Hi,
Just curious about something, anyone know what the highest price on record was paid for a Lionel collectible Locomotive? And/or Lionel set? My friend and I have a gentleman's bet going on this...
It probably will come down to what is reportedly the highest amount paid...that is, the highest amount reported in the general media. It's always possible a private transaction might have been for a higher amount than the highest transaction you can find news stories about.
The largest reported amounts I remember seeing were $233,000 for a Lionel Standard Gauge set (400E + State cars) and $50,000 for a 700E.
WHEW OMG! Quarter mil for a toy train amazing. I was thinking the max would be somewhere from 10 to 20 grand. What year were they manufactured?
My friend said it would be in the six figures and I said no way, so I guess I owe him a six pack of his favorite beverage.
Back a few years ago, Allison Cox, a noted train collector and dealer, was the then current owner of Lionel's original 381E "Brute", built in the 1920s. He was in failing health, and I believe, he has since passed away.
However, he was offering the Brute and an ORIGINAL lift bridge for sale, for ONE MILLION dollars to help with medical expenses when his health started to deteriorate rather rapidly. I don't know if anyone ever bought the items, but say they were equal in value, the 381E was therefore selling for 500,000.00. If someone bought it, that's GOT to be the most expensive engine in history.
Here's the quote
September 30, Stout Auctions in West
Middlesex, Pa., sold what it heralded
as “the finest American electric train
ever offered at auction based on significance,
rarity, and condition” for
$253,000 (including a buyer’s premium
of 15 percent). Fetching this record
price was a Lionel Standard gauge “20th
Century Limited State Set” (no. 433E),
a four-car passenger set led by a no.
400E black steam locomotive with a no.
400W whistle tender.
...and the link
http://media.web.britannica.com/ebsco/pdf/23/23131223.pdf
Unfortunately, that link you posted is either broken or only accessible to paying subscribers.
Anyone know what year the above “20th Century Limited State Set” was manufactured?
Ah never mind I've got it. It was manufactured in 1932, here is another URL: http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2482659
Yet there seems to be a contradiction on the date of manufacture, the set box is marked 1932 but the Loco and tender box is dated 1936 so maybe there was something fishy going on in the auction?
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