Rein on All Fronts
Charles Rein
Any of us reminiscing for simpler times may remember childhood Christmas presents we begged for. Don't call these 'toys'! Today they're "classic, vintage, highly coveted childhood collectables" which, putting them up for auction, could likely put your granddaughter through college!
It doesn't matter your profession or age! A garbage man, on his route, found the most amazing items decades ago and at the same time influenced his son Johnny.
The son grew up to be Johnny Jimenez, owner of "The Toy Shack" in Las Vegas. If you've seen the show, "Pawn Stars" Johnny is the Classic Toy Expert who acts as a consultant for Rick. In a recent phone interview I had with Johnny, he stated:
"Due to my father, I became a collector. My dad collected coins and watches. He taught us to visit garage sales and, before the internet, a lot of my friends were 50 or 60 years old and were antique dealers and I picked their brain all the time... as a child, I kept all my toys sealed while my brothers would take out their toys (thus greatly decreasing their value). I even got a lock for my door so my brothers couldn't get in my room to open all my toys!"
An intriguing article I discovered: "What Happened To Superman's Cape? The Four Men Who Wore It" was featured in Esquire and shares the story of a Superman movie costume cape.
https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a31334515/superman-cape-movie-memorabilia-auction/
The catalogue for the "Icons and Idols: Hollywood" auction, held at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, Dec 2019, boasted several notable items for sale including Superman's cape and a letter to the young teenager who won it. The letter, written in 1979 by the editor and publisher of DC Comics, Jack C. Harris, to a teenage boy in Utah began:
"Dear Darvin, Congratulations! Your expertise in SUPERMAN lore… has won you first prize in the SECOND SUPERMAN THE MOVIE CONTEST, the actual cape worn by actor Christopher Reeve."
The article referenced that in 1988, Darvin in his late twenties, married with children, and beginning to feel the financial strain, parted with the cape for $600. ($1,509.95 in 2022 dollars)
For close to a decade after Darvin had sold it, the Superman cape went dark, its whereabouts a mystery.
Had it flown off somewhere? What happened to it?
Enter #2 owner from Sweden.
"Stålman" as Superman was known in Swedish — a literal translation of "Man of Steel" — was a comic that
Stefan Park, had read growing up. In December 1997 this Swede visiting NYC had bid and won the cape at an auction for $23,000. ($43,662 in today's dollars)
Yet as Stefan approached his fifties, the logistics of collecting started to get to him. Finally, in 2018 he contacted Julien's Auctions.
It was an emotional decision, but he knew it was time to release the cape!
The third owner of Superman's cape would be Joe Ingold, a financial consultant for healthcare companies, working temporarily in New York who bid over the phone. The actual auction was being held across the country at the Julien's Auctions, the "Icons & Idols: Hollywood" auction.
Joe came in at $120,000... and it quickly came down to him and an internet bidder in China.
This started a bidding war - East versus West - until the auctioneer's hammer came down at $155,000. Joe had won! It's fitting the cape had gone from coast to coast, even finding a home in Sweden until it was rightfully returned to the USA.
The cape found a home with multiple owners and grew more valuable over time. From a first prize contest item the cape's value increased to $600, then $23,000 and finally soared to $155,000, all within approximately 40 years! That's a darn good investment for a famous 'red piece of cloth'. This is a headline story that could only appear in the Superman's metropolis, "The Daily Planet!"
Returning to Johnny's parting words as he shared his observations: "When you see a grandparent or parent come into our store with their grandchild or child and beginning to start a collection together; that's exciting and (seeing a senior) relive our childhood through our grandkids. I would recommend collecting not for the investment part, but for the love of it."
This Christmas may give you the opportunity to begin acquiring vintage collectables with your grandchildren...just don't call them "toys"!