman successfully led the effort to stop the president's filling of the nation's strategic oil reserve. While that means the US government won't be driving up demand itself any longer, Congress has yet to convince the president to release any of the oil into the market.
Even if he did, the impact would be minimal and short-lived: The 701 million barrels in the 97 percent full emergency supply would barely sustain the US for a month.
It isn't unreasonable to expect gas prices to top $5 or even $6 by the time the New Mexico Legislature meets again in January. Lawmakers already anticipate they'll be under significant pressure to do something about it.
By then Wirth will be a state senator and he's fully expecting two proposals to emerge at the forefront of debate.
From his Republican counterparts, he expects a move to reduce New Mexico's 17-cent gas tax by using New Mexico's windfall profits from its natural gas severance tax. That proposal, however, suffered a major blow when Rep. Dan Foley, R-Chavez, the legislator who championed it in 2007, was defeated in his reelection bid on June 3.
In 2005, the Legislature passed a tax incentive program for New Mexicans who buy hybrid vehicles. That's when Wirth picked up his Toyota Prius with a $750 discount, not including a similar federal tax incentive package. The program is set to expire in 2009; Wirth says it needs to be renewed in order to prevent a car-market crisis in which everyone will want to sell their cars, but no one will want to buy them.
"I think we have an obligation to use some of this revenue to assist particularly lower income and middle income folks in making these transitions to more efficient vehicles," Wirth says.
Wirth isn't the only politician who rolls the roads in a hybrid: Bingaman, US Rep. Tom Udall, D-NM, and congressional Democratic nominee Ben Ray Lujan all drive hybrids they bought under the state's incentive program. In a sense, the hybrid is becoming the driveway equivalent of the American flag lapel pin: You can't run for office without one. At least not as a Democrat.
And yet, despite all the warnings against it, there are still those advocating that people drive more, just for the sake of driving. They aren't motivated by profit, but by hatred for former Vice President Al Gore.
The Grassfire.org Alliance, a conservative nonprofit 501(c)4 organization, has dubbed June 12 "Carbon Belch Day" and announced its plans to release 100 million pounds of CO2 into the air. The group hopes to prove that, contrary to Gore's claims in An Inconvenient Truth, climate change has nothing to do with one's carbon footprint.
At Carbonbelchday.com, Grassfire.org members are asked to pledge to gratuitously expend as much as energy as possible, including driving needless miles. When contacted by e-mail about the implication the holiday may have on gasoline prices, Communications Director Ron De Jong responded with what can only be described as a nervous electronic titter.
"Don't overthink Carbon Belch Day," he writes. "We are simply making a humorous statement that partaking of the normal activities of our lives—turning on lights, driving a car, making a left turn in a car, smoking a cigar, cutting a lawn, etc., does not endanger the planet or hasten its destruction."
And New Mexico, because of Grassfire.org's strong stance on immigration, is part of the group's base.
"We've had a good showing from New Mexico, I can't quote the exact amount of CO2 set to be released from its citizens, but we had more than 3,300 folks sign our petition opposing the coming carbon tax from your great state," De Jon says.
Carbon belchers aside, Gore's PowerPoint presentation really isn't half as influential as the standard corner gas station sign. Fuel prices alone are the reason why the waiting list for a Prius at Beaver Toyota is three months long.
"All the cars that are real economical, like the Corolla, the Prius and the Yaris, have been doing very well," Toyota salesman Andy Palmer says. "A couple of months ago, we had 41 Priuses on the ground and we sold them all. Then gas prices jumped again and, because of the jump, people started ordering them. We have 31 orders and that means most of those of people have never even driven one, but they've committed to it and given us a $500 deposit (which is refundable)."
Looking more like an NFL coach than a car salesman, Palmer stands in the best spot to launch a pitch: between the dealership's front door and the first empty parking spot. The job is more complicated these days: Palmer hasn't had a Prius on the lot to show customers for weeks. Somebody even booked the dealership's lone rental Prius for a full month. All the cars on the lot display stickers explaining their gas mileage, but even those figures are obsolete: The annual estimated fuel costs are based on $2.80-per-gallon assumptions. Regardless, driving a Prius cuts the cost of gas in half.
A customer rolls up on a moped-class scooter. As the rider lifts his helmet, Palmer shoots off the only appropriate sales pitch. "With the gas mileage you get on that thing," he says, "you really don't need to buy a car."
When a car salesman is talking people out of a new set of wheels, it's officially time to stop idling. SFR


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'Stop bombing hospitals': MSF's Dr. Joanne Liu calls on UN Security Council to uphold protection of civilians in war zones
MSF International President Dr. Joanne Liu, a physician from Montreal, addressed the UN Security Council, and called upon member states to live up to their obligations under UN Resolution 2286 and to stop the relentless assaults on civilian and medical targets.
A Canadian MSF surgeon's lifetime of expertise brings care to wounded patients in the world's war zones
Few other surgeons working for Doctor Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) around the world have as much experience treating war-wounded patients as Dr. Edgar Escalante from Vancouver.
'Healthcare at breaking point': A Canadian MSF nurse describes the challenges of providing and accessing medical care in Yemen
Crystal van Leeuwen, a Canadian nurse and member of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières's (MSF) emergency team, is back from seven months coordinating MSF's medical activities in Yemen. Van Leeuwen has worked with MSF in countries including Syria, South Sudan, DRC and Nigeria, as well as on Ebola response in West Africa. Here she reflects on her recent mission in Yemen and describes the impacts of war on civilians, medical workers and healthcare facilities.
Al Zahraa hospital has this week been the latest hospital to be damaged by an airstrike in besieged east Aleppo, where 250,000 people are now trapped in an increasingly unsustainable situation. The medical facility was hit during the bombing on Tuesday evening and had to stop activities after doors, windows and an electricity generator were destroyed. Fortunately, there were no human losses.
On Monday, August 29, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)'s search and rescue boat Dignity I contributed to the rescue of around 3000 people drifting in about 20 rubber dinghies and several wooden boats, one of which carried between 600-700 people, in the central Mediterranean.
Northern Yemen: MSF evacuates staff following indiscriminate bombings, unreliable assurances by Saudi-led coalition
Following the August 15 aerial bombing of Abs Hospital in Yemen's Hajjah Governorate, which killed 19 people and injured 24, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has decided to evacuate its staff from the hospitals it supports in Saada and Hajjah governorates in Northern Yemen, concretely Haydan, Razeh, Al Gamouri, Yasnim hospitals in Saada and Abs and Al Gamouri hospitals in Hajjah. The attack on the Abs hospital is the fourth and deadliest on any MSF-supported facility during this war and here have been countless attacks on other health facilities and services all over Yemen.
Dispatches is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada's official magazine. In our Summer 2016 issue, we take a look at the global displacement crisis, in which more than 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes by conflict, persecution or hardship.
Crisis in Borno State: Testimonies from MSF patients displaced by conflict and malnutrition in northern Nigeria
The area around Banki, a town in northeastern Nigeria's Borno State, is currently sheltering some 15,000 people, the vast majority of whom have been displaced from their homes by conflict between government forces and Boko Haram. They are among hundreds of thousands of people in the region facing a severe malnutrition crisis and in need of emergency aid.
A Toronto doctor receives a warm welcome while delivering care to Syrian refugees in Lebanon with MSF
On Dr. Rogy Masri's last day in Lebanon, staff in four Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinics in Tripoli ate cakes that had been decorated with an edible photo of his smiling, bearded face to bid him farewell — a testimony to the Toronto-based physician's popularity with local colleagues. "They knew I have a really sweet tooth," Dr. Masri chuckles. "I ate a lot of cake during my six-month assignment."
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Whether you are gathering the girls or rounding up the couples, Storkie has a large selection of customizable baby shower invitations to kick off your celebration. With Storkie's exclusive designs featuring colors on-trend and classic hues, you'll find the right match to your shower theme – or spark inspiration for the games and good times!
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DRY TAVERN –They sat at two tables, strategizing over the hands they were dealt while trying not to think about what was to come. It was a familiar scene for host Hazel Welling Muskavitch and her sister, Janet Welling Matteucci. After all, they were the ones who started the whole thing 60 years ago. But Nov. 15, the Dry Tavern Card Club dealt its final hand of 500 bid.
Janet likes to joke that the club started when she was just 2 years old. The ladies admit that the most recent members range in age from early 70s to well into their 90s, although looking around the room, one would be hard pressed to guess which category they all fell into.
"It was 1952 when we started. Janet had one child, and I was pregnant with my fourth," said Muskavitch. "We decided we needed a night out so we called six or so of our friends, and that was how it got started. We have been meeting on the second Wednesday of every month ever since."
The Welling sisters learned the game as small girls, a game considered an extension of euchre.
"My parents used to play it. There were four couples who met on Saturday nights in Mather (where they grew up) to play this game. They took the kids along since there were no baby sitters back then," Matteucci said. "They played in the living room, and we kids played in the kitchen."
Matteucci said the members of the Dry Tavern Card Club have come and gone through the years, but the game always continued. The ladies would simply call up a friend or acquaintance and ask them to play. Matteucci estimated there had been at least 20 women who joined their circle. Among them were payroll clerks, grocers, a newspaper correspondent and school teachers. Muskavitch and player Margaret Ferrari are veterans.
Muskavitch is known as the card shark among the group, feigning to forget how the game goes after six decades or saying the blacks and deep reds on the deck this time are two close in color to see. The others at the table call her out on it as she says, "Hey, look at my hand, what can I do with it?"
"Don't let her fool you; she knows what she is doing," said Carol Harrison of Khedive. "She always wins. She bids on nothing and makes it. She springs it on you." Later, Muskavitch would enter the kitchen with a huge grin proclaiming she had won all four hands played to that point while Harrison just shook her head.
Harrison had not yet played on this particular day, serving as the alternate. She said a conclusion to the club became more and more apparent, especially after Matteucci moved to Pittsburgh over a year ago.
"She wanted us to see her place so we played there once. She rented a limo to takes us to go play cards," Harrison said, smiling. "Never before in my life did I go in a limousine. That's how much it meant to her. They have seen each other through the deaths of husbands and stuff and they needed this. I needed this."
She said she isn't sure how they will all stay in touch now but said she knows they will, despite the fact the games are ending.
As one listened to the stories being told and watched the interactions between the nine women who gathered, it became clear that playing cards was always secondary.
Muskavitch, who occasionally wiped away a tear, would quip that the food may have also had something to do with it, although she proclaimed that she hates to cook. For emphasis she added, "I do, I literally do."
The others seem shocked at her proclamation. There were always treats before the games, even when they were played at Muskavitch's residence, like this final day. That was when the ladies shared over food what was happening in their lives and their communities.
At times the talk was heavy but there was also much laughter and joy discussing the lives of their children, from birth to those same kids eventually making them grandmothers. That is what made the end harder to talk about than the years leading up to it.
"I bought a cake for today and I thought about what to put on it. The last hurrah didn't work. That's when I thought about the song, 'Thanks for the Memories,' and they have been great memories," Muskavitch said, wiping one more tear. "I hate to see 'em go."
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We are delighted to mark the 170th anniversary of the famous Penny Red with this lovely block of four facsimiles, which printed using the original intaglio process.
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