1912 Oldsmobile fetches $3.3 million, sets record at auction

A 1912 Oldsmobile—believed to be the only one of its kind still in existence—fetched $3.3 million last weekend, spurring total sales of $38.3 million at an auction in Florida.

The vintage car, an Olds Limited five-passenger touring, is thought to be one-of-a-kind, as none of its now century-old contemporaries are known to have survived in that trim. It wears chassis No. 64626 and has won a class award at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The price sets a record for an Oldsmobile sold at an auction and roughly doubled the original estimates of $1.4 million to $1.6 million. Underscoring its rarity, the car has one-off coachwork.

The Olds ended up being the show stealer at the sale in Boca Raton, Fla., which was run by RM Auctions and Sotheby's. More than the usual stable of vintage cars, the event featured the sell-off of the private collection of Bob and Paul Milhous, and it included a wide array of musical instruments, clocks, firearms and an airplane. Case in point: The second-highest-selling item was a 1903 Ruth Style 38-B fair organ, a massive instrument that scored $1.265 million.

Next was a 1933 Chrysler Custom Imperial five- passenger phaeton, which nabbed $1.210 million, followed by a 46-foot carousel complete with 42 animals, two chariots and a Wurlitzer organ, which drew $1.2075 million.

RM Auctions
This 1930 Duesenberg Model J convertible sedan sold for $990,000.

Antique autos, however, made up much of the rest of the list of top sellers, including a 1934 Cadillac Sixteen custom roadster ($1.001 million), a 1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide sports roadster ($990,000), a 1930 Duesenberg Model J convertible sedan by Murphy ($990,000), a 1937 Cadillac Sixteen custom phaeton ($962,500) and a 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost seven-passenger Roi des Belges ($836,000)

Also notable, a 19th-century Colt Dragoon third-model revolver sold for $27,600 and was the top-selling firearm, and a 1941 Ryan PT-22 Recruit Airplane went for $241,500.

By Greg Migliore