January Auction Report 2025

Date of auction: 15^th & 16^th January

Number of lots: 1529

Number of online bidders: 2040 from 41 countries

Highest price achieved: Lot 448 – Japanese Meiji period silvered bronze okimono of a cockatoo– sold for £6,500

Surprise result of the auction: Lot 179 – [Bermuda & Caribbean] Group of folded maps and charts, many published at the Hydrographic Office of The Admiralty - sold for £3,200

Auctioneer’s favourite lot: Lot 1733 – Unboxed Lego Star Wars Jango Fett minifigure– sold for £200

increasingly popular collecting field, vinyl records continue to perform well at Harper Field. In the January auction the focus definitely shifted from the earlier 50’s/60’s vinyl to the more recent such as an Oasis triple LP box set which realised a shade under £300 including premium. A collection of 1980’s post punk and indie LPs made £545 and a group of Iron Maiden records £397. These pleasing prices surely prove that collectors are buying the music they remember from their teens and twenties, and that this results in more recent LPs and singles growing in popularity and value.

Whilst on the subject of more recent collectables, the specialist toy section in January included an outstanding collection of Lego, for which the seller was offered £17,000 by a dealer. Fierce competition online and in the saleroom resulted in the collection realising an impressive £38,000 – proof if any were needed that selling at auction and not to one individual is the only way to be sure that you receive the best prices for your items.

On a similar note, a single seller collection of Star Wars figures, many unboxed and not pristine and for which he had been offered £1,000 went on to make £4,200. We always advise contacting us before accepting any offer for a collection, no matter how generous it may seem!

More modern toys definitely led the way, and this included video games, Warhammer and role playing games and Pokémon cards, but the vintage traditional toys were not entirely left behind. A Dinky Toys diecast sports car gift set No 149 sold for over £1100 and an unboxed set of 12 Britains racehorses £470. Finally from the toy section, model railway items performed very well with a group of N Gauge locomotives selling for just under £600 and 3 Hornby 00 Gauge locomotives £350.

Comics books once again featured strongly with prices for many lots realizing over £1000, specialist valuer Kris Ryan said however that it cannot be underestimated how much condition plays a part. We had two copies of Fantastic Four #52 one of which was in very poor condition and realized just over £200 and the other in much better condition sold for £600, a near record price.

The varying specialist ephemera section once again saw some of the best auction results both with more recent collectables and traditional ephemera. An Only Fools And Horses prop cardboard box used in the filming of the infamous Peckham Spring episode, for which we gained national press coverage, sold for over £2,700, a collection of maps relating to Bermuda & Caribbean sold for over £3,200 and a set of Topps Lord of the Rings signed cards sold for just shy of £2,500. Amont the ephemera section was the second half of a large film poster collection which sold equally as well as when we sold the first half in October realizing over £22,500. Some notable results include two Top Gun posters that sold for over £1000 and a poster for Big Trouble in Little China that sold for over £900.

The Asian Art section was as successful as ever with, as to be expected, the Chinese ceramics selling very well across the board with the highlight being a pair of Chinese shallow blue and white dishes with chrysanthemum decoration and six character Kangxi mark that sold for £1500. Bronzes also performed well with a Japanese Meiji period silvered bronze okimono of a cockatoo selling for £6500 and a Chinese twin handled Archaic vase selling for £2100. Whist ceramics and bronzes seem ever popular another area that performed very well with several lots of embroideries selling for between £500-1500.

If you have anything you are thinking of selling, or a collection you would like to discuss with a specialist then please contact us. We are happy to advise on how best to sell and to achieve the best possible prices for your items. We run free drop-in valuation sessions every Friday between 9am-4pm. or if you wish to book an appointment with one of our specialists then please give us a call on 01453 873800. Alternatively just email images of your items  to valuations@harperfield.co.uk and we will come back to you with a valuation.