Will Seippel, CEO of WorthPoint, enjoys watching the items sold at auctions held by our WorthPoint Industry Partners. We thought it would be a great idea for him to select some of his favorite sold items and explain why those sales stood out to him. Gaining insights from Will is an excellent way to learn about buying and selling trends in our industry. We want to empower you to buy and sell with confidence. Take a look at his thoughts on a few of our partners’ recent sales.
On February 18, 2025, WorthPoint added 278,372 new items to our database, totaling a whopping $17,493,711—so that’s an average of $62.84 per item! Here are some of my personal favorites.
An Expensive Rocking Chair
An odd item was the high seller on eBay. A rocking Eastlake Victorian camp chair, which was owned and used by none other than Annie Oakley, sold for a stunning $37,500. Normally, this chair would be worth only $50-$150, but this one had some serious history behind it. It came with a label on the bottom that only a troupe member of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show & Congress of Rough Riders could have had, and it was signed by Annie Oakley herself. Two forensic handwriting experts authenticated the signature with Certificates of Authenticity, though oddly enough, their names and the images weren’t included in the sale. It all seems a little suspicious, especially since I don’t know of any experts who would authenticate such a high-value item without revealing more details, but maybe they exist. It’s a gamble, but if authentic, this chair is a key piece of history, having traveled with Annie herself during her time with the Wild West Show—likely used as she sat in it doing needlepoint in between performances. It’s truly a rare treasure, and if the signature is confirmed, the new owner should work on better documenting its provenance and authentication. This find would be a significant piece for any circus or show memorabilia collection!
Three Cats Worth a Lot of Money
The cutest item of the day was an 11.5″ x 14″ painting of a trio of black cats by well-known Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, painted in the second half of 1965. Maud, born in 1903, started painting cards at a young age, and after marrying a fish peddler, she spent her days selling fish and her artwork from door to door, living in a one-room house. Eventually, she became a full-fledged artist, known for her joyful, colorful paintings, which never sold for more than $10 in her lifetime. This particular painting, one of her iconic “Three Black Cats,” went for an impressive $31,264 at Miller & Miller.
This subject is a signature Maud Lewis image and is often paired with other variations like marmalade and white cats, but this one, with its vibrant apple blossoms and tulips, is truly exceptional. Her small paintings were often influenced by arthritis, but her style, full of magic and charm, has endured—this one even appeared in a 1965 Toronto Star Weekly article titled The Little Old Lady Who Paints Pretty Pictures. It’s no surprise that Maud’s works have grown in value over the years, with a record sale reaching $317,566 in 2022. A quick reminder: don’t toss old hand-painted cards you come across without checking them first at WorthPoint—you never know, they could be worth a lot more than you think! Many home artists, like Maud, used to make them.
When the Stars Line Up
My last item to note today was a PSA Certified autograph by the most famous rapper of all time: 2Pac Shakur. Signed “Tupac Shakur Peace-Be Real,” this autograph was written on a piece of paper that had been cut down for display purposes. It included the original concert ticket from the Luther Vandross show, which 2Pac signed for the original owner in 1994. The autograph received a grade of 8 and sold for an impressive $7,080.00. This piece of history was sold at Memorabilia Expert and features a pencil signature (“9”) with a message that reads, “Peace – Be Real!”
2Pac, the best-selling rap artist ever, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, sold over 73 million albums worldwide and left behind 17 top ten singles. His tragic death in 1996 left fans clinging to anything that could carry on his memory, and this signed piece—certified by PSA/DNA—would definitely do that. The autograph above is encapsulated and comes with the original concert ticket from the MGM’s “An Evening with Luther Vandross” on January 8, 1994.
Will Seippel is the founder, president, and CEO of WorthPoint. Will has been an avid collector since 1974 and dealer of just about all things antique—with an emphasis on ephemera— since 1984. He is also the creator and founder of HIP, a website devoted to recording the best of the world’s history that has been saved on film.
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