A Large Piece of Art but not as easy as one would think.

[NiNjA BoB]

I have a large 24 x 16 piece by John Flanagan. The same guy that designed the Washington quarter. So here is the conundrum: The only ones that can be found are 3.5 x 2.5 inches. Mine is much larger. One person that sold one cited that the smaller ones were based on a 24 x 16 inch one. Much like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/JOHN-FLANAGAN-CENTENARY-OF-HIS-BIRTH-MARK-TWAIN-PLAQUE-24-x-16-Finn-Sawyer/253440615635?hash=item3b023ce4d3:g:nuQAAOSws0JajJg4:sc:USPSPriority!60073!US!-1
This is mine: yes I priced it high and got one follower almost immediately. But here is the problem. I can only find an article by the New York Times dated 1935 with its phot0 in it (also in eBay under active listings). The plot thickens, the tiny ones were only made in 1950, fifteen years after the photo. But I can find nothing collaborating the other sellers claim that it was based on a 24 x 16 or a picture of the original. I would love your thought on this and thanks again. I have been listening for a long time now and never miss a week.

[pythonesk]

I would definitely add Bronze to your title. Love that quote by Twain. Where did you get this and for how much?

[AdventureE]

NiNjA BoB,

Just wondering why this item is not being brought to an auction house. It sounds like it’s a piece that could fetch a large amount of money.

[Temudgin]

Interesting piece! Some of the big auction houses will do free auction estimates of pricier art items by email. I know at least Christie’s does. The houses typically reserve the right not to bother giving you a value if they don’t think it’s worth much. But even if their reply is “not of sufficient value to evaluate” or equivalent, sometimes in their answer they’ll give you more information than you previously had about the piece.

[simplicio]

I am kind of surprised by the lack of any patina whatever (although I guess it’s not supposed to be too old). Did you clean the bronze?

[NiNjA BoB]

Thanks guys. I got it for $30 at Goodwill. I did the online Christies submission but haven’t heard back yet. I did not clean it, it almost looks copper. But I am no expert. Just waiting to here from the auction house but I put it up since I don’t want it lying around the house not making any money.

[aperture]

Wow – amazing piece! What a fantastic find. If you are near a foundry, you might take it to them to confirm that it is bronze (if you are in doubt). It may have no patina because it was made as a model from which a foundry or mint subsequently miniaturized the production molds. I am sure it is valuable to someone. Best wishes.

[cmtella]

I have a subscription to a service called Worthpoint, which aggregates historical eBay price information for sold items back to 2002. I found a bunch of these bronzes. It’s tough to tell which ones are the small variation and which ones are the larger, but here is what I found. I suspect the higher prices are the larger variation.

$94, small size (2013)
$149.28 (2013)
$177.50 (2017)
$70.79 (2013)
$195 (2017)
$149.99 (2017)
$158.25 (2017)
$767.50 (2017)
$311 (2016)

[Kenny G]

Wow! That is a great find!

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1935-society-medalists-mark-twain-1861384402

That is definitely the larger one. Sold for $767.50 in February of last year.

The other ones on Worthpoint are all smaller versions.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Kenny G.

[Author]

Posts