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Brigadier General
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This weekend in Gettysburg - lots and lots of great items including Custer's flag:
Custer flag, Grant sword could get $2M
The tattered silk is stained and worn. Chunks are missing, edges are frayed, and a blue section has faded into more of a gray.
But someone might pay more than $2 million to get their hands on the fabric.
That's because Gen. George Armstrong Custer carried the flag, made by his wife, during the last days of the Civil War.
A jewel-encrusted sword that once belonged to Ulysses S. Grant is expected to draw the same amount.
Those two items are the featured pieces in an auction that will be held in Gettysburg June 24 and 25. Texas-based Heritage Auctions expects hundreds of collectors, dealers and Civil War enthusiasts from around the country to attend what the gallery is calling "the most important Civil War auction in history."
Close to 800 items will be auctioned.
"There are things from $300 to upwards of $3 million," said Douglass Brown, director of Civil War research for the auction gallery.
Heritage mostly auctions items for private collectors, Brown said. Often collectors and dealers come to the gallery to auction one piece so they can then add another to their collection, he said. Heritage gathers items and builds catalogs around a central theme.
The lot to be auctioned in Gettysburg includes photographs and letters of Civil War figures, uniforms, flags, rifles and swords.
But Grant's sword and Custer's flag are expected to bring the highest bids.
The sword "is a work of art of itself," Brown said. Grant's initials are monogrammed in diamonds. The goddess Victory is sculpted into the handle of the silver and gold sword, and an amethyst rests below her feet. Grant was given the sword by the state of Kentucky in 1864 when he was promoted to general-in-chief of the Union forces.
The sword's presentation was widely published and the piece is well-known, Brown said. It was later passed on to his family and then sold to private collectors, he said.
The story behind Custer's flag, which comes with letters of authentication, is a bit more romantic, Brown said.
The flag was made by Custer's wife, Elizabeth, and given to him during battle at Dinwiddie Court House in Virginia, Brown said. The flag followed him as his personal guidon - the flag to identify him. Elizabeth's initials were embroidered on a corner that is now missing.
"There's a bidding community ... that (would) want to have this in their collection because it would be a highlight of a Civil War collection," Brown said.
The sword's value is estimated at between $2 million and $2.5 million, and the flag is estimated to be worth $1.8 million and $2 million.
But it's hard to tell how an auction will go, Brown said. He said the gallery looks at past sales as a guide for estimating value, but the items are also one-of-a-kind and "singularly important" for their history.
"It's hard to assess the emotion and passion people have for collecting," he said.
One week before the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, there's no better venue to finding collectors who might be looking for Civil War items, Brown said. The auction takes place the same weekend as the 33rd annual Gettysburg Civil War Collector's Show.
The auction items will be available for viewing at that show, where 300 tables of Civil War items will be up for sale or display.
Brendan Synnamon, owner of the Union Drummer Boy shop in Gettysburg and one of the show organizers, said he expects the sword and flag will draw some attention at the show.
"I think their bidding will attract a lot of attention from onlookers," Synnamon said. "The few niche people that will be bidding on it know who they are and will be bidding on it aggressively."
Sometimes high-ticket pieces are bought by "angels" who then donate the piece to a museum for a tax write-off, he said.
"There are a handful of collectors who could purchase that and display it in private collection rooms," he said. "They're few and far between."
He expects the addition of the auction to change the dynamics of the show a bit.
He set up a table at a Nashville show last year where Heritage also had an auction. Customers were a bit hesitant to buy items from him before trying their luck at the auction, he said.
"You just don't know until the show actually happens," he said.
Heritage expects to double the amount sold in Nashville in December, Brown said. At that auction, the battle flag of Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart went for nearly $1 million, he said. He hopes a Gettysburg auction becomes an annual event.
AUCTION:
When: First Session starts 3 p.m. June 24, second session at 10 a.m. June 25.
Where: Wyndam Gettysburg hotel, 95 Presidential Circle, Gettysburg.
Bidding: Bid online, in person a the auction, live by phone or by fax. Vist www.ha.com/civilwar for more information.
Custer flag, Grant sword could get $2M
The tattered silk is stained and worn. Chunks are missing, edges are frayed, and a blue section has faded into more of a gray.
But someone might pay more than $2 million to get their hands on the fabric.
That's because Gen. George Armstrong Custer carried the flag, made by his wife, during the last days of the Civil War.
A jewel-encrusted sword that once belonged to Ulysses S. Grant is expected to draw the same amount.
Those two items are the featured pieces in an auction that will be held in Gettysburg June 24 and 25. Texas-based Heritage Auctions expects hundreds of collectors, dealers and Civil War enthusiasts from around the country to attend what the gallery is calling "the most important Civil War auction in history."
Close to 800 items will be auctioned.
"There are things from $300 to upwards of $3 million," said Douglass Brown, director of Civil War research for the auction gallery.
Heritage mostly auctions items for private collectors, Brown said. Often collectors and dealers come to the gallery to auction one piece so they can then add another to their collection, he said. Heritage gathers items and builds catalogs around a central theme.
The lot to be auctioned in Gettysburg includes photographs and letters of Civil War figures, uniforms, flags, rifles and swords.
But Grant's sword and Custer's flag are expected to bring the highest bids.
The sword "is a work of art of itself," Brown said. Grant's initials are monogrammed in diamonds. The goddess Victory is sculpted into the handle of the silver and gold sword, and an amethyst rests below her feet. Grant was given the sword by the state of Kentucky in 1864 when he was promoted to general-in-chief of the Union forces.
The sword's presentation was widely published and the piece is well-known, Brown said. It was later passed on to his family and then sold to private collectors, he said.
The story behind Custer's flag, which comes with letters of authentication, is a bit more romantic, Brown said.
The flag was made by Custer's wife, Elizabeth, and given to him during battle at Dinwiddie Court House in Virginia, Brown said. The flag followed him as his personal guidon - the flag to identify him. Elizabeth's initials were embroidered on a corner that is now missing.
"There's a bidding community ... that (would) want to have this in their collection because it would be a highlight of a Civil War collection," Brown said.
The sword's value is estimated at between $2 million and $2.5 million, and the flag is estimated to be worth $1.8 million and $2 million.
But it's hard to tell how an auction will go, Brown said. He said the gallery looks at past sales as a guide for estimating value, but the items are also one-of-a-kind and "singularly important" for their history.
"It's hard to assess the emotion and passion people have for collecting," he said.
One week before the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, there's no better venue to finding collectors who might be looking for Civil War items, Brown said. The auction takes place the same weekend as the 33rd annual Gettysburg Civil War Collector's Show.
The auction items will be available for viewing at that show, where 300 tables of Civil War items will be up for sale or display.
Brendan Synnamon, owner of the Union Drummer Boy shop in Gettysburg and one of the show organizers, said he expects the sword and flag will draw some attention at the show.
"I think their bidding will attract a lot of attention from onlookers," Synnamon said. "The few niche people that will be bidding on it know who they are and will be bidding on it aggressively."
Sometimes high-ticket pieces are bought by "angels" who then donate the piece to a museum for a tax write-off, he said.
"There are a handful of collectors who could purchase that and display it in private collection rooms," he said. "They're few and far between."
He expects the addition of the auction to change the dynamics of the show a bit.
He set up a table at a Nashville show last year where Heritage also had an auction. Customers were a bit hesitant to buy items from him before trying their luck at the auction, he said.
"You just don't know until the show actually happens," he said.
Heritage expects to double the amount sold in Nashville in December, Brown said. At that auction, the battle flag of Confederate Gen. Jeb Stuart went for nearly $1 million, he said. He hopes a Gettysburg auction becomes an annual event.
AUCTION:
When: First Session starts 3 p.m. June 24, second session at 10 a.m. June 25.
Where: Wyndam Gettysburg hotel, 95 Presidential Circle, Gettysburg.
Bidding: Bid online, in person a the auction, live by phone or by fax. Vist www.ha.com/civilwar for more information.
