Antiques As The New Retirement Portfolio

Antiqueswest had the distinct pleasure of meeting a fellow collector in the Phoenix, Arizona area recently who wished to speak with us about consigning his considerable collection of militaria.

A somewhat nondescript (but lovely) home in a Phoenix suburb was the scene. Upon entering, there wasn't anything older than about 15 years to be scene and I'll confess to misgivings. The (lovely) lady of the house offered food and drink but it was some time before the man of the house made an appearance, not saying much and looking me over.

It was not the first time this has happened so I let him look. Pretty soon things got down to business and he gestured for me to follow him. We took a few twists and turns and ended up in his War Room - the place in the house most men we know make their own, sometimes called "The Boys Club," or "No Girls Allowed."

For a collector, stepping into his world and seeing walls filled with artifacts and weaponry patiently collected over decades and lovingly cared for during all that time, the moment was a lot like peering directly into the man's soul.

"Well, this is it," he said simply. "My pension."

"Beautiful," I said, and meaning it.

After years of collecting Mr. X is finally prepared to sell, hoping for enough to "see us through retirement and on into old age."

Looking at his room and doing the mental math only one answer came to mind: "No problem there," I breathed.

It's not the first room we've entered like that, won't be the last, but in this age of dodgy economics, subterranean bank rates and negligible returns, more and more people are choosing to surround themselves with the things they love with a mind to selling off when the time is right.

"I am," Mr. X said. "Sitting on my pension. The only thing is I got to have it around me to enjoy all those years."

With antique guns and other choice militaria holding steadily at about 17 percent annual return and antique car sales reaping huge rewards for owners, it's easy to see why people are turning to investment-grade antiques to use as a hedge against inflation.

Tom Hartley, a UK dealer in exotic cars, says that the market is chilli-pepper hot. "In the last three days I've sold three Ferrari 458s at £50k over list, and the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

"These are new buyers with cash to spare, who know they can own a supercar for two or three years and make £200k profit tax-free.

"Leaving their money in the bank and getting one per cent interest is plain reckless."

When leaving money in the bank is referred to as "reckless" and folks are making money on collections they have amassed and kept in their homes or garages, you'll agree there's a sea change afoot in the way people are planning for their retirement day. We're seeing more evidence of this every day.

"Ride to My Guidon," Collectors Say - Custer Swallowtail On the Block In October

Collectors know provenance is key when it comes to iconic objects. They also know that in the avidly collected militaria market, there are few more iconic names than George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

And now, a swallowtail pennant carried 134 years ago by Custer's 7th Cavalry on that final foray into present-day Montana - and found under the body of a vanquished trooper days after the battle - comes to the auction block, and the collecting community holds its collective breath to see what it will bring.

Sold by the trooper who found it to the Detroit Institute for the Arts for $54 in 1895, the guidon has stayed in Detroit all its modern life - except for occasional exhibitions, most recently at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.

Ragged and bloodstained, the pennant was discovered by Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson, a member of the detail dispatched to the Bighorn - or Greasy Grass Creek as the victorious Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne referred to it - under the body of an unidentified soldier.

Another flag from the battle site was found months later in an Indian village seized by U.S. troops and is now owned by the National Park Service, but auctioneer Sotheby's - who will put the Culbertson guidon on the block in October - said it is in very poor condition.

The Detroit Institute for the Arts has decided to part with it and use the proceeds for future art acquisitions.

John Doerner, chief historian at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, said he believes the flag is stained with the blood of a fallen soldier and that the banner belongs to the American people.

"It was an act of courage and bravery," said Doerner, a 20-year veteran of the National Parks Service.

"To lose the colors was really something that a soldier would give their lives (to prevent)," he said.

Sotheby's says expectations are that the Custer flag sale price might exceed Sotheby's $2 million to $5 million estimate, but the hope is that the sale will come close to the $12.3 million paid for a Revolutionary Battle flag in 2006, a record for any military relic at auction.

Unknown Chaplin Film Turns Up At Michigan Antique Sale - How Did We Miss It?

If you call yourself an "antiquer" and you live for the occasional discovery of a long-forgotten piece of history you're like us and you ask yourself: "Why didn't I find that?" when something juicy turns up out of a closet or garage.

One very nice little item emerged from its hiding place in Michigan recently, film of this silly looking little guy with a very recognizable mustache and wiggly way of walking.

Collector Paul Gierucki found the 16mm print at an antiques show. He thought it was another old Keystone comedy and didn't bother to research it until early March, when he realized he'd stumbled onto Charlie Chaplin's "A Thief Catcher," ground out in 1914.

Chaplin makes a cameo appearance in "A Thief Catcher," the 36th film he made at the outset of World War I.

The movie, released by the Mutual Film Corporation was thought to be among the half of all silent films lost to history. The short actually stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy. Chaplin appears for perhaps 2 minutes of the 10-minute film.

Mon Dieu! Be On The Lookout Mes Amis! Lone Thief Makes Off With $600 MillionUS In Paintings

Police and prosecutors say a lone thief has stolen five paintings worth a total of EURO500 million ($613 million), including works by Picasso and Matisse, in a brazen overnight theft from a Paris modern art museum.

"Pastoral," by H. Matisse, 1905

The paintings were reported missing early Thursday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art, across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower, according to Paris police. Investigators have cordoned off the museum in one of the French capital's most tourist-frequented neighborhoods.

A single masked intruder was caught on a video surveillance camera entering the museum by a window and taking the paintings away, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

Their collective worth is estimated at EURO500 million, the prosecutor's office said.

The paintings were "Le pigeon aux petits-pois" by Pablo Picasso, "Pastoral" by Henri Matisse, "Olive Tree near Estaque" by Georges Braque, "Woman with a Fan" by Amedeo Modigliani and "Still Life with Chandeliers" by Fernand Leger.

The Associated Press

Since When Is A 1972 Impala "Antique?"

Another example of the disconnect people have when it comes to old things is this story, which appeared in a Chicago area newspaper recently:

"A man driving an antique Chevrolet with custom rims crashed it into a parked car when he was shot at a Gresham neighborhood intersection Sunday night on the South Side.

"At 8:55 p.m. the 29-year-old man was driving his 1972 Chevrolet Impala with 22-inch rims south on South Justine Avenue when the incident occurred, according to Gresham District police."

Antique? Anyone actually on the copy desk these days?