The Eastern Division AACA National Fall Meet, known to and beloved by all simply as Hershey, has long also welcomed a distinguished auction hosted by RM Sotheby’s. This past year’s auction event took place on October 4-5 in conjunction with the Fall Meet at Pennsylvania’s “Sweetest Place on Earth,” and by all accounts it was a resounding success.
The 2023 Hershey sale happened in the famous Hershey Lodge, and while the event’s traditional celebration of prewar American cars continued, its top sale was an imported 1909 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges “in the style of Barker,” which brought $698,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $800,000-$1 million. Other headlining hammer prices included $495,000 for the first production example of Hudson’s Italia coupe built by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan; $385,000 for a 1934 Auburn Twelve Salon Speedster; $286,000 for a 1908 Stanley Model F Side-Entrance Touring; and $187,000 for a V-12-powered 1931 Cadillac 370-A Roadster by Fleetwood.
RM Sotheby’s offered 137 vehicles and 184 automobilia lots at Hershey, the latter representing a wide range of rare and significant pieces of history that were offered at no reserve; indeed, only 39 of the 321 offerings had reserves. This explained why the auction house reported an impressive 96.33-percent total sell-through rate; broken out, the automotive
