Heritage Auctions
Dallas, New York, Beverly Hills, and San Francisco, U.S.; four other locations worldwide
ha.com
Focus: Collectibles
In the nearly four decades since Dallas-based Heritage Auctions started out with coin sales in 1976, it has expanded to become one of the world’s largest collectibles auctioneers. The company’s chief source of revenue remains coins and currency sales, but Heritage now offers 30-plus categories of collectibles, running the gamut from fine art and jewels to comics and movie posters. Although Heritage has regional offices across the United States, its largest presence exists online, where a frequently updated headline on the company’s website announces that more than $900 million in collectibles has sold to some 800,000 registered bidders in the last year. Notable past sales include a bat used by Babe Ruth, for $537,750, and Johnny Carson’s iconic microphone, for $50,787, showcasing Heritage Auctions’ diversity.
Greg Rohan, president
What was the most successful auction of the past year?
With 36 categories at Heritage, “most successful” is relative to the category. We could point to our $72 million week for rare coins and currency in mid-January, which signaled a very healthy coins market, or we could look at our $10.47 million comics auction last July, the most successful in history and the heart of a $37 million year for the department. I could also point to our $5 million-plus sports auction in New York last February or our recent $2.8 million luxury handbags auction at the end of April. From jewelry to historic manuscripts to entertainment and music, we’re seeing category after category at Heritage have their most successful auctions to date. You see the happy dilemma....
What was the most exciting or surprising lot?
It had to be Francis Crick’s 1962 Nobel Prize medal for his contributions to discovering the structure of DNA, which sold in our packed New York salesroom for $2,270,500. We had online, live, and telephone bidders from all over the world, and the Crick family was in attendance to witness it.
How has the auction house changed since its founding?
Heritage has expanded from just one category at its inception in 1976, coins, to 36 today, with more coming, so the change has been significant. We have offices all over the world and more than 500 staff members. The truth is, though, at our core, Heritage is still an auction house that is about customer service and transparency.
What are your plans for the next five years?
We just tripled the space of our Park Avenue offices, and we anticipate more expansion in New York in the next five years. Worldwide, we will continue to strategically expand our existing auction categories and spaces and to look for the right opportunities for smart growth and continued upside as far out as we can possibly see it. The Heritage model for growth has always been a patient one—we wait for the right opportunity, we wait for the right talent, and then we move aggressively to shape the market.
What artist or market should collectors watch?
I think collectors should look very closely at luxury accessories. High-end Hermès handbags have taken the market by storm, with the rarest examples from high five figures and into the $100,000-plus range. We sold a Hermès Diamond Birkin in December 2011 for $203,000-plus. These are investment-quality pieces with a truly worldwide audience that hold their value and are attracting a whole new base of serious collectors. Beyond that I would say to look closely at fine minerals. That market is just starting to heat up, as we saw at our recent $3.57 million auction, including the largest rose quartz ever to appear at auction, which sold for $662,500.
What would you buy for your own collection if it came up at auction?
My wife, Lysa, and I both love Ashcan works on paper. So if the Art Institute of Chicago suddenly decided to auction Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, and if I had just purchased a winning lottery ticket, then that would be something I’d have to go after.
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