Tabby Day Trips to Melbourne, AU

[tabs]

Tabby attended an Antique "Spoon" Auction in Melbourne today, via a very usefull item the telephone...

After several calls to and from Melbourne, Tabby first set up several Absentee Bids as a backup system and then used the Phone Bid to ensure he was able to bid past the Absentee should that be necessary.

The Auctioneers High Estimates on the "Spoons" he was interested in were priced very cheap...knowing that these estimates would be blown past...he at first decided that half again the high estimate would be a good bid....but when informed at the number and strength of the Absentees coming in on the auction he felt that this estimate would be too low. So he went to nearly double the high estimate on his first item and the second he went to a bit over double the low estimate.

There were two subsequent items of the same genre of antique"Spoons" later in the auction, but alas even Tabby doesn't have enough resources to get them all. He would only press them if his first two choichs had busted out.

In further talks with the Auctioneers Tabby was informed that they had received an Absentee Bid from a "Known American" whose bid would have matched Tabbys first inclination of bidding half again the High Estimate...So Tabby was vindicated in upping his Bid to nearly double. As it turned out the bidding stopped just short of Tabbys actual High Absentee Bid. Someone else wanted to push the Bid but didn't count on Tabby...

On the Second item the Bidding ceased at Double the low estimate of item....So Tabby was correct in his evaluation of the worth of these "Spoons."

Now it is Tabbys inclination to think that he didn't get any "Swinging Deals" here and probably in most likelhood paid what they were worth, he really thinks he didn't OVERPAY, but wait till the twit gets the bill and we'll see what he thinks then.

Anyway what it comes down to is the rarity and condition of the items that were aqquired. On the first item there were 12 known imported in AU in 1874 to the "Spoon" Team of fine diners. This paticular "Spoon" retains about 85% of its orginal patina. The second while more common, about 5500 were made...from the late 1850s through the 1860s and were successfully used by the CSA as fine dining implements the near new condition of this "Spoon" warrants the bid price.... Both pieces are rare and desirable to collectors of fine "Spoons" Also it was told to Tabby that these items were consigned by a 96 year old "Spoon" collector and these items hadn't seen the light of day for about 50 years...so what is rarity and desirabilty worth on items in fine condition?

So all in all it was an exciting day for my darling son...Tabby

Yours Truly

Mother

[dd74]

Spoons, huh? When what you really need is a shovel...

[dtw]

Do your "spoons" take black powder?

[dimps8]

Damn tabs, more antique spoons leaving my fair city. Just try and get them out of the country.

[Moses]