Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 98

movie memorabilia

You Must Remember This…

T

hey came to auction, they saw
what they wanted, and they
conquered: the following is
a collection of notable movie
memorabilia sales. Notice the
figures? Clearly, there is no
economic mountain high enough to keep
rabid collectors from getting to what they
desire.

1. The Wizard of Oz - Cowardly Lion
Costume. Sold for $826,000.
Lost for over three decades, this costume - an
embodiment of just how endearing
a
movie The Wizard of Oz remains was discovered in a California barn
in 1970. Having been in the safekeeping of collector Bill Mack
for over two decades, Mack
finally sold the costume in 2006
at a Beverly Hills auction for
$826,000. Mixed feelings ensued, with Mack having stated:
“I’m going through seller’s remorse now. But it’s a big number,
so it’s good.”

more), and items belonging to the authorised
reproduction trade.
The latter has come into sharp focus of late,
due to the plethora of first-timers embracing
the trade, and the healthy numbers being generated. Bryan Ono, president of Californiabased, eFX (licensed by companies such as
Lucasfilm and Disney to replicate film props),
firmly endorses authorised reproductions,
explaining that often it is the only feasible way
for fans to purchase movie mementos. Take
the Star Wars franchise, for example. Having
financed the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back,
himself, director George Lucas reused helmet
props from the first movie, A New Hope. Thus,
with even fewer authentic props available
for collectors to pursue,
eFX recreated the
magic, producing – in
a limited edition
– Star Wars
Stormtrooper
helmets. With
an original
2008 selling price of
$399, these
items are

2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Red
and Yellow Car. Sold for: $505,000.
A children’s musical based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang captured the hearts of people the
world over upon its release
in 1968. The famous red
and yellow flying
car was sold
in 2007 to collector Ralph
Spencer for
$505,000.

$120,000 high pre-sale valuation.
4. Titanic - Kate Winslet’s
‘Jump Dress’. Sold for
$330,000.
Worn by actress, Kate Winslet, during the pivotal scene through which
ill-fated lovers, Kate and Jack,
meet for the first time, this dress
sold at a California-based auction
in 2012 for $330,000.

5. Saturday Night Fever White Polyester Suit.
Sold for $145,000.
3. The Lord of the Rings - Legolas’
Famously worn by John TraBow. Sold for $372,000
volta in the movie that gave
Proving that iconic
everyone disco fever, this suit
need not necessold for $145,000 at a 1995
sarily equate with
Christie’s auction. Upon disvintage, Legolas’
covering that the winning bidbow from the
der was late film critic, Gene
contemporary
Siskel, Travolta playfully wrote
The Lord of the
on the inside of the suit, “To
Rings trilogy comGene, So here’s to a classic, Your friend,
manded $372,000
at a 2012 auction; a sprightly 210% above its John Travolta”.

Opportunities are
ready and waiting
as collectors are
hungry and willing
now commanding $1,500.
In 2010, another authorised reproduction trade company, Factory
Entertainment, created 1,000 18-carat
gold plated replicas of the golden gun
used in the eponymous James Bond movie.
In keeping with the film version, these 1:1
reproductions dismantle into their component
parts, with the barrel becoming a fountain pen,
the body serving as a lighter, the handle and
trigger housing a cigarette case, and the trigger
disassembling to form cufflinks. Then, a collector could have purchased a piece for $649.
Today, figures of resale items seldom fall below
the $1,500 mark.
Still, the original golden gun used onscreen was last valued in 2008 for more than
$110,000, proving that as commendable as
the authorised reproduction trade market is, it
serves as a mere scene setter, warming viewers
up to behold the movie memorabilia market in

Sam played it again on this piano in Casablanca

96 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

all its glory.
The key to unlocking its
potential lies in targeting the
iconic: actors embodying the Hollywood
flair that has inspired
the dissemination of
a celebrity-driven
culture the world
over (engaging
collectors in
a love affair of the
most zealous kind),
or movies
representative
of innovative
developments
in the industry.
Joe Maddalena,
president and CEO
of Profiles in History,
advises, furthermore,
to combine the two,
pursuing pieces attached
to both iconic names and
iconic projects.
For example, Audrey
Marilyn’s dress
sold for $5.6 million in 2011