Manion's and KCPT: A match made in Kansas City

The first annual Antique Appraisal Fair hosted by Kansas City Public Television and Manion's International Auction House, went off with out a hitch. We had about 1000 or so people through the door and did well over 500 appraisals. We certainly were not without assistance, though - we recruited some of the most knowledgeable folks from the metro area.

We had the boys from Midwestern Music Company handling all of the musical instruments, and boy did they see some mouthwatering stuff - 1950s Gibsons and Fenders that you could virtually hear when you merely opened the case. It was certainly an honor to have Brian Swirk, from Swirk Jewelery, in attendance - not sure how much gold there was in them thar hills, but it was fantastic to have him on the attendance roll. Jason Roske, of Kansas City Auction Company, fame was busy the entire day appraising everything from A to Z. Soodie Beasley added a touch of class to the team, appraising furniture and decorative arts.
There were so many others involved - thanks to everyone who helped the endeavor, I hope you will all be a part of the event next year.

Here are a few pics from the event, mainly of the Manion's crew, but with a few others as well . . .

Video - Recent items sold on www.manions.com

Greetings readers.

Here's another video of militaria from different time periods and countries which recently closed on our online militaria auction site - www.manions.com. Some great items here - 1818 Army Air Service aviator wing, Vietnam helicopter SPH-4 custom painted flight helmet, Luftwaffe paratrooper helmet shell, USN Chief Petty Officer Balloon pilot rank/rate, WWII Venezuelan Navy cadet dagger, East German NVA officer parade dagger, Italian MVSN M1925 poniard, and a French Model 1937 50mm mortar.

Many of you will recognize these as items which closed in our last Military Trader special monthly auction, and were featured in the May 2009 edition of the military collecting publication.

Check back soon for photos and information from the ultra-successful KCPT / Manion's International Auction House Antique Appraisal Fair!

Pics of Friends from Minneapolis / St. Paul Militaria Show + 201st post!

Hello again military collectors.

Here are some pics of some friends and customers from the Military Relics and Weapon Collector shows in St. Paul, Minnesota. A great event for sure.

Again, it was great to see everyone at the event. We're so pleased to be part of the rejuvenation of this very unique company. We're still hitting an occasional landmine or two planted by our former owner, but for the most part people realize we're turning this place around and that Manion's International Auction House is the premier auction house for militaria and historic collectibles.

Thank you all so very much for your continued support.

Vampire and werewolf killing kit soon to be on Internet auction - www.manions.com

Hello again readers - thanks again for checking out Manion's Collecting News!

We just returned from the St. Paul show, and brought back probably the most interesting piece of consignment I have ever seen: a mid to late 1800s Vampire and Werewolf killing kit. Yes, you read that right: a Vampire and Werewolf killing kit.

I've done a bit of research on the ol' Inter-web and the opinions are all over the board - real, fake, novelty gifts, sold to Eastern European Travelers, etc. Here's a link to one of the best - http://www.geocities.com/spookyland/blomberg.html.

This one honestly appears to be of mid to late 1800s origin, and is really pretty cool. Of all the pics out there, I haven't seen an example like it. It has a Belgian pistol, holy water, wolfbane, silver bullets, a wooden stake, a selection of crucifixes (which appear to be made of silver and ebony), and all that other good stuff. Other examples have sold for well over 10 and 20k - ours will be priced to sell at $3500 reserve. Check the main site often, it will be up soon . . .

Nicer pics will be up on the www.manions.com site soon - so if you're going to swipe them for your site, at least wait until those come up.

Minneapolis / St. Paul Collector Show - This Weekend

Hello again readers of Manion's Collecting News:

I apologize to those of you who e-mailed wondering when there would be another blog post - and to those who didn't - who knew? Thanks again for reading! We've been so busy at the auction, updating the blog just kept moving down the list. 

At any rate, Mike Anderson (not the MU basketball coach) and myself are headed to the Military Relics and Weapons Collector show this weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota. It's on the grounds of the Minnesota State Fair in the historic Progress Center Building. It's hosted by local shop Battlefield Store - an excellent outlet for militaria and related collectibles.

Of course we'll be accepting consignment at the event. In addition to uniforms, helmets, field gear, and other collectible pieces, we're expecting to bring back a fairly large collection of edged weapons and potentially a few firearms. Visit the site regularly for the next week or so to bid on what we bring back!

I probably won't be making updates from the event this time around, as the ol' laptop has finally given out, but I'll be sure to take some pics and post news from the event at some point next week.