Hake’s Auction #230 Rises to $2.1 Million

By Amanda Sheriff

On Thursday, September 24, 2020, Hake’s Auctions closed their premier Auction #230 to the tune of $2.1 million. Typically, Hake’s hosts three premier auctions a year, but when the COVID-19 global pandemic impacted their schedule, Hake’s reorganized their plans for 2020. The result was this high caliber auction with a one of a kind baseball button, one of the most desirable political buttons, major comic keys, and extremely rare Star Wars action figures, among many other significant pieces.

The 1916 Boston Red Sox American League/World’s Champions with Babe Ruth advertising button saw aggressive bidding push it to $62,980. The large button shows headshots of 24 Red Sox players, including Babe Ruth, and their manager Bill Carrigan. Its significance cannot be overstated, as the 6” diameter makes it the largest baseball button made up to that point, it hails from the famous Paul Muchinsky Collection, and it is the only known example. With this sale, the button set a new record – not only for a baseball button but for any button.

Another major sale from the Muchinsky collection was the 1952 Mickey Mantle “Fan Club” real photo button that realized $23,249 – more than double the high-end estimate. Since it was originally available for a short time by mail only to members of Mickey Mantle’s fan club, the 1-1/2” button is considered the most desirable Mantle button.

“The results for the Muchinsky Collection items are incredible, but not unexpected. This material is the rarest of the rare and the best of the best. Paul certainly knew this as he assembled and catalogued the collection over decades. This was not lost on the bidders who responded accordingly,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said. “I would be remiss if I did not say that this auction was a home run! And this is just part one of the collection, much more will be hitting the auction block at Hake’s over the next year.”

The Boba Fett rocket-firing prototype (L-slot) AFA 80+ NM targeted a total of $62,239. This 3-3/4” tall unpainted prototype was made for Kenner’s 1979 toy line but it never went into production. This differs from previous L-slots Hake’s has sold because it was part of a small batch of preproduction prototypes that were assembled as intended without the rocket-firing mechanism.

Also representing the galaxy far, far away was the Star Wars Luke Skywalker 12-back-A AFA 80 NM double-telescoping with SKU on the footer that realized $32,450, over the high-end estimate of $20,000. This 3-3/4” figure came from Kenner’s 1978 toy line and is noted for the double-telescoping lightsaber which has a second extendable piece that wasn’t used after this version.

Comic sales were led by Superman #1 CGC Restored 6.0 that saw the Man of Steel soar to $42,992. This issue was published in the summer of 1939, a year after Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster introduced Superman in Action Comics #1. His origin is told in a story by Siegel with cover and art by Shuster. Ranked No. 3 on Overstreet’s list of Top 100 Golden Age Comics, this book also features a Superman pin-up on the back cover.

Batman #1 CGC Restored 6.0 featuring the introductions of the Joker and Catwoman grabbed $33,633. This major key kicks off Batman’s first titular comic book and comes with a story by Bill Finger and art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. It also has a Hugo Strange appearance and there’s a pinup of Batman and Robin on the back cover.

Tales of Suspense #39 CGC 8.0, containing the origin and first appearance of Iron Man/Tony Stark, shot to $26,609. This important Silver Age key houses stories by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, with a cover by Jack Kirby and Don Heck, plus additional art by Steve Ditko and Gene Colan.

The undisputed leader in the political memorabilia was the Cox & Roosevelt 1920 Democratic Campaign “Eagle & Rays” jugate button that realized $35,695. Considered the most iconic button within political campaign material, the 7/8” example features portraits of Cox and Roosevelt with a waving American flag below and an eagle perched above them. It is extremely rare as within the six varieties, four are unique or have fewer than three known examples. This example was a fresh to market find and set a record for the variety at public auction.

Baseball had several important sales, including a complete 1923-1924 Nacionales Cigarros Cuban card album with Hall of Famers Andy Cooper, Jose Mendez, and Cristobal Torriente that hammered for $20,650. Coming from the Richard Merkin Collection, the album has 50 pages with a total of 1,000 cards.

A pair of 1915 Schmelzer’s Sporting Goods (Kansas City) buttons grabbed some of the top results for Part I of the auction. The Ty Cobb/Right Field button hit $17,276 and the Joe Jackson/Center Field button nabbed $14,160, exceeding the top-end estimate of $10,000. These are part of a 10-button set, 8 of which are in this auction. This was the first set of baseball buttons to combine a photo of the player with full color lithographic art.

All prices include the 18% buyer’s premium. All of the top lots from Part I and Part II can be viewed on Hake’s website.