The elation that came with the auction of the Hirohata Merc got me to thinking about all the other very well known customs out there, probably in an aging person’s possessions. There are tons of them. Now there is a collectible benchmark, will we see more and more of these coming up for sale. Grandpa Munster Dragula sold for over 400 large. With this thought in mind, is a guy like @Moriarity who has a very deep inventory of cool customs going to continue down his old path of looking at cool shit more than any human being should be allowed…….. or is he going to strike while customs are big money. inquiring minds are asking the question
I hope Mark keeps his stuff as long as he lives. Somehow, stacks of hundred dollar bills aren't as cool to drive.
I'm just afraid that one of the "bench marks" set was for ANY '49-'51 Merc...now being worth REALLY stupid money.
I’m inclined to agree with you. I have always thought Mark’s collection was very cool. I would love to have a bunch of cool cars….
Everyone here is welcome to come and see this stuff if you are going to be in the area... not everyone at once though... LOL
I fixed your post...... Stunning price it sold for. $1,950,000.00. Before fees which I don't know, but it's probably another 10%.
If you look to the other 49-51 custom Mercs over the last two weeks at Mecum’s you get a better idea on worth. Personally I think the other Mercs at the auction benefited from the anticipation of the crown jewel of them…. Hirohata… Famous customs reach a higher collectibility than really nice drivers since they will rarely be seen and never driven. The buyer had 2 million to spare or they wouldn’t have done it. Remember there was a bidding war for it not a sign in the window at a car show stating OBO.
That’s key right there. I sure it wasn’t the last 2m they had. I’ve paid dumb money at gun auctions, years back, for an old Colt, Winchester, etc, well more that Blue Book value because I could never find one locally at any price. But thing is 2500 at the time, certainly put a dent in the account, but no way was I eating beans for 6 months to recover.
.............One thing to consider @hrm2k is that Mark is younger than you and I, difficult as that is to say. He hopefully has many years to decide what to ultimately do with his collections. You and I on the other hand, well, let's just not go there, but I do still have my eye on your Cadillac.
I thought it would get to 2 million, and then stall out. So I was close but no cigar. I mean { Tee shirt } Like Mark said, $$$ is only FUN if you spend it! My wife keeps me on a old car budget, or I would be like him too. Most of my Hot Rods are for life also. The more memories I make with them, the more that I like 'em. If I had the $$$ I would've gave the 2- million for the Hirohata Merc. To me it's like the Mona Lisa of of Customs. So It's priceless.
Mark was the first guy who came to mind. I only know one other guy with that kind of high quality customs and that is Frank Morawski and he sells little or nothing. Although I did buy his 1917 roadster pickup. I have a friend who collects mid 1800 Indian artifacts. Everytime something goes at a crazy price, he talks about unloading more of his collection. He’s 70 years old…..doesn’t need the money. His collection is quite valuable. I don’t think anyone in his family has any idea as to the story and price of each item. He could write it all down but would never quite get the value correct as it would be constantly changing. The same would be with the old customs. It seems like the whole world is watching the Hirohata Merc story now. While that market is emerging, it would be prime time to unload any historical vehicle that was a custom.
I said this in another thread and @gimpyshotrods stated. The price it sold for is relative . I think for what it is and what it stands for in hot rodding . 2 mill is a deal . what I think this is going to do for the custom car market is any 80’s -90’s bondo’d pastel , tweed interior , Boyd coddington wheel’d “ hot rod” with cracked bondo and square tires is going to come out of the wood work and command silly prices . Saw it when American pickers first came out , Frank and Mike would drool over some chunk of rotted out rust left in a drainage ditch and give the guy a bunch of money for it , and sure as shit you would see a bunch of “ rusty gold” pop up on the local classifieds. the market always corrects itself , but I’m sure we are going to see an influx of pastel n tweed treasures over the next little while .
The statement, "You can't build this car for that kind of money." doesn't apply here. You could build 10 of 'em! And I actually think that with most of us here, if we did have millions of $, we wouldn't buy a famous hot rod or custom. I'd buy a nice place way out in the mountains. Small house, huge shop. Hire people to mow the lawn and everything else. Equip myself with tools and parts and enjoy building whatever I want. Kinda like a lot of what Mark @Moriarity has done.
Just remember that IF you decide to cash in the chips it could be a ONE WAY street. Meaning if you sell off your car(s), you may never be able to afford to buy a similar car again (if you can find one). How many of us lament selling off a car years ago for what seems a pittance!? Then again, hopefully back then you had the financial wherewithal to keep the $$$ from the sale in your hobby, and not have to pay bills with it. Some guys that have a fleet of finished cars may have plans to downsize to just one or two when they get real old and perhaps downsize their home, so the cars are sort of a 401k. While the Hirohata Merc was a bidding war, remember , there were at least 2 people that were willing to drop 2 Million for it. But it's all relative for mega-millionaires that have 20 Mil homes and 10 mil yachts...
@Rickybop , that place in the mountains is exactly why I asked the question in the first place. BIG $$$ can change a mind very easily. @lothiandon1940 mentioned my Caddy. It has been in my family since new. I do not want to entertain selling it……. But if someone makes a stupid money offer for it, I will strike when the iron is hot……..what’s your offer Don ? @VANDENPLAS said, the market will correct itself. Until that correction arrives, there is stupid money out there ready to own more history
I should say that I respect the people who have the money to buy and care for our icons. Somebody's gotta do it. And of course supply and demand is a constant. And apparently, there's high demand and short supply of Hirohata Mercury customs. But as a personal matter, even if I had the money, I think I would prefer not to be just a "caretaker". Good thing I don't have to worry too much about that happening.
According to this, the Hirohata Merc went for over 2 million. Wonder which auction that was? https://www.motorauthority.com/news...a-mercury-custom-sells-for-over-2m-at-auction