“Bares for Rares”
The seller only wanted 50 euros – and got 700: Elefant triggers a bidding war
Paul Hafner sells his friend’s old fabric elephant at “Bares for Rares”.
© ZDF
There was joy in the dealership of “Bares for Rares”: A Steiff elephant triggered a bidding war – much to the delight of the seller.
Fool! The mechanical engineer Paul Hafner from Neresheim brought a stuffed elephant to “Bares for Rares”. It belongs to his friend, who received it from his parents when he was a toddler – and who would now like to sell it.
As Sven Deutschmanek found out during the assessment, the trunk even horns when you pull it up on a rope. Great!
The elephant comes from the well-known Steiff company. And the expert has a lot more to say about the cuddly toy on castors: It was produced from 1949 to 1974. But in the best Sherlock Holmes manner, Deutschmanek can narrow down the exact age even further: “I’ll ask you a question now: Your boyfriend should be around 65,” he says to the seller. What this can confirm.
“Bares for Rares”: Sven Deutschmanek triples the desired price
But the expert knows even more: from the white rubber coating on the tires, he recognizes that the elephant could not have been made before 1952. With a few more details, Deutschmanek can determine the time of origin of the animal and thus the year of the friend: Its dating is from the mid to late 1950s.
His friend wants 50 euros for it, says Hafner. Horst Lichter interferes: “I really think 50 euros is not enough for that.” His expert agrees – and triples the amount: 150 to 180 euros is possible. After all, the elephant is in excellent condition.
This is also praised by the dealers, who make the animal trumpet when it comes to the appraisal. “Your friend was a good elephant keeper,” praised Susanne Steiger. The auction is off to a good start: the first bid of 200 euros is already above the estimated value.
Roman Runkel is awarded the contract
With the exception of Steiger, all other dealers are also bidding and driving the price up further. In the end, Roman Runkel won the bid for an incredible 700 euros – not bad when you consider that Paul Hafner would have been satisfied with 50 euros!
“It’s a nice feeling to take the 700 euros home with you,” says the machine manufacturer from Neresheim, beaming after the successful deal. “We like to leave the elephant here.”
source: “Bares for Rares” in the ZDF media library