LEAVENWORT, Ind. — A mile or so from the high riverbanks along Indiana Highway 62, a crowd gathered for a recent auction that featured a 1997 Dutch Star RV, three vintage Ford Mustang convertibles, a Case backhoe and a John Deere tractor.

The big draw for this sale was the vehicles. Auctioneer Brian Beckort of Corydon, Ind., said before the auction that phone calls were coming in from all across the region asking about the cars and the motor home. Live bidding on the Internet was activated for the bigger items in this sale.

An older man with his wife camped along the RV in aluminum lawn chairs. The man had done his homework earlier, but was still unsure.

He researched 12 estimates on the Internet and devised a composite value. During the sale, the clean RV with a slide out, was sold at a bid of $23,000 – which was $2,000 less than the couple’s top figure.

Alternately, there were plenty of young-at-heart bidders milling around the restored, red 1966 Ford Mustang with a white convertible top and an original matching interior. This highly sought-after pony car sold for $21,000.

A few feet away, the second vintage Mustang was a 1973 convertible in gray primer. New white leather interior with a black trim sparkled under the new black ragtop. This car, which only needed paint, brought $4,700.

A 1974 Mustang hardtop 2+2 was more of a fixer-upper. The light blue exterior and dark vinyl top were severely dull and oxidized. The motor, though, was clean for its age. The winning bid was $550 for this little pony.

The final Mustang of the sale was a sporty 1993 convertible. With original white paint and no visible damage, the car was popular. It had a 5.0 engine, and aluminum alloy pony emblem wheels. The final sale price was $3,000.

Other vehicles included: a 1985 Trans Am with T-top ($3,600); a red 1994 Ford F250 with matching topper ($7,300); and a 94 Honda with a hitch on the front for pulling behind an RV ($3,600).

More high-dollar items that day were: a 1992 Case Super K backhoe with loader ($15,750); a 1988 John Deere 850 diesel tractor ($5,000); and an International utility trailer ($2,600).

Finally, there was more bidding on two flatbed trailers loaded with tools.

There were hand tools, farm tools, mechanic’s tools, garden tools and shop tools for sale. In the garage there was shop equipment that included a Markita generator, a Century wire-fed welder, an Airco torch set and cart, Husqvarna chain saws, a shop heater, a Craftsman tool chest, an air compressor, a bench grinder, socket sets, welding supplies and more.

For the garden enthusiasts, there was for sale a 23-horsepower Huskee riding mower, a like-new Craftsman chipper/ shredder, an Echo GT 200 gas trimmer and a garden tiller.

For the bargain hunters, assorted camera equipment – including a tripod – went for $7.50, and an antique bakelite radio was sold as-is for $7.50.