Alternative Investment Ideas

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>>> Hikers discover nearly 600 gold coins dating back to 1808


Popular Science

by Andrew Paul

April 30, 2025


https://www.yahoo.com/news/hikers-discover-nearly-600-gold-185522175.html


It's unclear how the treasure trove made it all the way to the Czech Republic.

While the small aluminum can and iron box didn’t look like much at first, their contents stunned historians and two lucky hikers alike. The tourists initially stumbled across the containers during a hike in the Czech Republic’s Podkrkonosí Mountains earlier this year, but soon took their valuable findings to experts for evaluation. According to a recent assessment by experts at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, the worth of the jewelry, artifacts, and nearly 600 gold coins inside the containers is estimated to be over $340,000. Now, researchers wonder how this treasure trove of items and currencies from multiple nations and eras made it all the way to the Czech Republic—and why no one ever claimed them.

“When he opened it, my jaw dropped,” Museum of East Bohemia head archeologist Miroslav Novak said in an interview.

The containers also contained gold jewelry, cigarette cases, and other personal items. Credit: Museum of Eastern Bohemia

The iron box housed 16 snuff boxes, 10 bracelets, a wire bag, a comb, a chain, and a powder compact—all gold. Meanwhile, the can’s contents featured 598 gold coins divided into 11 columns separately wrapped in black cloth. According to numismatist Vojtech Brádle, many are stamped with dates ranging from 1808 to 1915, and originated in the Austria-Hungarian empire under the reign of Franz Joseph I.

“I found out that these coins did not travel from the Vienna mint to us, but to the Balkans,” said Brádle. “And there, after the collapse of the monarchy, in the then-Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, marks, so-called countermarks, were minted.”

The coins were likely in Serbia during the 1920s and 1930s, and were often used in typical Balkan necklaces and headdresses. Other coins in the collection come from countries including France, Belgium, Turkey, Romania, Italy, and Russia. However, it’s unclear how they all ultimately made it to eastern Bohemia.

“We have no idea,” added Brádle.

There are a number of potential theories to explain the treasure’s journey across Europe. One explanation is that the belongings were hidden amid Nazi Germany’s annexation of the region in the 1930s. Following the Munich Agreement of 1938, hundreds of thousands of Jews and Czechs fled further into the country to escape persecution, and it is possible that the cases were buried in hopes of hiding valuables from the invading armies. Another theory dates the stashes to the end of World War II, when Nazis themselves retreated in the face of Russian forces.

Conservationists at the Museum of East Bohemia are now working to catalog and preserve the rare discoveries, and hope to display them in a future public exhibit. As for the two hikers, they are likely happy they chose that particular trail—Czech law entitles them to a reward of up to 10 percent of the find’s total value.

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>>> Roger Dean is currently showcasing his work at ArtPalmBeach, and has an upcoming immersive exhibit, "Dragon's Dream: The Roger Dean Experience," opening in the Mission District of San Francisco. He is also collaborating on a special poster for the TRPS Festival of Rock Posters at the Hall of Flowers. Additionally, an exhibition titled "The Secret Path: The Art of Roger and Freyja Dean" was recently open at the Haight Street Art Center in San Francisco.

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>>> Roman Emperor Galba was born.


December 24, 3 BC.

By Beatriz Camino.


Galba

Galba (24 December 3 BC – 15 January 69 AD) was a Roman emperor who ruled for seven months, from 8 June 68 AD to 15 January 69 AD. As the first emperor during the turbulent Year of the Four Emperors, he ascended to the throne following the suicide of Emperor Nero.

Early Life

Servius Sulpicius Galba was born on December 24, 3 BC, into an aristocratic family, the son of Gaius Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. He had an older brother, Gaius, who committed suicide in 36 AD due to financial troubles and the disfavour of Emperor Tiberius. Though little is known of Galba’s early years, historian Suetonius describes him in The Twelve Caesars as “a conscientious student of public affairs and particularly skilled in law.” Physically, Galba was bald (despite being depicted with hair on contemporary coins) and suffered from severe arthritis, which left him unable to wear shoes and crippled his hands and feet. His only marriage, to Semilia Lepida, was considered a mere formality, as Galba was widely thought to be homosexual. After her death and the loss of their children, he refused to remarry, despite considerable pressure to do so.

Galba’s career flourished under the Julio-Claudian emperors, including Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, all of whom seemed to respect him. He quickly ascended through the ranks, holding several public offices. In 40 AD, Emperor Caligula appointed him commander of a legion in Upper Germany. Although this earned him favour with the emperor, it strained relations with his soldiers due to his strict discipline. In 44 AD, Galba became governor of Africa, where he suppressed native revolts and unrest. Despite his growing power, he rejected calls to claim the throne following Caligula’s assassination, a decision that earned him the respect of Emperor Claudius. Claudius later appointed him proconsul of Africa to quell further disturbances.

In 49 AD, Galba abruptly withdrew from public service, allegedly because he had spurned the advances of Agrippina the Younger, Claudius’s wife and Nero’s mother. He returned to public life in 60 AD at Nero’s request, becoming governor of Spain, a post he held for eight years.

As Nero’s reign deteriorated, several provincial governors urged Galba to lead a revolt. Motivated in part by rumours that Nero sought to have him killed, he joined the effort to overthrow the emperor. After Nero’s death, Roman messengers informed Galba that the citizens had sworn allegiance to him. In response, he dropped his title of governor-general and adopted the title of Caesar, marking his ascent to power.

His Reign

With the assistance of Otho—who had been exiled to Lusitania by Nero—Galba raised additional legions and marched on Rome. Once news of Nero’s death was confirmed, he assumed the throne.

Galba’s efforts to curb Nero’s extravagant spending quickly proved unpopular. His execution of troops recruited by Nero and several political opponents, including Lucius Clodius Macer—whose revolt in Africa had disrupted Rome’s grain supply—further fuelled discontent. Galba demanded heavy tribute from the towns he had conquered, keeping the wealth for himself. He also confiscated money that Nero had bestowed upon others but failed to spend these funds on his troops—a decision that alienated the army. His refusal to pay the promised donative to the praetorian guard led to the assassination of his ally Nymphidius.

Galba also alienated key factions in the empire. He rewarded the regions of Gaul that had supported Vindex, angering the legions of Upper Germany, who had defeated the latter in battle. On January 1, 69 AD, the legions of Upper Germany refused to swear the customary allegiance to Galba. Shortly after, they allied with the legions of Lower Germany to proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

To the citizens of Rome, who had initially welcomed Nero’s death, Galba proved equally disappointing. He viewed public entertainment, such as gladiatorial games, as an unnecessary expense and ceased funding them. Discontent spread as rumours of unrest emerged, particularly in provinces like Germany.

Death

At over seventy years old and with his hold on power increasingly uncertain, Galba adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his son and heir. This decision was meant to solidify his position but instead angered his long-time ally, Otho, who had expected to be named successor. Feeling betrayed, Otho bribed the Praetorian Guard who, with little loyalty to Galba, carried out his assassination. On January 15, 69 AD, the guards murdered both Galba and Piso in the Roman Forum, severing their heads and presenting them to Otho. Otho was promptly declared emperor, marking the end of Galba’s brief reign of less than seven months.

Galba’s death initiated the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors. This turbulent period saw rapid and violent changes in leadership as four claimants—Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian—vied for control of the Roman Empire. Following Galba’s assassination, Otho’s reign was equally short-lived; he faced immediate opposition from Vitellius, the commander of the legions in Germany. Vitellius’s forces marched on Rome, defeating Otho in April 69 AD.

Vitellius briefly assumed power but proved an ineffective ruler, alienating key supporters and failing to manage the empire’s instability. Meanwhile, Vespasian, a respected general commanding legions in the East, declared his claim to the throne. By December 69 AD, Vespasian’s forces overthrew Vitellius, restoring stability to the empire and marking the beginning of the Flavian dynasty.

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>>> Fake Gibson guitars worth $18 million confiscated by US Customs


Fox 5

by Sam Kosmas

November 27, 2024


https://www.yahoo.com/news/fake-gibson-guitars-worth-18-152940534.html


LOS ANGELES - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in California have confiscated over 3,000 counterfeit Gibson guitars, which would have been worth more than $18 million if they had been genuine.

Investigators intercepted the fake guitars while they were being shipped in ocean containers from Asia to the LA/Long Beach Seaport.

Gibson confirmed that the guitars were indeed counterfeit, noting that authentic Gibson guitars are made in the U.S.A.

"These fraudulent guitars may look and feel legitimate for unsuspecting consumers buying them from third party online sources, street markets, unauthorized retailers, and person-to-person transactions," said Cheryl M. Davies, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, in a statement. "As we approach the busy Holiday shopping season, consumers should pay attention on where they are buying these goods and how much they are paying, and if is too good to be true it probably is."

"We are grateful for the hard work that our U.S. CBP officers, HSI special agents, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators are doing to stop counterfeiting," added Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson, in a statement on Tuesday. "Our partnership is designed to help every agency work together to protect consumers and our fans from being misled into counterfeits."

"This is really emotional and personal for us not only because of the protection of our players, but because of our Gibson team at large, including the artisans at our craftories in Nashville, TN and Bozeman, MT, who are generations of American families that have dedicated their entire lives to handcrafting Gibson instruments," added Beth Heidt, Chief Marketing Officer at Gibson. "As Gibson celebrates its 130th anniversary this year, we are proud of our legacy of quality and craftsmanship, legendary music partnerships with our artists, and our efforts to promote and create more musicians that continue to shape the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across every genre."

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>>> Gold coins stolen from centuries-old Spanish convoy in $1M heist recovered by Florida authorities


MSN

by Caitlin McCormack

11-25-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/gold-coins-stolen-from-centuries-old-spanish-convoy-in-1m-heist-recovered-by-florida-authorities/ar-AA1uOFAf?ocid=TobArticle


Florida authorities recovered a collection of gold coins from an 18th-century Spanish convoy that was stolen in 2015.

The 37 gold coins were snatched from the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet and have a total value of $1 million, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release.

The 1715 Fleet was a combination of two different groups of Spanish ships, all under one command, heading back to Spain following a successful round of treasure hunting. The fleet fell victim to a hurricane and crashed somewhere off the coast of Florida. Their spoils, including the coins, all sank to the bottom of the ocean.





Exactly 300 years later, 101 gold coins were recovered in 2015 by the Schmitt family off of Florida’s aptly named Treasure Coast. The family worked specifically to recover treasure from the Spanish fleet, even naming their LLC the 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels.

However, only 51 of the coins were recorded, leaving the other 50 in limbo.

“While 51 of these coins were reported correctly and adjudicated, 50 coins were not disclosed and were subsequently stolen,” the FWC wrote.

The robbery sparked an FBI investigation into Eric Schmitt, one of the family members responsible for the discovery. The probe specifically looked into “the illegal sale of multiple stolen gold coins between 2023 and 2024.”

“Investigators executed multiple search warrants, recovering coins from private residences, safe deposit boxes and auctions,” the press release noted.

“Five stolen coins were reclaimed from a Florida-based auctioneer, who unknowingly purchased them from Eric Schmitt.”

Schmitt had also apparently taken three of the gold coins that he didn’t report and tossed them back into the ocean “to be found by the new investors of 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC.”

Even so, 13 of the coins are still missing. The FWC wrote that finding 37 of them “marks a major milestone in a long-standing investigation into the theft and illegal trafficking of these priceless historical artifacts.”

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>>> Rare dime bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades fetches $500,000 at auction


Associated Press

October 28, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rare-dime-bought-ohio-farm-142306011.html


TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An extraordinarily rare dime whose whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s has sold for just over $500,000.

The coin, which was struck by the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1975, depicts President Franklin D. Roosevelt and is one of just two known to exist without its distinctive “S” mint mark.

Three sisters from Ohio inherited the dime after the death of their brother, who had kept it in a bank vault for more than 40 years.

The coin sold for $506,250 in an online auction that concluded Sunday, according to Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, an auction house based in Irvine, California.

The only other known example of the “1975 ‘no S’ proof dime” sold at a 2019 auction for $456,000 and then again months later to a private collector.

The mint in San Francisco made more than 2.8 million special uncirculated “proof” sets in 1975 that featured six coins and were sold for $7. Collectors a few years later discovered that two dimes from the set were missing the mint mark.

Russell said the sisters from Ohio, who wanted to remain anonymous, told him that they inherited one of those two dimes but that their brother and mother bought the first error coin discovered in 1978 for $18,200, which would amount to roughly $90,000 today. Their parents, who operated a dairy farm, saw the coin as a financial safety net.

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[EnchantedTitan62]

Firewood is an alternative investment in my area of the country I believe. I had a wood stove installed into our home maybe 20yrs ago, it had paid itself off in savings within 6 yrs. Theres plenty of timber on our land to harvest firewood. I don't sell it but others in my area of the state do. Every time I light the stove it's like a tax free capital gain/dividend !. And the warmth is incredible. Have a good day all.

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>>> The last Monet: Almost blind, abstract and undervalued


El Pais

by Caio Ruvenal

Oct 2023


https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-last-monet-almost-blind-abstract-and-undervalued/ar-AA1h0ZEk?cvid=c54f359f988b46a39528bc5a45369819&ei=55




Curator Aurélie Gavoille and restorer Mónica Ruiz Trilleros examine a painting from Monet’s ‘Nenúfares’ series upon its arrival at CentroCentro.


Formless yellow, blue and green strokes create spots of color across three meters of canvas. There is little distinction between above and below in the painting Wisteria (1919-1920), by Claude Monet (1840-1926), which is much more abstract than other works he created during the Impressionist period in the last three decades of the 19th century. The oil painting belongs to his last period, when the artist suffered cataracts, which required surgery and affected the production of pieces that were not valued until long after his death.



The painting ‘Wisteria’ (1919-1920) by Claude Monet.

Wisteria is one of the works that best represents the last phase of the French painter. It is one of more than 40 that will be exhibited starting next Thursday at Madrid’s CentroCentro in the exhibition Monet: Masterpieces from the Musée Marmottan Monet. They come from the Marmottan, a 16th century mansion located eight kilometers from the center of Paris, which contains the largest and most important collection of the French painter, thanks largely to the donation of his son, Michel, in 1966. Michel, who did not have direct descendants, enriched the Marmottan collection with his father’s personal collection, made up largely of those final works that testify to his continued painting despite the ailment in his eyes.

The cataracts arrived in the midst of the artist’s research in his gardens in Giverny. The impressionist, increasingly distant from the human figure, was fascinated by his new surroundings, according to Aurélie Gavoille, one of the curators of the exhibition and conservation assistant at the Marmottan. The art historian Philippe Piguet comments that this rural town, where the Seine and Epta rivers meet and where Monet arrived in 1883, impressed him by “the quality of its light, due to the kind of microclimate that is created in the area by its topography and the great presence of water.”

The symptoms of cataracts — loss of clarity in vision, alteration in the perception of colors — did not stop Monet’s work, but they did affect both Monet’s practice and the results. “It was organized when he began to have problems with the tones in 1912. The palette always had the colors in the same order,” says Gavoille. The curator says that the artist’s color range was reduced and was dominated by browns, reds and yellows, “more violent, daring colors.” Several paintings from that period, now on display, feature those pigments with filmy, gestural brushstrokes, as in Rose Path (1920-1922), Japanese Bridges (1918-1924), Weeping Willow (1918-1919) and The Garden of Giverny (1922-1926).

The historian Emmanuelle Amiot-Saulnier writes in a text for the exhibition that the advance of the disease is very evident in the Japanese Bridges series. “The right eye loses the natural perception of depth typical of binocular vision, as reflected in the series, which is notable for its lack of depth.”



One of the paintings from the ‘Japanese Bridges’ series (1918-1924).

Monet was reluctant to have surgery. “It scared him because he was a painter, and he thought he was going to lose the intensity of the colors,” says Gavoille. He finally underwent the operation in 1923, “thanks to his friend Georges Clémenceau, who was also then president of the Council of France.” Gavoille says that Monet was never at risk of going blind: “Perhaps he was terrified of not being able to see anything and finding himself in blackness. Black was also a color that he totally refused to use in his paintings, but the operations went very well.” Amiot-Saulnier has a more dramatic interpretation: “He experienced all the restlessness of a progressive and unequal blindness in both eyes, to the point that in 1922 he had a tenth of vision left in the left, while on the right he only perceived movement.”

The ocular condition made Monet distance himself from contours, vanishing points, details, and other academic precepts, even though he rejected the abstract movement, says Gavoille. “There is a change in his way of painting, in the technique. The end of the exhibition is dedicated to that search for a more refined style of painting.” His Water Lilies series (1916-1919) is one of the most popular works of that final period: in 2014 one of these canvases was auctioned for 40 million euros. They are the apotheosis of his career after studying and reproducing the aquatic plants in small formats. They dispense with any perspective and eliminate the horizon so that the viewer is immersed in the mirror of water.



The painting ‘Rose Path’ (1920-1922).

The general curator of the exhibition and curator of the Marmottan, Sylvie Carlier, notes that Monet’s last production was little understood and appreciated by his contemporaries. It was revalued in the second half of the 20th century and highlighted mainly in the United States with exhibitions at the MoMA and the recognition of the abstract expressionists, “in particular Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), who was greatly inspired by it for his own technique,” says Carlier. Amiot-Saulnier agrees: “Monet, in short, granted Jackson Pollock the right to exist and to allow himself to be absorbed by his dripping like a shaman in a trance. It gave the painters of the Color Field movement the possibility of considering the canvas as a field of colors, not of shapes, as Mark Rothko (1903-1970) predicted, to absorb the viewer.”

Monet’s final period went from being the least valued — the six-meter panels went for the same price as a small Cézanne or Renoir, around €209,000 (around $223,600), according to historian Marianne Mathieu — to being the focus of exhibitions in the US. The MoMA not only exhibited works from this period but also acquired them, and critics such as William C. Seitz described them as the starting point of a new pictorial trend that paved the way for the avant-garde of the 20th century.



Staff unwrap the painting 'Parliament. Reflections in the Thames’ to hang it at CentroCentro.

The exhibition does not only include Monet’s last works: jewels such as Portrait of Poly (1886), which the impressionist made for a lobster fisherman who helped him carry his materials, are also on display. “Poly wanted to have the painting as a kind of reward, but Monet always refused to give it to him because he thought it was a very good portrait, and he didn’t make many. He even hung it in his living room,” says Gavoille. There is also Parliament. Reflections in the Thames (1905), in which he uses the structure as an excuse to paint the reflection of the water, and The Promenade, Argenteuil (1870-1875), which depicts Monet’s wife with one of his sons. But they all lead up to his later years’ exploration of the light that, paradoxically, cost him his eyes. As Cezanne said of him: “Monet is only an eye, but my God, what an eye!”

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>>> From attic to auction: A Rembrandt painting sells for $1.4M in Maine


Associated Press

9-4-24





https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/from-attic-to-auction-a-rembrandt-painting-sells-for-1-4m-in-maine/ar-AA1pZrWa?cvid=af7057756e5d46a0cd210a141f5cb8be&ei=27


THOMASTON, Maine (AP) — A Rembrandt discovered in an attic sold for $1.4 million.

The 17th century painting, “Portrait of a Girl,” by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was discovered by art appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux in an attic in an estate in Camden, Maine. A label on the back of the frame noted that it was loaned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition in 1970.

“On house calls, we often go in blind, not knowing what we’ll find,” said Veilleux, from Thomaston Place Auction Galleries. “The home was filled with wonderful pieces but it was in the attic, among stacks of art, that we found this remarkable portrait.”

The painting had been in private family ownership since the 1920s, and the painting stayed with the family after being displayed in Philadelphia, the business said. The owner was not identified.

As to how it ended up in the attic, that, too, was a mystery.

Rembrandt, born in 1606, was a prolific artist who focused on a variety of subjects, from portraits to landscapes to historical and biblical scenes.

“Portrait of a Girl” was painted on an oak panel and mounted in a hand-carved gold Dutch frame, said Veilleux.

An auction by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries yielded a fierce competition on Aug. 24, he said. In the end, a European collector paid $1.41 million for the painting.

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>>> Unseen for 30 Years, Van Gogh Harbor Scene Is Poised to Shatter Auction Records in Asia


ArtNews

by Tessa Solomon

9-11-24





https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/unseen-for-30-years-van-gogh-harbor-scene-is-poised-to-shatter-auction-records-in-asia/ar-AA1qpdX6?cvid=fcb4ccb31a6d43dab1f0e5e5d8b1052c&ei=15


For the first time in 30 years, Vincent van Gogh's Les canots amarrés (Moored Boats) is set to hit the auction block.

The 1887 painting will appear at Christie's Hong Kong on September 26 with an estimate of HKD $230 million–HKD $380 million (roughly $30 million to $50 million in US dollars). If the high estimate is met, Les canots amarrés will become the most expensive work by a Western artist sold at auction in Asia, beating the present record-holder, Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 painting Warrior, which fetched HK$323.6 million ($41.7 million) at Christie's in 2021.

Per the auction house, the painting was originally held in the collection of the Royal Family of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, descendants of the historic rulers of Sicily and southern Italy. It was purchased by Italian actress Edy Vessel at Sotheby's London in 1991, and is now being offered at Christie's by Vessel's daughter, Princess Camilla, who acquired it via a family trust.

The work is part of a trio of landscapes painted by the artist in Asnières during his two-year travels in France. The picturesque Asnières, located along the Seine to the northwest of Paris, was a popular weekend retreat for boaters. The two works believed to complete the trio, Ponts sur la Seine à Asnières and Restaurant de la Sirène, Asnières, are owned by the Emil Bührle Collection and Ashmolean Museum, respectively.

Max Carter, vice chairman of 20th/21st Century Art at Christie's Americas, said in a statement, "In the final years of his brief life, Vincent achieved perfect artistic freedom from narrowly prescribed colors, techniques, and subjects. Here, in 1887, he revels in these dearly won freedoms as he loosens his brush, brightens his palette, and celebrates the subtle harmonies of an exquisite summer day."

The painting is tentatively scheduled to be exhibited at Christie's new Asia Pacific Headquarters in Hong Kong from September 22 through 26.

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[EnchantedTitan62]

Definitely hold on to that. As I recall, Graham promoted Zeppelin back in the day. Have a good evening.

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>> Warhol, Dali, Matisse <<

Nice going, and the great thing about art investing is you can enjoy it along the way :o)

In my own collection is an oil painting by Bonnie MacLean, who did a lot of the early Fillmore concert posters, and was married to promoter Bill Graham. I really liked the painting, but didn't realize that she had painted it until a few weeks later, when a letter came from her thanking me for the purchase, lol.

The artist Jeremy Miranda now has a huge following, and I bought one of his when he was just starting out. Otherwise no other 'great masters' in my collection, but lots of art to enjoy, and I also paint (sort of), so the available wall space has been shrinking, lol.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_MacLean

[EnchantedTitan62]

I invested in art for a brief time about 20 yrs ago. Aquired a hand signed Warhol, a couple of Dali etchings, and a few rare early prints from Matisse. Hopefully my heirs will pass them down and so on ...🍷

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>>> Private equity giant Apollo invests $700 million in Sony Music


Reuters

Jul 26, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/private-equity-giant-apollo-invests-132347037.html


(Reuters) - Private equity behemoth Apollo Global Management has invested $700 million in high-profile record label Sony Music Group, allowing its clients an opportunity to invest in "high grade" alternative assets.

Apollo did not reveal the terms of the deal with Sony, which works with artists such as Lil Nas X and Celine Dion.

Booming demand for alternative investments has boosted the appeal of the music industry as investors look beyond traditional assets such as stocks and bonds, making it a popular asset class for Wall Street firms in recent years.

Heavyweights of the financial world are cashing in on the lucrative streaming rights and cash flows the industry offers.

"This investment allows our clients to invest in high grade securities while helping Sony to execute its business plans," said Jamshid Ehsani, a partner at Apollo said on Friday.

Apollo had also backed media and entertainment-focused investment firm HarbourView Equity Partners in 2021.

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Wine - >>> This NFL Legend Has Built A Wine Empire, Calls It Fun But Not Easy


Benzinga

by Deidre Woollard

Jul 31, 2024


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nfl-legend-built-wine-empire-110008283.html


This NFL Legend Has Built A Wine Empire, Calls It Fun But Not Easy

Not every football player leaves the NFL and finds their footing in an entirely different business. In fact, many NFL players lose much of their wealth in the years after retirement. Drew Bledsoe, a number one draft pick and the former quarterback for the New England Patriots, is one who has managed to have a fantastic second act in a field that many of us dream of getting into: the wine business.

In an interview with Jason Raznick on The Raz Report podcast, Bledsoe explained that he didn't venture into entrepreneurship until he retired but credits having good financial advisors along the way for "not letting me do anything super stupid" and saying no to him frequently. Once he retired, Bledsoe and his wife Maura decided to pursue their dream. In 2007, they returned to his hometown of Walla Walla, Washington and purchased land in the Walla Walla American Viticultural Area (AVA). They partnered with winemaker Josh McDaniels and focused on growing cabernet sauvignon. Since that initial investment, they have expanded their winery to include five estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley.

The Power Of Persistence

After the initial success with Doubleback, the Bledsoes expanded, creating two more labels under the Bledsoe Wine Estates brand. The Bledsoe Family Winery produces accessible varietals, while the Bledsoe|McDaniels Winery was established to offer their version of the Willamette Valley's Pinot Noir. They also expanded into homegrown Syrah, with these limited-production wines available to wine list members.

Bledsoe describes the journey to success in the wine industry as fun but challenging. "It's been super rewarding to see something grow from a single vineyard that we planted with our hands to a company that has 70 employees and over 450 acres of vineyards," he said.

Like any type of investment, investing in the wine business requires time and patience. "Sometimes you are talking a decade before you get to see the literal fruits of your labors," Bledsoe added. Unlike football, where results are immediate, the wine industry requires long-term commitment and resilience.

Bledsoe sees parallels between being a quarterback and owning a business, citing skills such as planning, executing decisions, building a team, and dealing with adversity as lessons.

In addition to his winery businesses in Washington, Bledsoe has invested in real estate in Whitefish, Montana. He describes the market as rapidly growing since he first discovered it in 1996. Speaking about his home, he said it's one of his better investments but one that he will never realize because then he would have to sell, move, and find another house. He said he has dabbled in real estate, with some good and bad outcomes.

When it comes to investing, Bledsoe has primarily left stock investments to his financial advisors, giving him time to devote to what he knows best. Investing in wineries can be a tough business. As Bledsoe mentioned, it's a luxury business that is very tied to the strength of the economy and the vicissitudes of Mother Nature. It also requires tremendous capital and knowledge, both of which Bledsoe has as he focuses on building a wine empire for the long haul.

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>>> Missing Henry VIII portrait spotted on X by eagle-eyed art historian


by Lianne Kolirin

CNN

July 27, 2024


https://www.yahoo.com/news/missing-henry-viii-portrait-spotted-131710554.html


An art historian has identified a missing portrait of King Henry VIII after spotting it on social media.

British fine art researcher Adam Busiakiewicz was idly scrolling on X when he was stopped in his tracks by a post from somebody he follows.

The post was a photograph shared by Tim Cox, the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire – an honorary position representing the British Crown in the central English county. It showed a gathering at a reception in Warwick’s Shire Hall, where Warwickshire County Council is based.

The distinctive frame was one of the features that helped identify the painting as the missing portrait of Henry VIII.

But Busiakiewicz wasn’t interested in the people smiling at the camera. His focus was on the background where, hanging on a wall, was what he suspected was a missing portrait of the Tudor monarch Henry VIII.

In a post published on his blog earlier this month, Busiakiewicz said he had been “scrolling at speed” when he spotted the painting “with a distinctive arched top” on the wall.

He was immediately reminded of a series of 22 portraits commissioned by a local politician and tapestry-maker during the 1590s.

According to Busiakiewicz, Ralph Sheldon commissioned the pictures – which were mostly of kings, queens and “significant contemporary international figures” – to hang in his home, Weston House in Warwickshire. The reason they had arched tops was because they “were once incorporated into an architectural frieze of the Long Gallery at Weston,” Busiakiewicz said.

In a press release sent to CNN, Busiakiewicz said the arched top was a “special feature of the Sheldon set,” while the painting’s frame was “identical to other surviving examples.”

The painting also showed the king holding a sword and wearing a feathered hat – just as he appeared in an engraving of the Long Hall made by antiquarian Henry Shaw in 1839.

The series of portraits was later dispersed at auction and “the majority remain untraced to this day,” according to Busiakiewicz.

After making his theory public, Busiakiewicz visited Warwick’s Shire Hall together with local historian Aaron Manning to see the painting close up. “The portrait is large, and completely in-line with the other Sheldon portraits,” Busiakiewicz wrote in a later blog post, on July 22.

In a telephone call with CNN, Busiakiewicz revealed that this was not the first discovery he had made thanks to social media. In 2018, he stumbled across a picture a friend had taken at a wedding and posted on Instagram. It featured a portrait that he identified as the work of 17th-century female artist Joan Carlile.

“Social media is a crazy thing,” Busiakiewicz told CNN, “because some people use it to watch cat videos and follow what’s going on in the world, and then people like me just look at what people have hanging on their walls.”

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council told CNN in an email that Busiakiewicz and Manning approached them about the painting and arranged to come and see it.

“Adam and Aaron viewed the painting at Shire Hall, and have confirmed they think it is definitely one of the Ralph Sheldon commissions,” the spokesperson wrote.

“Since this discovery, the painting has been moved into our Museum Collections Centre to allow further research to take place.”

Busiakiewicz told CNN that the identity of the painter is not known, but the creator of the portraits is “sometimes referred to as The Sheldon Master.”

He is now working on trying to establish the painting’s provenance. It was acquired by the council as recently as 1951 but there are gaps in the records.

“Provenance is always such a really tricky thing - it’s very hard sometimes to find, particularly when pictures are sold privately. But there’s no doubt that this is Ralph Sheldon’s painting of Henry VIII,” he said.

“Looking at paintings and pictures of paintings is my life and it’s great fun, particularly when you can in some way right a historic wrong, let’s say. Pictures that are overlooked, pictures that aren’t appreciated as much as they might be.”

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Titian - >>> Stolen 16th-century painting, found at a bus stop, sells for record $22M


The Washington Post

by Niha Masih

7-4-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/stolen-16th-century-painting-found-at-a-bus-stop-sells-for-record-22m/ar-BB1podDQ?OCID=ansmsnnews11





An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napoleon’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned.

This week, the oil painting “The Rest on the Flight into Egypt” sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as “the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.”
“This result is a tribute to the impeccable provenance and quiet beauty of this sublime early masterpiece by Titian, which is one of the most poetic products of the artist’s youth,” Orlando Rock, chairman of Christie’s U.K., said in a statement.

The small, 18 1/4-by-24 3/4-inch canvas is believed to have been painted around 1510, the auction house said.

It is inspired by a biblical event, when Joseph took Mary and a young Jesus to Egypt after a dream warned him that King Herod was seeking to kill his son, Christie’s said. The painting depicts Mary cradling Jesus as Joseph looks on in a rural setting.

The colors are luminous and rich, dominated by primary hues such as Mary’s deep red robe and ultramarine-blue cloak.

“The Rest on the Flight into Egypt,” by the Venetian artist Titian.





Titian is known for his use of the “colorito” technique, where color is employed dominantly for sensual expressive purposes and as an element of the composition. He gained international fame for his religious paintings, incisive portraits and poetic renditions of mythological subjects, the Metropolitan Museum of Art says.

Titian was born Tiziano Vecellio in a small town in the Dolomite mountains, according to London’s The National Gallery and is said to have arrived in Venice at the age of 10. He found early success with his work on the facade of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi on the Venetian Grand Canal, the museum says, adding that Titian went on to become the principal painter at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He died of the plague in 1576.

“The Rest on the Flight into Egypt” has also captured attention for its provenance, not just its record price.

While it is not known who commissioned the painting, it is first documented as part of a Venetian spice merchant’s collection in the early decades of the 17th century, according to Christie’s.

In the following centuries, the auction house says, the painting passed through multiple hands, including an English duke and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, and was looted from Vienna by Napoleon’s troops but returned to the city after his fall. Ultimately, it was acquired by John Alexander Thynne, the 4th Marquess of Bath in 1878.

However, the painting’s dramatic story continued to unravel. In 1995, it was stolen from Thynne’s home in Wiltshire, southwest England, and recovered miraculously in 2002 following the announcement of a $127,000 reward, Christie’s said in April ahead of the auction. Charles Hill, a leading art detective, found it inside a bag without its frame at a London bus-stop, it added.

“This picture has captured the imaginations of audiences for more than half a millennia and will no doubt continue to do so,” Rock from the auction house said in a statement after the sale.

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Land, Art, Gold, Diamonds - >>> The “Old Money” Secret to Wealth


BY JAMES RICKARDS

MAY 20, 2024


https://dailyreckoning.com/the-old-money-secret-to-wealth/


The “Old Money” Secret to Wealth

I believe that we’re heading for another liquidity crisis or financial crisis. That doesn’t mean it’ll happen tomorrow, but there are disturbing signs that it might not be too far off.

It doesn’t mean the world’s going to end. But investors who aren’t prepared could see large portions of their portfolios wiped out. It could take years to rebuild them, and many investors just don’t have the time to recoup those losses.

But how do you prepare? You might want to start by looking at how “old money” preserves its wealth. Today I want to explore that.

On a cool evening in the fall of 2012, I joined a private dinner in Rome with a small group of the world’s wealthiest investors.

We dined at Palazzo Colonna, a private palace that’s been owned by one family for 31 generations or 900 years. My dinner companions were mainly Europeans, some Asians and relatively few from the United States.

Amid marble, gold, paintings and palatial architecture, I mused on the meaning of old money compared with the new money crowd that congregated for cocktails near the Connecticut home in which I lived at the time.

Old Money vs. New Money

Old money has proved they know how to preserve wealth over centuries, while the jury is still out on new money busy buying yachts, jets and exotic vacations.

In the United States, the “old money” is generally about 150 years old with fortunes dating to the mid-19th century. Families in this category include the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Carnegies.

Some U.S. family fortunes are almost 200 years old. But most of the great wealth today isn’t old at all.

It comes from success in the past 30–50 years including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett.

Yet in Rome I was ensconced in a 900-year-old fortune still intact. Here was a family fortune that had survived the Black Death, the Thirty Years’ War, the wars of Louis XIV, the Napoleonic Wars, both world wars, the Holocaust and the Cold War.

I knew the Colonna family weren’t unique; there were other families like them throughout Europe who kept a low profile. These families are only too happy to be overlooked by the Forbes 400. That type of wealth and longevity could not be due merely to good luck.

In 900 years, too many cards are turned from the deck for luck alone to be sufficient. There had to be a technique.

How Do They Do It?

I turned to a striking Italian brunette to my right and asked, “How does a family keep its wealth for so long? It defies the odds. There must be a secret.”

She smiled and said, “Of course. It’s easy.” You just invest in “the things that last.”

She added that the secret was, “a third, a third and a third.”

She paused, knowing I needed more, and continued, “You keep one third in land, one third in art and one third in gold.” Her advice followed the first rule of investing — diversification

She meant that wealth should be allocated one-third to land, one-third to gold and one-third to fine art (of course, some cash is needed for operating costs and some business investment is fine also).

But the “old money” shows that true wealth preservation comes from art, gold and land rather than stocks and bonds.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t own stocks and bonds. You should — I own them myself. But for long-term wealth preservation, you should also dedicate a portion of your portfolio to the assets that “old money” invests in.

Many of my readers know that I recommend they hold 10% of their investable assets in gold. I’ve also written about the value of fine art.

But there’s another old money asset you might want to consider: diamonds.

Diamonds Are Forever

The cliche from ad campaigns about diamonds being “forever” rings true. And crucially, it’s no longer just a haven asset for the super wealthy. Diamonds are a protection asset for investors with a resale value.

As strategist Yoni Jacobs writes, while investors focus their attention on gold and silver (for good reason) they miss important benefits of diamonds.

Consider these four reasons he lists as to why diamonds are a good investment:

1. Highest Value per Unit Weight. Diamonds are the most valuable items in the world. And they are the most portable. A small number of diamonds can make you wealthy. So this portability is essential to store wealth in case of emergency. Would you rather carry a few diamonds in a small bag or have to carry gold bars?

2. Diamonds Have Industrial Use. Having the highest hardness and heat conductivity of any bulk material, diamonds possess tremendous value for industrial use. In fact, 80% of mined diamonds are used industrially. Many investors think the value of diamonds is only based on demand and speculation. The reality is they serve an important industrial purpose.

3. Necessary for Global Growth. With infrastructure projects developing in many emerging countries, roads and highways must be built. Diamonds are used in many tools for stone cutting, highway building and other technologies. Demand for diamonds used in these ongoing projects will increase, along with higher prices.

4. Diamonds Have Emotional Value. The value that diamonds give as gifts is immeasurable. Whether it is for engagement rings, anniversary gifts or Valentine’s Day presents, diamonds will always be a valuable asset and in demand for emotional relationships around the world. Diamonds’ portability may be one of the most important things to consider as the world faces turmoil.

Priceless

In some future crisis, when gold has spiked to $10,000 per ounce, a similar weight of diamonds would take you into the tens of millions range!

And like land, gold or art, diamonds are nondigital. They cannot be wiped out by power outages, asset freezes or cyberbrigades. That’s crucial in a time of looming central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or as I call them in the U.S. context, “Biden Bucks.”

The biggest difference between diamonds and gold is that the market for gold is much larger. Gold is a more liquid investment that’s easier to assign a price to. But that is changing as we speak.

In fact, this year, the world’s second regulator-approved, exchange-tradable diamond commodity will launch. It’s a sign of the growing demand for alternatives to cash as a store of wealth.

I’m not suggesting you just rush out to buy diamonds. There are many factors that contribute to a diamond’s value. You need to do your homework and maybe solicit professional assistance.

But you want to create a portfolio that can stand the test of time. Land, gold and fine art are among that.

Diamonds can be too.

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>>> Vast coin collection of Danish magnate is going on sale a century after his death


Associated Press

by JAMES BROOKS


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vast-coin-collection-of-danish-magnate-is-going-on-sale-a-century-after-his-death/ar-BB1mhgv0?OCID=ansmsnnews11




COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million.

Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. Deeply moved by the devastation of World War I, he wanted the collection to be a reserve for Denmark, fearing another war.



Now, over a century since Bruun’s death at the age of 71 in 1923, New York-based Stack’s Bowers, a rare coin auction house, will begin auctioning the collection this fall, with several sales planned over the coming years.



On its website the auction house calls it the “most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market.” The collection's existence has been known of in Denmark but not widely, and it has has never been seen by the public before.

“When I first heard about the collection, I was in disbelief,” said Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics at Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

“We’ve had collections that have been off the market for 100 years plus,” he said. “But they’re extremely well known internationally. This one has been the best open secret ever.”

Born in 1852, Bruun began to collect coins as a boy in the 1850s and '60s, years before he began to amass vast riches in the packing and wholesaling of butter.

His wealth allowed him to pursue his hobby, attending auctions and building a large collection that came to include 20,000 coins, medals, tokens and banknotes from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Following the devastation of World War I and fearing another war, Bruun left strict instructions in his will for the collection.

“For a period of 100 years after my death, the collection shall serve as a reserve for the Royal Coin and Medal Collection," it stipulated.

“However, should the next century pass with the national collection intact, it shall be sold at public auction and the proceeds shall accrue to the persons who are my direct descendants.”

That stipulation didn’t stop some descendants from trying to break the will and cash in, but they were not successful. “I think the will and testament were pretty ironclad. There was no loophole,” Yegparian said.

Vast coin collection of Danish magnate is going on sale a century after his death

Yegparian estimates some pieces may sell for just $50, but others could go for over $1 million. He said potential buyers were already requesting a catalogue before the auction was announced.

The collection first found refuge at former Danish royal residence Frederiksborg Castle, then later made its way to Denmark’s National Bank.

Denmark’s National Museum had the right of first refusal on part of the collection and purchased seven rare coins from Bruun’s vast hoard before they went to auction.

The seven coins — six gold, one silver — were all minted between the 15th and 17th centuries by Danish or Norwegian monarchs. The cost of over $1.1 million was covered by a supporting association.

“We chose coins that were unique. They are described in literature as the only existing specimen of this kind,” said senior researcher Helle Horsnaes, a coin expert at the national museum.

“The pure fact that this collection has been closed for a hundred years makes it a legend,” Horsnaes said. “It’s like a fairytale.”

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>>> The Most Expensive Ferrari Ever Sold: This 1962 330 LM/250 GTO

It brought $51,705,000 at RM Sotheby's New York sale.


Car and Driver

by Joe Lorio

Nov 14, 2023


https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45835118/1962-ferrari-250-gto-auction-record-price/






This car set a record for a Ferrari sale price at auction.

It's the only 1962 GTO campaigned by Scuderia Ferrari.

The auction took place at RM Sotheby's in New York on November 13, 2023.

There's a new most-expensive Ferrari and, yes, it's a 250 GTO. This 1962 example was just sold by RM Sotheby's for $51,705,000. This result eclipses former headline-making Ferrari sales, including a $48.4 million 250 GTO 2018 Monterey sale, an ex-Stirling Moss 1957 335S that brought $35.8 million in 2016, and a $38 million 250 GTO that sold in Monterey in 2014.





This latest car, which Sotheby's lists as a 330 LM/250 GTO, is the only 1962 GTO raced by Scuderia Ferrari. The car had its debut outing at the May 1962 Nürburgring 1000 KM, where it finished first in its class and second overall.





In response to a change in Le Mans rules for 1962, the original 3.0-liter engine was replaced by a 4.0-liter V-12 for the 24 Hours—and this is the only 250 GTO ever factory fitted with the larger 4.0-liter engine. Unfortunately, the car went off the track early in the race and later overheated and DNF'd.





The car was then sold to an Italian privateer, for whom Maranello swapped out the 4.0-liter engine for a 3.0-liter V-12, paired with a five-speed gearbox, and the car retains that powertrain to this day.

In 1967, the Ferrari found its way to the United States. It has been featured at events throughout the past decades while in the care of several long-term owners, including the seller, who has had the car for 38 years. All these factors no doubt worked to bolster the selling price.

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[wow_happens28]

Tech Crunch, in case you have not seen it>>>>>

https://techcrunch.com/

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>> gold <<

Jim Rickards recommends having 10% of one's investable assets in gold, which seems like a reasonable idea, all things considered. The US debt is parabolic, and the global de-dollarization process is likely to intensify. Saudi Arabia is joining BRICS, so looks like the Petrodollar system will soon be history. For over 40 years the Petrodollar system was critical in maintaining global demand for the US dollar. It allowed the dollar to remain the world's reserve currency after the collapse of Bretton Woods in 1971. So that underpinning for the dollar system will be going, going, gone. In addition, BRICS is rapidly expanding its membership, and is creating their own gold-linked BRICS currency - so another dagger pointed at the heart of the dollar system.

So based on how things are going, having some gold seems only prudent. But having some paid-for real estate and land seem like the best idea imo. Gold has no real 'utility' value, other than as jewelry. It only has a high value because of its historic role as a backing for money. But gold is the enemy of central banks like the Fed, who banned gold ownership in the US from 1933 - 1975. So best not to go too overboard with gold imo.

Silver is an alternative that tends to follow gold's price moves, and also has lots of industrial uses, including in solar panels. Unlike gold, there is no risk of the US govt banning private ownership of silver. So it seems logical to diversify with some silver, in addition to the gold and other hard assets, real estate / land, etc.

Stocks have actually been a great inflation hedge over the long haul, albeit with numerous crashes along the way. I figure it's best to diversify into all of these asset classes. Bonds / fixed income get hurt the most from inflation over long periods, so what seems 'safe' in the short run can actually be the worst overall choice for the long term. But still a lot better than speculating on microcap stocks. Look at what happened to BABYF, down to .19 cents, yikes. I figure that anything in the conservative investing realm is better than going down the microcap trading path again. Even with the discipline of strict position limits, the gunslinging approach is a loser.





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Costco selling gold bars, just watch a TV ad for buying gold. Who is dumping it to Joe average?

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/costco-is-selling-gold-bars-and-they-are-selling-out-within-a-few-hours.html

What could go wrong with buying gold?
https://www.gold.org/official-institutions/central-bank-gold-agreement/historic-gold-agreements

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>>> The world is running out of helium: Nobel prize winner

Pys.org

https://phys.org/news/2010-08-world-helium-nobel-prize-winner.html#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20chemical%20way,lightest%20element%20in%20the%20Universe.

A renowned expert on helium says we are wasting our supplies of the inert gas helium and will run out within 25 to 30 years, which will have disastrous consequences for hospitals and industry.

Professor of physics, Robert Richardson from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, won the 1996 Nobel prize for his work on superfluidity in helium, and has issued a warning the supplies of helium are being used at an unprecedented rate and could be depleted within a generation.

Liquid helium is vital for its use in cooling the superconducting magnets in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. There is no substitute because no other substance has a lower boiling point. Helium is also vital in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and fiber optics.

In MRI scanners the helium is recycled, but often the gas is wasted since it is thought of as a cheap gas, and as such is often used to fill party balloons and as a party trick distorting people's voices when it is inhaled.

Professor Richardson warned the gas is not cheap because the supply is inexhaustible, but because of the Helium Privatisation Act passed in 1996 by the US Congress. The Act required the helium stores held underground near Amarillo in Texas to be sold off at a fixed rate by 2015 regardless of the market value, to pay off the original cost of the reserve. The Amarillo storage facility holds around half the Earth's stocks of helium: around a billion cubic meters of the gas. The US currently supplies around 80 percent of the world's helium supplies.

Richardson said it has taken 4.7 billion years for the Earth to accumulate our helium reserves, which we will have exhausted within about a hundred years of the US's National Helium Reserve having been established in 1925. The reserve is a collection of disused underground mines, pipes and vats extending over 300 km from north of Amarillo into Kansas. He warned that when helium is released to the atmosphere, in helium balloons for example, it is lost forever.

There is no chemical way of manufacturing helium, and the supplies we have originated in the very slow radioactive alpha decay that occurs in rocks. It costs around 10,000 times more to extract helium from air than it does from rocks and natural gas reserves.

Helium is the second-lightest element in the Universe. Among helium's other uses include airships, air mixtures used in deep-sea diving, cooling nuclear reactors and infrared detectors, and in satellite and spacecraft equipment, and solar telescopes. NASA also uses massive amounts of helium to clean fuel from its rockets, and because the helium is so cheap, it makes no effort to recycle the gas. As the isotope helium-3, helium is also used in nuclear fusion research.

Professor Richardson was co-chair of a US National Research Council inquiry into the coming helium shortage. The report recommends the US reconsider its policy regarding selling off the helium.

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Looks like Avanti is about to have a 'golden cross' on the chart, so a good sign. The chart doesn't look bad, and has put in a fairly convincing bottom since last Oct. The risk is that it might gradually dribble back down from the recent spike, similar to what happened in Jan.

Helium sounds like a promising area, though I'd have to do some research. The obvious red flags (OTC, microcap), but it might be a fun one to follow :o)



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[wow_happens28]

Helium Wars: Why Are Tech Giants Fighting Over This Rare Gas?

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Helium-Wars-Why-Are-Tech-Giants-Fighting-Over-This-Rare-Gas.html

Snippet:
A daunting list of key industries the world over is now wondering where their future supplies of helium will come from.

What battery metals are to gigafactories, helium is to everything from scientific research, medical technology and high-tech manufacturing to space exploration and national defense.

Avanti Helium Corp. (ARGYF) spec bet?

Avanti Helium Corp. acquires, explores, and develops helium projects in Canada and the United States. The company's principal project is its 100% owned Greater Knappen Project, which covers an area of approximately 70,140 acres located in the Southern Alberta and Northwestern Montana. The company was formerly known as Avanti Energy Inc. and changed its name to Avanti Helium Corp. in August 2022. Avanti Helium Corp. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ARGYF/?p=ARGYF

[wow_happens28]

At the top of the PR I sent you it says in BOLD print and italics(saying, "pay attention to this"

Asset Sale is First Step of Previously Announced Strategic Review

My guess, the sale of the rice bran division was key to selling the rest of company. I believe they sold the worst of the company, but it could take years to get the stock up seeing to say $3. I'd take that now, seeing parts of the USA being intentionally destroyed for the "Greater Good", so called.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ricebran-technologies-sells-srb-business-110000770.html




:

"

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Those NOLs could be valuable to an acquiring company, but if RIBT isn't sold then the NOLs aren't especially relevant, unless if the newly configured RIBT is soon showing profits, and then the NOLs would have a more immediate value. But the fact that RIBT mentioned the NOLs prominently in the press release does suggest the NOLs have significant value.

On the other hand, if a company is touting it's NOLs as a key source of company value, that doesn't say much for the company. Who knows, but bottom line, RIBT is probably better left to investors who specialize in distressed securities. That's actually how Warren Buffett started out (via Ben Graham), but it requires experience, a deep background in accounting, etc. GL with it, but don't 'bet the farm' :o)



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[wow_happens28]

There is a kicker with RIBT. They have tax losses carried forward, 54.4 million Fed and 46.0 million state. They started out in California for a couple of years, then Arizona for maybe 5 years, then Texas since. I am guessing the state NOLS got to be used by a buyer in one of those states when used. But the Fed of $54,400,000 divided by the 8,000,000 shares is worth $6.80 per share. But a less than 5% of the NOLS can be used per year. I don't know if they could get even 50% of the values, but take even 20% and you get an extra $1.30 for the sale price. Book is confusing, but I fell it is at least $1 after the sale of the bran business, so $2.30?

That is why I bought more

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ricebran-technologies-sells-srb-business-110000770.html

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>> 2 less moderators now <<

Maybe replaced by AI :o)

Btw, nice to see RIBT up to the 200 MA. The chart is looking more promising, so a run to 1.50 coming?

With the better than expected inflation and economic numbers, the market's rally might continue for a while, until the July Fed meeting gets closer. In 3-4 weeks the 'Powell effect' returns, but maybe some market buoyancy until then.

Wildcards include Ukraine, and the possibility of that nuclear power plant being sabotaged. The Nord Stream pipeline was blown up, then the big hydroelectric dam blown up, so the nuke power plant might be next (?) Let's hope not.




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[wow_happens28]

I think iHub is losing business. Their new rules they just posted a couple of days ago are loosening up a bit. In the past if one posted too much politics, the board as made PAID. Now they just warned you. I heard they have 2 less moderators now compared to a while back.

Small stocks, especially pennies have been beaten down in the last 12 months. iHub's most active boards are micro cap stock boards. That maybe hurt them alot. People losing money don't post as much.

"All Things Food", paid?
https://investorshub.advfn.com/All-Things-Food-25432

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>>> $108 Million Klimt Painting Breaks European Auction Record


Bloomberg

by James Tarmy


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/108-million-klimt-painting-breaks-european-auction-record/ar-AA1d8M3K





(Bloomberg) -- A portrait by Gustav Klimt sold for £85.3 million ($108.4 million) at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday, becoming the most valuable artwork to sell at auction in Europe. (The previous record was set in 2010, when Giacometti’s L'homme qui marche sold for £65 million in London.)

Carrying an unofficial estimate in the region of £65 million, the Klimt, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) was executed in 1917-1918 and carried an irrevocable bid, meaning a third party had guaranteed in advance to purchase the work for a predetermined sum. Thus, it was widely understood to be a record-setting work well in advance of the sale.

Nevertheless, 10 minutes of serious bidding pushed the piece well beyond its estimate. In reaching this final sum, the painting also set a record for Klimt at auction. The late artist’s global public record was previously set last November, when the estate of Paul Allen sold Klimt’s Birch Forest for $104.6 million.

Tuesday nights’ Klimt last appeared at auction in 1994, when it was purchased for $11.6 million at Sotheby’s in New York, meaning in the interim it has appreciated by roughly 834%.

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>>> Rubens Painting Lost For 300 Years and Misidentified When Last Sold at Auction Will Star At Upcoming Sotheby’s Sale in London


https://news.artnet.com/market/lost-rubens-sothebys-london-2323078


Research and x-ray analysis revealed that the painting is far more important than previously thought.

A painting that lost its identity over the course of 300 years has now been re-affirmed as an important Old Master work and will be offered at a Sotheby’s sale in London in early July.

The painting in question is Sir Peter Paul Rubens’ Saint Sebastian Tended By Two Angels. It has an estimate of £4 million to £6 million ($5 million to $7.7 million).

The tale of the Rubens is a “classic” art mystery about a painting which, between leaving a prestigious Italian collection in the 1730s and then reappearing in Missouri in the 20th century, had lost all provenance for centuries. That mystery has now been solved.

Scholars and experts on the Sotheby’s team used X-rays to look beneath the surface of the painting, and recently confirmed that it is indeed a work by Rubens. Further, they discovered that it’s “the prime” version of another important work by the artist, which until very recently had been thought to be unique.

The painting had been last recorded in the collection of the artist’s Genovese patrons, the Spinola family, in the early 1730s. When the work resurfaced at auction 15 years ago, it was with an attribution to the French painter Laurent de la Hyre. At the time, it sold at Ivey-Selkirk, a St. Louis auction house, for $40,000, according to the Artnet Price Database. Though modest in comparison to the current estimate, that sum was still many multiples of the high $8,000 estimate.

Soon after that auction, it was identified as a Rubens composition, and scholars embarked on extensive research that ended up matching the canvas to a Rubens referenced in the wills and inventories of the Spinola family.

The painting was likely executed circa 1606-8 in Italy, or circa 1609-10 in Antwerp, although there is not complete scholarly consensus. Rubens’ close association with the Spinola family began when he was first in Genoa in 1604, and long outlasted his return to Antwerp in late 1608.

It’s likely that the painting was commissioned by Ambrogio Spinola (1594-1630), an Italian nobleman and military commander, with whom the artist enjoyed shared diplomatic, political and artistic interests, and who he painted several times. The first known record of the painting is in the will of Ambrogio’s son, Filippo Spinola in 1655, before it passed through successive generations of the family for eighty years. The trail went cold with the patron’s granddaughter Anna Spinola who was listed in 1731 as having inherited the painting.

Saint Sebastian Tended By Two Angels then passed out of the Spinola family and through the female line of descent via Anna Spinola, and became untraceable until its reappearance in the U.S. 230 years later, in a collection in Missouri in 1963. It was later acquired by the present owner in the aforementioned auction in 2008 as a painting by Laurent de la Hyre.

The highest-ever price achieved for a de la Hyre work at auction is €918,400 ($922,000) for Narcisse, sold at Artcurial Paris last fall. Meanwhile the record for a Rubens work at auction is £49.5 million ($76.5 million) for Massacre of the Innocents (1609-11), sold at Sotheby’s London in 2002.

The X-ray analysis also revealed additional secrets about the status of the painting as the prime version for another Rubens painting of the same subject that was held for centuries by the Italian Corsini family and now hangs at Galleria Corsini in Rome.

The artist made radical changes to the design as he painted the Spinola version, altering and tweaking the composition as he worked. For example, Saint Sebastian was first painted facing the opposite way, twisting to the left and with his right arm raised over his head. There was originally an arrow piercing his right thigh, and armor was a later addition to the work, painted on top of something else that Rubens scraped away. Meanwhile, x-ray analysis of the Corsini picture showed no significant changes at all, suggesting that it was executed afterwards, and once Rubens was satisfied with his design, according to Sotheby’s.

The discovery is “proof that even great artists’ names can be lost to history,” said George Gordon, Sotheby’s co-chairman of Old Master paintings worldwide. “Thankfully the fascinating detail revealed by scientific analysis, combined with meticulous research, and consideration by leading scholars, rightfully affirms the reattribution of this work to one of the greatest painters of his time, and shows us that there is still so much for us to discover, even about the artist’s best-known works.”

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>>> Blackstone acquires International Gemological Institute


Reuters

5-21-23


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/blackstone-acquires-international-gemological-institute/ar-AA1btjJs?OCID=ansmsnnews11


MUMBAI (Reuters) - Private equity company Blackstone Inc said it has fully acquired the jewelry certification firm International Gemological Institute (IGI) from China's Fosun and the company's founding family.

Blackstone bought IGI, whose majority revenue and profits come from India, for about $530 million, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

A statement said Blackstone had purchased an 80% stake from Fosun and 20% from the Lorie family.

Blackstone declined to comment on the valuation.

In a statement later, Fosun said the total consideration of the disposal was $569.65 million.

Chairman Guo Guangchang said the disposal would "have a positive impact on the company's financial performance" and the deal would also enable the company to focus more resources on development strategies.

Founded nearly 50 years ago by the late Marcel Lorie, IGI has 29 laboratories and 18 schools of gemology in 10 countries. The majority of the laboratories are in India.

India's jewellery market was worth is $78.5 billion in the 2021 financial year and it is one of the world's biggest, though a significant portion is for export.

"IGI has spearheaded the certification of natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and coloured stones, becoming a global market leader and providing confidence to manufacturers, retailers, and consumers around the world," Mukesh Mehta, a senior managing director in Blackstone Private Equity Group, said.

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>>> California Couple Finds $10 Million in Buried Treasure in Their Yard

A California couple out on a walk with their dog found $10 million worth of gold rush-era coins, buried at the base of an old tree on their property.


The Atlantic

By Abby Ohlheiser

FEBRUARY 26, 2014


https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/california-couple-finds-10-million-buried-treasure-their-yard/358535/


A California couple out on a walk with their dog found $10 million worth of gold coins buried at the base of an old tree on their property. Presumably to avoid a miniature gold rush of treasure-seekers descending on their land, the couple has chosen to keep their names and exact location quiet. Instead, a firm specializing in gold coins announced the discovery on behalf of the family. Kagin's Inc. believes it could represent the "greatest buried treasure ever unearthed in the United States."

According to Kagin, the face value of the gold coins adds up to about $28,000, but their condition and rarity sent their expected value soaring. The 1,400-odd mint-condition coins date from 1847 to 1894 and come in denominations of $20, $10 and $5. Some of the individual coins in the collection are probably worth upwards of $1 million each. Until the California find, the biggest buried gold treasure haul in the U.S. was believed to be a 1985 discovery by construction workers in Tennessee. It sold for about $1 million, as The Los Angeles Times noted.

Understandably, the couple described the find as "surreal": they noticed the top of a rusty can buried in the ground, presumably uncovered by erosion. After digging up and opening the can to find the treasure inside, the couple went back to the same spot and found several more cans, all filled with gold. "I thought any second an old miner with a mule was going to appear," the husband of the anonymous couple added. There were few clues at the site as to who left tens of thousands of dollars buried under a tree.

The couple will sell most of the very valuable coins, of course. According to Kagin, they're planning to do that on Amazon through the online retailer's collectibles store.

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>>> Why Leonardo da Vinci Used Eggs to Paint His Masterpieces


Daily Beast

by Tony Ho Tran

March 28, 2023


https://news.yahoo.com/why-leonardo-da-vinci-used-153532675.html?ncid=facebook_yahoomainf_js3jgx0vd5k


Sandro Botticelli
Italian painter (1445-1510)

Along with creating some of the most beautiful and famous works of art in Western history, the “Old Masters” such as Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Sandro Botticelli also have another thing in common: they loved using eggs in their paintings.

More specifically, the artists would mix in egg yolks into their paints to create a medium called egg tempera. This technique dates back to ancient Egypt and can be found on many of the paintings from the Old Masters such as Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus.”

We know this because contemporary analysis of the compositions of their paintings reveal that there are added proteins to the works of art. While the reason why they used egg yolks has long eluded us, a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications might reveal why.

The study’s authors found the Old Masters might have added egg yolk to their paintings in order to better preserve them against humidity, surface wrinkling, and—ironically—yellowing of the painting. The proteins from the egg yolk helps prevent water uptake from humid areas, which are particularly prevalent in places like Italy where many of the Old Masters worked their craft.

“In past centuries, artists may not have been able to control the humidity taken up by their pigments,” the study’s authors wrote. They added that it was an improvement to adding more oil to their paintings, which could result in discoloration, crack formation, and even wrinkling.

“Adding some proteinaceous material during pigment preparation, resulting in a coating layer, might have solved the problem of unintentional formation of capillary suspensions, resulting in better, more stable paints with higher pigment content,” the paper stated.

To reach their findings, the study’s authors drew on analysis of Old Master paintings such as Boticelli’s “The Lamentations of Christ” and Da Vinci’s “Madonna of the Carnation” along with chemical and molecular data from lab-made egg tempera. They found that the egg proteins essentially created a thin protective layer around the paint, while adding texture to it. This helped prevent it from wrinkling, while antioxidants within the egg yolks stopped it from yellowing over time by slowing down reactions between the air and oil in the paints.

The findings provide fresh insights into the craft of some of the greatest artists who have ever lived. It just goes to show that while da Vinci and his contemporaries might be gone now, there’s still plenty that we can learn from their processes and artwork. As the old adage goes: You have to crack a few eggs if you want to make an omelet—and, apparently, a masterpiece work of art.

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>>> Rare 1908 Harley-Davidson becomes most expensive motorcycle ever sold at auction


Fox Business

2-12-23

by Elizabeth Pritchett


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/rare-1908-harley-davidson-becomes-most-expensive-motorcycle-ever-sold-at-auction/ar-AA17o1sk?OCID=ansmsnnews11


An extremely rare 1908 Harley-Davidson motorcycle auctioned off in January has become the most expensive bike to ever be sold at an auction, according to Vintagent, a website that tracks vintage motorcycle sales.

The Strap Tank Harley-Davidson sold for $935,000 after fees at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas on Jan. 28, the auction posted on Facebook. The model was named Strap Tank because nickel-plated steel bands suspended the fuel and oil tanks from the bike's frame.

"We marketed the bike well, and Harley is by far the most famous American motorcycle brand, so we had a feeling it would do well in auction, but obviously you are surprised anytime you sell the most expensive bike ever," said Greg Arnold, Motorcycle Division Manager at Mecum Auctions.

Arnold said the record-breaking bike was restored but still had many of its original parts, including the tank, wheels, engine belt pulley, seat cover and muffler sleeve.

The bike that was auctioned off in Las Vegas was discovered as a complete motorcycle in a Wisconsin barn by David Uihlein in 1941. Uihlein kept it in his possession for the next 66 years.

The Strap Tank was then expertly restored by Paul Freehill of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Of the 450 motorcycles produced by the company in 1908, less than 12 are believed to still be out in the world and even fewer are in the mostly original condition.

On the auction's website, the Strap Tank was described as one of Harley-Davidson's most rare surviving models because it's the first of the breed. It is also the earliest model one could possibly find since older prototypes are long gone.

The coveted models are said to be the most legendary because they established the pattern for future production – clean and conservative styling combined with a somber color scheme, heavy-duty cycle parts and an engine a little bigger and stronger than the rest.

A 1907 Strap Tank that was not restored sold for $715,000 after fees.

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>>> Las Vegas Raiders Player Retires from NFL After Selling Rare Pokemon Card


GameRant

by Bryce L. Jackson

Nov 2022


https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders-player-retires-from-nfl-after-selling-rare-pokemon-card/ar-AA14f83t?cvid=2ff1ffa52c5d4780aba6edbdda17b0e7


NFL Linebacker Blake Martinez is ending his football playing career to start a new venture in selling rare Pokemon cards. He sold one rare Pokemon card in near-perfect condition for $672,000, more than double his current Raider's contract salary.

Blake Martinez has played in the NFL since 2016 and has been with the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and the Las Vegas Raiders in that time. Though he has seen action in all 7 seasons, he's been a fringe roster player with time on NFL Practice Squads. While he was good in the last game he played, players like this often don't have a long shelf life. So rather than letting NFL front offices decide for him, he made the decision for himself and ended his playing career at 28 and in the middle of the season to focus on family and his business of finding and flipping rare Pokemon cards.

Martinez sold a Pokemon Illustrator card with a Gem Mint 9.5 rating for $672,000. This is more than double what he could have made if the Raiders kept him for the remainder of the season. He has a company called Blakes Breaks that is solely about collecting rare cards and flipping them for profit. Days after he sold the card at auction, he announced his retirement from the NFL.

The Pokemon Illustrator card is one of the crown jewel cards for collectors, up there with Charizard cards similar to what Logan Paul owns. The Pokemon Illustrator card was a promotional card only released in Japan in January 1998 to winners of a card illustration contest. There are an estimated 40 of these cards still in existence.

The landscape of Pokemon cards has changed in recent years, and some fans are making Pokemon trading cards openings and resale a lucrative business. People have sold rare cards for thousands of dollars and the prospect of a quick buck has caused some people to commit crimes trying to obtain Pokemon cards.

NFL players are also retiring more often in recent years. With the negative press about head injuries and other injuries that affect former players' quality of life after their playing careers, more of them are deciding to hang up their cleats while still in their 20s after making respectable money. While most do find careers after football, Martinez has arguably found one of the most potentially lucrative businesses to get into after the sport.

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>> cash flow neutral <<


They do have some debt (~ $10 mil per Yahoo), so some of that might be coming due or need to be rolled over. Also it sounds like they have some capital expansion planned. 5 mil in cash isn't much operating capital.

Raising the money at the same time as the rev split would have been better. If you only do the split then the anticipation is that another shoe will be dropping, so investors shy away from the stock until after all the bad news is out. It's also more likely that shorts will pile in after the rev split since they figure a financing is coming. The entity doing the funding can also go short to get more favorable terms for the financing and warrants they will be receiving. It's a swamp for these tiny microcaps, with a lot stacked against them.

Fwiw, the only microcap that 'made the cut' for my Long Term Portfolio is Winmark (WINA). They are an anomaly in the microcap world, check out their phenomenal long term chart. Their business also benefits from recession -


>>> Winmark Corporation (WINA), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a franchisor of retail store concepts that buy, sell, trade, and consign used merchandise primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Franchising and Leasing. Its franchises retail stores operate under the Plato's Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports, Style Encore, and Music Go Round brand names. The company's Plato's Closet brand stores buys and sells used clothing and accessories for the teenage and young adult market; and Once Upon A Child brand stores buys and sells used and new children's clothing, toys, furniture, equipment, and accessories primarily to parents of children ages infant to 12 years. Its Play It Again Sports brand stores buys, sells, trades in, and used and new sporting goods, equipment, and accessories for various athletic activities, such as team sports, fitness, ski/snowboard, golf, and others; Style Encore brand stores buys and sells used women's apparel, shoes, and accessories; and Music Go Round brand stores buys, sells, trades in, and used and new musical instruments, speakers, amplifiers, music-related electronics, and related accessories. In addition, the company is also involved in the middle-market equipment leasing business focusing on technology and business-essential equipment. As of February 23, 2022, it had 1,271 franchised stores, as well as offers its products online at musicgoround.com, playitagainsports.com, and style-encore.com. Winmark Corporation was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[/i <<<



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RIBT, at the 8/11 filings they had $5,000,000 cash. The were very close to cash flow neutral. I wonder what they did not tell us at the 8/11 CC. I totally lost confidence in the management.

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With hearing aids, these days you can get some great inexpensive ones. Several years ago my dad's ENT doctor said the technology had advanced to the point where for many patients (those with loss of the high end frequencies), the inexpensive brands like Britzgo are basically just as good as custom hearing aids costing 10 X more. They don't last quite as long, but you can get 10 for the price of one. But people with mainly low or mod range frequency loss (which is fairly rare) will still benefit from the custom made expensive hearing aids that are programmable.

Also, the older 'behind the ear' type hearing aids have gotten more popular lately since they look something like a Bluetooth headset, so they have a quasi 'cool' factor. One big advantage with these is they don't require great eyesight to operate.

Btw, sorry to see RIBT tanking today. I figured they might do a financing. But rather than waiting to do it, more often I've seen it done as part of the reverse split. That way they get all the bad news out of the way at once and the stock has a better chance of recovering after the reverse split. That's how it would often work in the small/micro cap biotech sector anyway. But investment-wise, probably best to avoid reverse split stocks altogether, as a general rule.



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Hearing aids are now available over the counter at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and Best Buy

I don't know how one would invest in this.

Summary:
Walgreens on Monday started selling hearing aids over the counter at its stores for $799 a pair.

CVS is selling over the counter devices on its website with prices ranging from $199 to $999.

Best Buy this week will also start offering 20 different over-the-counter hearing aids online with prices ranging from $200 to $3,000.

Hy-Vee, a supermarket chain, will offer four different hearing aids online and in 34 locations across Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin this week.

The FDA issued a rule in August that allowed over-the-counter sales of hearing aids for adults ages 18 and older with mild to moderate hearing loss.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/17/hearing-aids-are-now-available-over-the-counter-from-walgreens-cvs-and-best-buy.html

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>>> A couple laying a new kitchen floor dug up a trove of 264 rare gold coins that just sold at auction for $845,000

The rare coins sold at auction in London for £754,000 ($842,330), including fees.


Business Insider

10-15-22


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-couple-laying-a-new-kitchen-floor-dug-up-a-trove-of-264-rare-gold-coins-that-just-sold-at-auction-for-845-000/ar-AA12ZxyB?cvid=d4ecae22cf6a4851b9d1d4f26a36b7bd


The auctioneer described the trove as "120 years of English history hidden in a pot the same size as a soda can."

The hoard of 264 coins English gold coins from 1610-1727 was discovered when the unnamed couple dug up the kitchen floor of their house in 2019.

The coin collection is believed to have been once owned by the Fernley-Maisters, a family of traders from Hull, East Yorkshire, who made their fortunes in Baltic trading, BBC News reported.

The auction house Spink & Son told the BBC that the lots garnered international attention, with private collectors from America, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan flocking to the sale.







Auctioneer Gregory Edmund told Insider in a statement: "I have never seen a response to an auction like that before, and the results testify it, my provisional estimate was demolished three times over. It dwarfed any pre-conceived expectations and set dozens of world records along the way."

The highest-fetching coin, dating back to 1720, sold for £62,400 ($69,710), Spink & Son said. It was listed as the "Unbelievable Mint Error" gold coin because it was struck in the reign of King George I with no head but two tails.

The couple found the coins underneath concrete and 18th-century floorboards in their kitchen. The treasure trove was "120 years of English history hidden in a pot the same size as a soda can," Edmund said, per the BBC.

"The story was extraordinary, and that is what achieved the mind-blowing result. I do hope people think before ripping up their floors, though," he said in a statement.

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Upcycled fertilizer made from batteries.

This is beyond my pay scale and imagination, Might be a use for old EV batteries?

Upcycled fertilizer producer eyes expansion amid energy crisis

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2022/08/31/Upcycled-fertiliser-producer-eyes-expansion-amid-energy-crisis

Snippet:
With question marks about Europe's ability to produce enough fertiliser for its crops, Finland’s Tracegrow, which makes organic certified fertilizers from used batteries, hopes circular economy solutions can prove a vital tool.

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>>> Christie's to auction Paul Allen's art trove, valued at $1B+


Associated Press

Aug 26, 2022


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/christie-s-to-auction-paul-allen-s-art-trove-valued-at-1b/ar-AA118aye?OCID=ansmsnnews11


NEW YORK (AP) — Some 150 artworks from the collection of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen will be auctioned at Christie's in New York this fall and are expected to bring in more than $1 billion in total, Christie's and Allen's estate announced Friday.

The works to be auctioned span 500 years of art history from Old Masters to the giants of modern art, Christie's said, adding that all proceeds will go to philanthropy.

Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates, died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2018. In his lifetime he gave more than $2 billion to causes including ocean health, homelessness and advancing scientific research.



Highlights of the upcoming sale include Paul Cézanne's “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire,” completed in 1890 and estimated to sell for more than $100 million, and Jasper Johns' “Small False Start” from 1960, estimated at $50 million. Other details of the artworks to be auctioned were not released.

Guillaume Cerutti, Christie’s chief executive officer, said in a statement, “The inspirational figure of Paul Allen, the extraordinary quality and diversity of works, and the dedication of all proceeds to philanthropy, create a unique combination that will make the sale of the Paul G. Allen Collection an event of unprecedented magnitude.”

This undated photo provided by Christie's, shows "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire" by Paul Cezanne, an oil on canvas from the Paul G. Allen Collection, that is estimated in excess of $100-million.

Jody Allen, Allen's sister and the executor of his estate, said, “These works mean so much to so many, and I know that Christie’s will ensure their respectful dispersal to generate tremendous value for philanthropic pursuits in accordance with Paul’s wishes.”

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>>> Sean Connery's own 'James Bond car' sold for $2.4 million


CNN

by Peter Valdes-Dapena

8-20-22


https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/sean-connerys-own-james-bond-car-sold-for-2424-million/ar-AA10SBiF


A silver Aston Martin DB5 that had been owned by actor Sean Connery was sold at auction Thursday for $2.4 million.

It was a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, just the sort of car that British secret agent James Bond drove in the 1960s films in which he was played by Connery.

The Bond character has been played by a number of actors and has driven many different cars in the more than two dozen films in the series. They’ve included everything from BMWs and Bentleys to Chevrolets and Fords. But the 1964 is still the best known “Bond car.”

The one that Connery first drove in the 1964 film “Goldfinger” was an Aston Martin DB5 replete with gadgets like machine guns, an ejector seat and an oil slick maker. More than 50 years later, Connery purchased a 1964 DB5 for himself – though it lacked the movie car’s guns and gadgets – in early 2018. Connery died almost two years later at the age of 90. It was the only DB5 he ever actually owned.

At $2.4 million, which included fees to the auction company Broad Arrow, the car fetched more than originally projected. The company had expected it to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8 million at its collector car auction in Monterey, California. The buyer was not named. The auction is one of a number of collector car sales during Monterey Car Week, an annual series of classic car events on California’s Monterey Peninsula.





A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in this car’s pristine condition would typically be worth about $1 million, according to the classic car insurance and event company Hagerty, which recently took full ownership of Broad Arrow.

DB5s directly associated with James Bond films have sold for vastly more than that. A gadget-filled DB5 that was used to promote the film’s original release sold for $6.4 million in 2019.

During his life, Connery had often told his children of his fond memories of driving the Aston Martin in films, his son Jason Connery said in an interview. When they were grown they suggested to their father that he buy one, but he was resistant to the idea.

“He’d say, ‘I don’t want to because it feels a bit obvious, you know, with me,’” Jason Connery said. “I said, ‘But forget it, it’s not about that.’”

Barney Ruprecht, an Aston Martin specialist with Broad Arrow who had also consulted with Connery on making the purchase, advised Connery against getting a car in need of restoration since the work would probably take a couple of years, he said. Instead, he and Connery sought out a car that was in as near-perfect condition as possible. The car remains in very nearly that condition, according to Ruprecht, with only some creases in the seat leather as evidence it has been sat in.

Once Connery purchased the car, he had it repainted from black to Snow Shadow Gray, the color closest to that of the movie car.

But after that work was done, there was little time left to actually drive it.

“Unfortunately as he got older, traveling, especially to Europe [became difficult] and then COVID hit and…,” said Jason Connery. “You know, unfortunately, he never really got to enjoy the car that he’d bought.”

The car was kept by Connery at his home in Switzerland, according to Jason Connery. He was so fond of the car, he kept a photo of it on his desk.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to support the Connery Family Philanthropy Fund, according to the Broad Arrow Group. In addition to the car itself, the winning bidder will receive a ride in the car from the famous retired Formula 1 racing driver Jackie Stewart.

Stewart, like Connery, is from Scotland, and the two were longtime friends.

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>>> Alloy Bodied Ferrari 250 TdF Adds Italian Style to Mecum's Amazing Monterey Lineup


Yahoo Finance

by Elizabeth Puckett

August 15, 2022


https://finance.yahoo.com/alloy-bodied-ferrari-250-tdf-133000934.html


This is such a great and unique vehicle even when compared to other members of the 250 GTO family.
The Ferrari 250 GTO will forever be known for two incredible achievements that most automakers would strive for. Firstly, this vehicle has had a major career within the racing and automotive industry for its incredible performance. Secondly, the 250 GTO holds the title for the most expensive vehicle ever sold at auction which some might think is a bad thing. However, if you think about it, this should mean that these vehicles will basically never lose their value and continue to climb as their numbers dwindle. So why should you consider adding this particular 250 GTO to your automotive collection?

First of all, there is the wild powertrain which finds refuge within the confines of the car’s engine bay. This enormous V12 engine utilizes the best Ferrari technology available in its time to make around 260 horsepower. Such a great accomplishment comes from about 2.9-liters of displacement which is pretty low compared to some of the other performance vehicles available at the time. Despite its low displacement, this V12 is still capable of outperforming even some of the fastest cars available in the brand’s golden age. Along with that, the next driver of this incredible automobile will enjoy the original four-speed manual transmission which provides maximum control over the car and sync with the driver’s intentions.

All of that performance is exactly what carried this car through its vast racing career in which it raced at least 13 times with the legendary Lualdi-Gabardi behind the wheel. On top of that, the car also took home first place at Monza where it won Overall winner of the 1958 Coppa Sant'Ambroeus. These achievements would be enough for most racing enthusiasts to call the car legendary on their own but there is even more under the surface for this vehicle. Eventually this Ferrari 250 GTO was sold to Ferdinando Pagliarini, who raced it in 1959 furthering its racing adventures greatly. Overall, this is a legendary automobile built for the track and it deserves a driver who will respect it for that, does that sound like you?





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>>> Ultra-rare Honus Wagner baseball card sells for record $7.25 million


Yahoo Sports

by Jack Baer

August 4, 2022


https://sports.yahoo.com/rare-honus-wagner-baseball-card-sells-for-record-725-million-214129565.html


Honus Wagner

American baseball player (1874-1955)

The Holy Grail of baseball cards just set another record.


A T-206 Honus Wagner card, well known as one of the rarest baseball cards ever printed, sold for $7.25 million in a private sale, auctioneer Goldin Auctions announced on Thursday. Goldin estimates the card is one of fewer than 50 authenticated copies left in the world.

The sale breaks a record set last year by another copy of the card, which sold for a total of $6.6 million.

The origin of the card's rarity is a legend itself, as the cards were produced as part of a line made by the American Tobacco Company to put into cigarette packs. Wagner objected to his likeness being used in such a way — the popular story is he didn't want children to buy cigarettes because of him, though it remains very possible he just wanted more money from the ATC.

The company ended up producing only around 200 cards and distributing even fewer, creating a collector's item for the ages.

From The Athletic:

“I’ve been in this business for a very long time and seen a lot of incredible trading cards and pieces of memorabilia, but there is nothing on earth like a T206 card,” Goldin Executive Chairman and founder Ken Goldin said in a statement. “There’s a reason why no Wagner card has never sold for less than it was previously purchased for – the card is art, it’s history, it’s folklore. The T206 is one of the reasons I do what I do and why serious collectors around the world love this hobby so much. To be a part of history and facilitate this record-breaking sale is an honor.”

The record might not stand for long, though, as ESPN notes a similarly rare 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card has already reached $7.08 million at auction and is expected to break $10 million by consigner Heritage Auctions.

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>>> Jeweler who sold Trump-Maples ring sentenced to 12 years in multimillion-dollar ‘Yellow Rose’ diamond scam


MarketWatch

July 29, 2022

By Lukas I. Alpert


https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jeweler-who-sold-trump-maples-ring-sentenced-to-12-years-in-multi-million-yellow-rose-diamond-scam-11659068024?mod=MW_article_top_stories


Joseph DuMouchelle, who twice auctioned an engagement ring Donald Trump gave to Marla Maples, admitted pocketing millions in a phony sale of a 77-carat diamond





Prosecutors say Joseph DuMouchelle stole more than $25 million he had solicited from investors to buy a 77-carat diamond known as the “Yellow Rose."

A Michigan jeweler to the stars who twice auctioned an engagement ring Donald Trump gave to his second wife, Marla Maples, has been sentenced to 12½ years in prison for running a multimillion-dollar scam involving the sale of a 77-carat diamond.

Joseph DuMouchelle, who ran a well-known jewelry business outside of Detroit, admitted he fleeced several investors in the purported purchase of a huge diamond known as the “Yellow Rose,” pocketing the cash and using it to pay off his numerous debts.

“Mr. DuMouchelle was engaged in a desperate effort to repay creditors, and repeatedly made similar false representations to secure money and items to pay debt,” his attorney wrote in court filings arguing for a more lenient sentence.

Federal prosecutors, however, said the 61-year-old DuMouchelle utilized his years of experience in the jewelry business to operate a ploy to convince several of his clients that they were buying a stake in the giant stone.

“White-collar criminals may use sophisticated methods and apparently legitimate businesses, but their crimes amount to nothing more than lying to get money,” said Dawn Ison, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan. “Victims were often targeted because of their involvement in the jewelry investment, purchase, and auction trade, or were family members and friends of DuMouchelle.”

DuMouchelle’s attorney didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

One victim, Thomas Ritter, the owner of an oil and gas exploration company in North Dakota, lost $12 million to the scam in 2019, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said DuMouchelle contacted Ritter, to whom he owed $400,000, and told him about a deal where he could purchase the “Yellow Rose” stone for $12 million from one seller and then sell it to second buyer DuMouchelle had lined up for $16 million. Ritter agreed, and DuMouchelle instructed him to wire the money to an account Ritter believed belonged to the seller but was actually DuMouchelle’s own account.

DuMouchelle then fabricated a phony bill of sale that purportedly showed the stone had been subsequently sold for $16 million, when in fact, the actual diamond — which prosecutors said was real — had never been purchased in the first place. DuMouchelle used the $12 million furnished by Ritter to pay back a number of debts he owed, and then stalled Ritter by telling him the proceeds of the sale would be coming soon, according to court filings.

An attorney for Ritter declined to comment.

Prosecutors said DuMouchelle ran a similar scam on others, taking in approximately $25 million in total.

Court papers revealed that DuMouchelle had saddled himself with multiple loans with extremely high interest rates and constantly struggled to come up with enough money to pay them back. In his own filings, DuMouchelle described the loans as “predatory.”

In a bankruptcy filing in 2020, DuMouchelle and his wife stated they had $2.3 million in assets and $23.4 million in liabilities.

In 2000, DuMouchelle helped Maples auction off the 7.45-carat diamond engagement ring Trump had given her before they married in 1993. The ring sold for $110,000.

In 2016, DuMouchelle helped the buyers sell the ring at auction to an anonymous bidder for $300,000.

DuMouchelle’s family had been longtime art dealers and jewelers in Michigan with celebrity clients that included Aretha Franklin and Elizabeth Taylor.

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>>> Stolen artifacts, some from 400s B.C., returned to Italy from New York


The Washington Post

by Ellen Francis


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/stolen-artifacts-some-from-400s-b-c-returned-to-italy-from-new-york/ar-AAZRzUa?OCID=ansmsnnews11


Dozens of looted artifacts, some dating to the 4th century B.C., made their way to a museum for rescued art in Rome after New York investigators seized the pieces and returned them to Italy this week.





Among 142 antiquities recovered in a criminal investigation is a fresco dating to A.D. 50 and coming from an ancient town that was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

The painting was looted in 1995 from a villa in the Herculaneum archaeological site, and the hedge fund billionaire Michael Steinhardt, a prolific collector of art, bought it for $650,000 that year, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The Ercolano Fresco, showing an infant Hercules strangling a snake, is valued at $1 million and is part of the collection of recovered items worth around $14 million.

The fresco depicting Hercules is one of 142 antiquities recovered in a criminal investigation.

The pieces include a storage jar from 700 B.C. and three pieces of fresco dating to the 4th century and depicting mourning women. The frescos came from an ancient Greek city in southern Italy. Thieves hacked the paintings from the wall of a tomb, New York officials said.

The items will find a new home at the Museum of Rescued Art in Rome, which opened last month in the Italian capital to display recovered artifacts before their return to the regions where they were plundered or lost.

After Italian and U.S. investigators traced trafficked art back to Steinhardt’s collection, he gave up 180 items, including the sections of fresco, late last year and agreed to a lifetime ban on buying antiquities.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said that 48 of the artifacts handed back to Italy at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday came from Steinhardt and that 60 others were recovered from the New York art dealership Royal-Athena Galleries.

“These artifacts deserve a place in their homeland, where the people of Italy can jointly appreciate the marvels of their country’s past,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.

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