WorthPoint’s Business Companions are making issues merry and shiny for collectors and delivering the products of their December auctions, together with an iconic villain’s hat, a musical toy treasure, a Chinese language gold coin honoring a beloved bear, a sought-after Lionel postwar piece, and a poster for among the best Christmas films ever made.
HERITAGE AUCTIONS
Ding dong! The Depraved Witch of the West could also be useless, however her iconic black hat lives on and is hitting the block at Heritage Auctions’ Hollywood & Leisure Signature Public sale on December 9-10 in Dallas, Texas.
Actress Margaret Hamilton turned her Depraved Witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939) into one of many best film villains in American cinema, and her character’s well-known line, “I’ll get you, my fairly, and your little canine, too!” is etched in our brains.
Hamilton’s costume was additionally central to the character’s portrayal, and few film artifacts are as immediately recognizable and have change into enduring cultural symbols as Dorothy’s ruby slippers and Lot 38069, the Depraved Witch of the West’s hat.
Made from black wool bunting, the piece was created by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s chief costume designer, Gilbert Adrian, and encompasses a chin strap that saved it in place throughout Hamilton’s flying sequences.
This providing is on the heels of the witch hat Heritage bought in December 2024 for $2.93 million, cementing its significance in movie historical past.
BERTOIA AUCTIONS
It wouldn’t be December with out toys, and Bertoia Auctions of Vineland, New Jersey, is delivering a world-class assemblage to collectors in its signature sale of The Maloy Assortment on December 13.
Main the treasures of Martin and Deborah Maloy, who amassed an excellent assortment of vintage toys over 60 years, is Lot 186, a museum-quality, early, hand-painted, and finely crafted musical carousel by the German firm Märklin.
The carousel additionally has particular which means for Bertoia president Michael Bertoia as a result of it was initially a part of the gathering of his father, the late Invoice Bertoia, an vintage toy vendor and co-founder of Bertoia Auctions.
Märklin’s musical carousels are extremely wanted for his or her excellent craftsmanship, historical past, lovely artistry, and for being marvels of engineering. The corporate started producing them round 1895 and developed extra intricate items within the early 1900s. It’s these early carousels, particularly these well-preserved and regarded museum high quality, which might be significantly prized by collectors and those that may command excessive costs.
Listings in WorthPoint’s value database point out that over the previous three years, Märklin musical carousels in good situation have bought for between $350 and $14,760, with one Bertoia promoting for $504 in September 2025.
POT OF GOLD AUCTIONS
Since their launch in 1982, the Chinese language Gold Panda cash have been perennial favorites amongst collectors and numismatists worldwide for his or her excessive purity and distinctive designs.
One among the gold cash that Pot of Gold Auctions of Avondale, Arizona, is providing in its Vintage, Gun, Jewellery, Coin & Collectible Public sale, which closes on December 16, already has almost 100 bids, with the best at over $3,000.
Lot 264 is a limited-mintage one-ounce .999 pure Gold Panda from 1986. The obverse has Beijing’s well-known Corridor of Prayer for Ample Harvests, whereas the reverse depicts a panda strolling amongst bamboo shoots.
An endangered species, the enormous panda is China’s nationwide image, and the cash characteristic a brand new design of the beloved bear annually, which contributes to their collectibility.
One-ounce panda cash are a great way for collectors to build up a considerable amount of gold whereas constructing an interesting assortment. Over the previous three years, these cash have fetched between $2,000 and $4,375 for one instance that bought in November 2025.
TOYS TRAINS AND OTHER OLD STUFF
Mid-century fashionable collectibles stay scorching as we speak for his or her timeless attraction and purposeful designs, and toy trains aren’t any exception.
Throughout its tenth annual Toy Prepare Public sale on December 20, Toys Trains and Different Previous Stuff of Fowler, Indiana, is providing a mid-century piece that has been gaining steam with collectors over the previous few years. Lot 28 is a Lionel Postwar O 59 U.S. Air Pressure Minuteman Switcher with its authentic field, insert, and instruction sheet.
Produced from 1962 to 1963, the 59 Minuteman Switcher is loosely primarily based on the design of the real-life gas-powered Vulcan switcher of the Fifties and was the ultimate all-new highway identify to look on these small items.
The options of the 59 Minuteman, which is among the rarer postwar variations of Lionel’s switchers, embrace a 2-4-2 wheel association, an unpainted white physique with blue and pink graphics, an working entrance and rear coupler, a three-position E-unit, and an ornamental bell.
Although these motorized models are fascinating in any situation, the examples that can command a premium are these whose plastic our bodies stay white and haven’t turned cream or yellow with age. These switchers have bought for between $70 and $970 over the previous three years, with one auctioned by the public sale home for $575 in 2024.
EMOVIE POSTER
It’s completely becoming that in its final main public sale of the yr, closing on December 21, eMoviePoster of West Plains, Missouri, is providing an iconic poster for some of the beloved Christmas classics of all time.
Lot 1a0016 is a poster for the 1946 Frank Capra film, It’s a Great Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, that’s graded good to excellent. Prebidding is already at $5,500—not dangerous for a gap bid of $1.
Film posters are a type of leisure ephemera and are prized by collectors for his or her artwork, their place in cinematic historical past, and their nostalgic worth. Probably the most fascinating and in-demand posters are these from universally beloved and nostalgic favorites, akin to It’s a Great Life, which has change into a part of many households’ vacation traditions. The movie’s themes of household, group, kindness, and the concept that even one particular person could make a major distinction are significantly resonant.
Unique posters for this film are arduous to come back by, which is mirrored of their worth. Solely a small handful have bought over the previous three years, and for between $9,900 and $28,800, together with an instance eMoviePoster bought for $14,000 in 2024.
Adina Okay. Francis has been a author and editor within the antiques and collectibles subject for greater than twenty years. She has a little bit of an obsession with the Victorians and thinks that canines are certainly one of life’s best items.
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