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Largest Private Military Collection Auctioned Off in CA

With the prices that some classic cars are fetching at auctions these days, it isn’t uncommon to hear of vehicles going well into the six- and seven-figure price range. On paper, the Littlefield Auction that took place in Portola Valley, CA over the weekend was another high-value auction, but instead of rare pieces of automotive history, this auction block was filled with generations of iconic military machines.
Scud missile lancher 1 photo
Photo: Auctions of America
Titled as one of the world’s largest private collections of military vehicles, the auction featured vehicles from just every nation and every era of combat imaginable. These included plenty of HMMWVs and Jeeps, an assortment of tanks from around the world and, yes, even a Soviet Scud missile launcher (shown above).

The Scud launcher is believed to be just one of two that are currently privately owned, and it sold for what seems like a bargain at $345,000. With 98 percent of the lots sold as of this article, the highest price paid was a fully restored German 8-ton Half-Track that ended up selling for $1.2 million, but one of the few vehicles that failed to sell, a 1944 Panzer tank, currently has a bid of $1.75 million. Some of the other lots that stood out include an antique Citroën half-track that sold for $34,500, the turret from an M1A1 Abrams tank that sold for $51,750 and a 1953 International M62 tow-truck in running condition that some lucky soul took home for just $3,450.

Scrolling through the auction lot descriptions is akin to a history lesson in military vehicles, but it sounds like that’s what the original collector wanted. This collection came from the late Jacques Littlefield who spent more than 30 years putting together his private fleet of military vehicles, and after his passing the vehicles were acquired by The Collings Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Stow, MA that preserves military airplanes and vehicles.

A total of 80 vehicles from Littlefield’s collection went directly to The Collings Foundation and the rest were sold off to build a new 66,000 square foot facility. With three vehicles left to be sold, last weekend’s auction tally stands at $10.24 million, which has already exceeded original expectations by about 20 percent.

Story via CNN Money
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