Over the course of less than two weeks in the Sunshine State, RM Auctions held two wildly successful events. The highly anticipated sale of the Milhous Collection was able to achieve a perfect sell-through and generated sales of $38.3 million over the two-day event held from February 24-25, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The result of over 50 years of dedicated collecting by brothers Robert and Paul Milhous, the auction presented a wide range of rare mechanical musical instruments, collectibles and automobiles to a packed house with bidders from around the world. The highest price of the sale went to a Pebble Beach class winning 1912 Oldsmobile Limited Five-Passenger Touring car that attracted fierce bidding before selling at $3.3 million to set a new record for an Oldsmobile at auction. Other impressive lots included an impeccable 1939 Lagonda V-12 Rapide Sports Roadster that was delivered new to actor Robert Montgomery and sold for $990,000 to set a record for a road-going Lagonda while another Pebble Beach veteran was the “Best of Show” winning 1934 Packard Super Eight Convertible Victoria by Dietrich which made a strong $308,000.
Down the coast at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island on March 10, 2012, RM continued its hot hand with $23 million in sales and a sell-through rate of 88 percent. RM Chairman and Founder Rob Myers said, “We’re very pleased with the results achieved both in the auction room and on the show field which wrapped up a fantastic two weeks in Florida for us.” Top honors went to a stunning 1929 Cord L-29 Special Coupe by the Hayes Body Corporation that sold for an impressive $2.42 million to applause from the crowd.
One of the seven original Vantage-powered Aston Martin DB5 Convertibles produced brought $1.21 million while a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale, one of just four built, sold at $1.43 million. In all, six lots sold for more than one million dollars each and one of only three known complete Lalique Mascot Collections realized $805,000.
The Amelia Island experience was also a success for RM Auto Restoration as a number of award winners had previously received the care of Rob Myers’ skilled band of restorers. All in all, RM proved once again that Florida in February was the place to be.
