Aumann Auctions’ Vintage Power Fall Harvest Auction holds a special place in the hearts of collectors. It comes at a time when farmers are finishing up in the fields, and serves for many as a last hurrah when the antique tractor shows have come to a close before everyone is trapped indoors. Collectors got together in Nokomis, Ill., on Oct. 26-27, 2018, and enjoyed quality collectibles and tractors, with some cool stories hitting the auction block. That Friday, the auction opened with a large collection of farm toys and pedals and, of course, parts and implements. Saturday the auction consisted of rare and desirable signs, plus an amazing collection of tractors. One of the neatest tractors to sell at this auction was the first John Deere GP ever built. What makes this an especially great story is that this tractor was donated by its owner to a local church, and the entire proceeds went to Visionway Christian School in Taylorville. The donor wished to remain anonymous. When he originally donated the tractor, he didn’t realize its importance, but even after he learned it was the first GP ever built, he chose to keep the tractor in the auction. Kurt Aumann said his response was, “Great – I hope that makes it bring more for the school.” This first GP is Serial No. 200211, and the tractor sold for $75,000 to an individual bidding online. The auction also included two rare Case IH Prototypes belonging to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. According to the Aumann catalog, it “has a ZF mechanical front wheel assist front and is powered by a larger four-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine. The tractor is in original condition and has a cab with a roof hatch and curved rear glass. The cab doors also have foldouts that are obviously meant for test use only.” Too, the dash was partially disassembled from work done by students. This tractor sold for $20,000. The same individual purchased the second Case, as well. It is a 485 Prototype that had a complete set of documentation with letters from Case IH back and forth to the university documenting the donation. The 485 is powered by a three-cylinder diesel IH engine and shows only 385 hours! This tractor sold for $15,000. These two are rumored to be heading to Austria after restoration. Another piece of history to hit the auction block was an Allis-Chalmers U, one of 34 track models built. This A-C was built with a special transmission for speed to show what the brand and Firestone tires could do. One of them set a world speed record of 64.45 mph. One of these A-C tractors was profiled at the Portland, Ind., show in August, where A-C was the highlighted tractor, and at Pontiac’s Labor Day Show during Gathering of the Orange in Illinois. The historic U sold for $22,000. There were several other cool tractors as well. A rare John Deere 62, No. 48 of just 78 built, sold for $23,500. A 1970 Oliver 1555 diesel sold for $17,000, and a beautiful Huber Model LC sold for $7,000 – the Huber has many options, including electric start and pneumatic tires. Another neat tractor that sold was an Oliver Cleat Track H-G crawler that went for $5,200. But there were tractors of all makes and models, so there was literally something for nearly everyone. This two-day auction was an attention-grabber and brought bidders from all over to bid or watch toys, memorabilia and tractors sell. To find out more, log onto the Aumann Auction website at www.aumannvintagepower.com Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication. Learn more of Cindy’s finds and travel in her blog, “Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl,” at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com |
