Forty-five years ago, the Owls Head Transportation Museum on Maine’s midcoast, hit upon the idea of holding a vehicle auction to raise money in support of its operations. Since then, the museum has seen the event grow to a two-day sale featuring some 200 collector cars, with buyers ringing in from around the world, through Owls Head’s partnership with online sales site Proxibid.
Unlike the major auction houses, Owls Head relies on its staff and volunteers to carry out all aspects of the sale. “The staff and volunteers busted their butts,” says Toby Stinson, the museum’s development director, who heads up the auction. “When it was over, I don’t think that anybody had anything left in the tank.”
Total sales during the August 25-26 event added up to $4.36 million, including memorabilia and several no-reserve vehicles sold Friday night. That’s off from last year’s total of $5.7 million, when the auction featured a run of 26 exotic cars from an estate sale. “Prices were very good overall, especially at the higher-dollar end,” Toby says, though he notes some tighter bidding on lots in the $35,000-and-under range than in 2022. The top seller was a fuel-injected 1957 Chevrolet Corvette in #1 condition, which brought $159,500 — $9,500 above the high estimate and without reserve.
Revenue from the auction is used to support the museum’s operations, including a K-8 STEM education program that reached more than 6,500 Maine youth in the
