Transportation Memorabilia & Collectibles Auctions: Sell Your Railroad, Aviation, Nautical, Motorcycle, & Other Collectibles at Auction
Boston and Albany Railroad Riverside Station Signal Board
Railroad, nautical, aviation, motorcycle, and other transportation collectibles are popular with many collectors. This form of memorabilia can include everything from classic advertising signs to dishware used on discontinued rail lines.
Transportation memorabilia is a broad category, though. Even things like old Greyhound Bus memorabilia have avid collectors. (For example, the Virginia Museum of Transportation has a large collection of Greyhound memorabilia donated by lifelong driver, Harry Messimer.)
Central Mass Auctions can bring your transportation memorabilia to auction and sell it for the maximum return for you. You can contact us today, or read on to find out more about transportation collectibles.
Railroad Memorabilia
Railroad memorabilia collectors tend to focus on a wide variety of items, including lanterns, train schedules, artwork, uniforms, dishware, pocket watches, signs, bells, buttons, switches, lanterns, signals, keys, locks, seals, advertising signs, and more.
Many collectors focus on specific regions or railroads. The collector who focuses on the Wild West era Rio Grande lines won’t be interested in a New York rail line time table. Other collectors focus on specific items. Some collectors get really granular about this. For example, there were over 200 Massachusetts railroads in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a certain collector might be enthusiastic about a single line, whereas others may focus on the state itself. There are a few publications and resources online that might give you a ballpark figure, but you should contact Central Mass Auctions to see if you have a valuable piece that should be placed in one of our auctions. You can read more about railroad memorabilia and see more examples of items we’ve auctioned here.
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Hat Badges – sold at auction for $190
Nautical Memorabilia
Some people are sailors at heart, and they express their love of the sea in part by collecting ship or boat memorabilia. For many collectors, the thrill of finding the right piece is a lot like finding buried treasure.
What makes nautical memorabilia valuable? First, popularity. Some of the most popular items come from the 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th century saw the creation of some gorgeous and innovative navigation devices. The 19th century saw the development of gorgeous marine chronometers. Yet every collector will have his or her own eras and areas of interest.
The condition of the item will matter a great deal, too, as will its rarity. The best way to tell if you have something valuable is to have it appraised.
What do nautical collectors tend to collect? There are a huge variety of items, including vintage diving helmets, maritime clocks and compasses, lamps, navigation tools, fishing nets and floats, telescopes, model ships, and more. There are even collectors who focus on anchors, steering wheels, and mastheads. If you have a nice piece of memorabilia there’s a good chance it will be of interest to someone.
Chelsea Ship’s Bell Brass Clock Chelsea Clock Co. Boston, MA – sold at auction for $550
Ships Telegraph Solid Brass Henschel Corp. Amesbury, MA – sold at auction for $1,250
Motorcycle Memorabilia
The thrill of the road, the feeling of freedom, and the mythos surrounding bikers all make bike memorabilia an extremely popular collectible category.
What makes motorcycle memorabilia valuable? Biker memorabilia goes through trends. In general, scarce items in excellent condition are going to be worth more. Pre-and-post WWII-era memorabilia is always a safe bet. There are Harley-Davidson enthusiasts who will snap up everything that ever bore the brand name.
As auctioneers we pay attention to collector trends so that we can help our clients position their motorcycle memorabilia in a strong and effective way at auction.
What do motorcycle enthusiasts tend to collect? Memorabilia covers everything bike-related, including jackets, flags, patches, branded Harley items, bike parts, models, toys, and more. You might be surprised what might sell for a really solid price, and it’s not all antiques. For example, a 2006 discontinued Harley-Davidson Discontinued Barrel gold key can sell for over $150.
Get your transportation memorabilia appraised today and then sold at auction
It is difficult to determine what is and isn’t valuable. If you’re thinking about getting rid of transportation memorabilia, don’t try to guess.
Let Central Mass Auctions appraise and sell your items for top dollar at live auction or online auction. Contact us today.
