Lynbrook, NY, USA, April 27, 2021 -- A hockey puck used in the final Stanley Cup game in 1928, won by the New York Rangers, 2-1, over the Montreal Maroons, sold for 66,000 in an online-only Sports, Non-Sports, Pulps, Comics & Comic Art auction held April 14th by Weiss Auctions. The puck, seen as the ultimate New York Ranger collectible, came with a silver circular engraved plaque.

With this puck, New York Ranger Frank Boucher scored two goals on April 14, 1928 – 93 years to the day before the Weiss Auctions sale – winning the game and bringing the Stanley Cup to the U.S. The puck came directly from the family of Col. J. S. Hammond, former Chairman of the Board of Madison Square Garden and the man who helped make hockey a huge sport in the U.S.

The puck was the top achiever in a 500-lot auction that grossed more than $1.1 million. “The sale’s lot price averaged over two thousand dollars, and graded comic books saw record prices,” said Philip Weiss, the owner of Weiss Auctions. “The market for sports memorabilia, comics and comic art continues to be strong, as prices continue to rise. Collectors can’t seem to get enough.”

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 20 percent buyer’s premium. Internet bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, Proxibid.com and Invaluable.com. Phone and absentee bids were also accepted.

A near-complete set of Bowman baseball cards from 1949 – 238 cards in all, missing only cards #197 and #217 – with most of the cards in the mid-to-higher grades, in the 5-7 range or better – brought $22,200. Also, an incredible collection of 1950s and early ‘60s Dodger baseball cards (Brooklyn and Los Angeles), featuring Koufax, Robinson, Campanella and others, hit $16,200.

A complete international set of Magic: The Gathering cards, 362 cards in all, in the original box, with one card graded (Black Lotus R, a 1993 Collector’s Edition card, graded near-mint at 7.5), gaveled for $20,400. Magic: The Gathering was released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast and was the first trading card game. It had approximately 35 million players as of December 2018.

Several examples of original comic art from the estate of the legendary illustrator Joe Kubert (1926-2012) were led by toy package art for Hasbro’s Sgt. Savage, including a script and ten originals ($19,200). Also, original cover art for Marvel Comics’ Hulk #252 by Buckler and Springer, one of only two Hulk covers done by Rich Buckler, changed hands for $18,400.

Original artwork for Defenders #85 by Rich Buckler, boasting a great cover with Hulk and Dr. Strange, realized $16,200 despite having survived Hurricane Sandy with some rippling due to dampness. Also, eleven original pages from Brave and Bold #72, with artwork by Carmine Infantino, a Spectre-Flash story, came from the Joe Kubert estate and sold as one lot for $13,200.

Vintage comic books were offered in abundance throughout the day and included the following:

- Chamber of Chills #19 (Harvey Comics), CBCS graded 7.0, rare at this grade ($19,800).
- Strange Tales #28 with a “skull cover”, graded 7.5 off-white/white ($13,200).
- Menace Comics #5 (Atlas Publishing), titled Zombie!, graded 8.0 ($10,500).
- Marvel Mystery Comics #9, the second Sub-Mariner cover, rare, graded 2.0 ($10,800).
- Amazing Spider-Man #1, CGC graded 2.0, off-white pages ($8,400).
- Crime SuspenStories #22 with a great classic cover, graded CBCS 7.0 ($8,400).
- Tomb of Terror #15, CBCS graded 6.5, with off-white/white pages ($7,800).

Weiss Auctions has three major auctions planned for May, all of them online-only with phone and absentee bidding available. The first will be held on Tuesday, May 11th, at 10 am Eastern time and will feature 500 lots of toys, toy soldiers, Fisher Price toys, die-cast toys, Western toys, pressed steel toys, tin litho toys, Gray Iron toy soldiers, custom toy race cars and much more.

The following day, on Wednesday, May 12th, also at 10 am Eastern, the Wild West will come to Long Island with 1950s and ‘60s Western TV toys including Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy, games and collectibles, 1930s-1960s Western lobby cards, one-sheet posters, ½-sheet posters and inserts, casino chips and tokens and store stock modern trains.

Then, on Wednesday, May 26th, 500 lots of important, high-end toys and trains will cross the block, led by a great collection of late 19th/early 20th century toys and trains from a Washington State collection, early tin toys (with many airplanes), pressed steel toys (pre- and post-war), cast-iron mechanical and still banks, European toy trains in O and 1 gauge, and Lionel trains galore.

For more information about Weiss Auctions and the firm’s calendar of upcoming auctions, visit www.WeissAuctions.com.

About Weiss Auctions:
Weiss Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, estate or a collection, you may call them at (516) 594-0731; or, you can send an e-mail to Philip Weiss at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information about Weiss Auctions and the firm’s calendar of upcoming auctions, visit www.WeissAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.

Media Manager:
Philip Weiss
Weiss Auctions
74 Merrick Road
Lynbrook, NY 11563 (USA)
516-594-0731
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
http://www.weissauctions.com

Deerfield, IL, April 26, 2021 -- As the Coronavirus started wreaking havoc across every corner of the world, business owners saw one of their main sources of new business disappear. The in-person trade show became an impossibility with the need to social distance and lockdowns. Buyers were not in a position to source new products for the ever-growing needs and sellers were challenged by the lack of new customers.

Data shows that in 2021, 65% of vendors plan to exhibit at a tradeshow, down from 85% in the prior year. Another startling statistic is that the number of vendors that find exhibiting at tradeshows critical to their business is also down, at only 57%. These reductions have huge repercussions for national and global trade.

Lanky Levy, a businesswoman with experience working around the globe, saw a huge opportunity to replicate the experience of an in-person trade show, virtually! Within a matter of a few short weeks, Virtual Global Tradeshow was launched in 2020 and introduced around the world to dozens of industries.

The online platform incorporates features that make it easy and economical to set up a booth for prospective buyers. The booths allow suppliers to showcase products and with a few short clicks, buyers can reach the suppliers’ websites. Virtual Global Tradeshow mitigated the issue the pandemic imposed on tradeshows and is now a crucial link between companies who rely on their websites to drive sales opportunities.

“The need for a safe, quick and low-cost alternative to the in-person tradeshow was immediately apparent and Virtual Global Tradeshow has now become the de facto source for businesses to meet on a global level. The results are outstanding and I’m thrilled that the service allows so many to prosper,” said Lanky Levy, President of Virtual Global Tradeshow.

With its 365/24/7 availability, free access to attendees and with the low fee of only $40 a month for exhibitors, Virtual Global Tradeshow is now an invaluable channel for companies seeking to grow safely, from the comfort of their computers.

As an incentive, Virtual Global Tradeshow is offering a free month to exhibitors by signing up through this link: https://www.virtualglobaltradeshow.com/why-us-exhibitor.

About Virtual Global Tradeshow:
Virtual Global Tradeshow is the only virtual trade show with dozens of industry categories that allows companies to exhibit without having to travel, ship samples, booths, equipment and incur high expenses. The website allows access for exhibitors from around the globe for a low flat $40 monthly rate.

For more information, please contact:
Lanky Levy
Phone: 224-548-8541
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: https://www.virtualglobaltradeshow.com

A pre-Revolutionary War map of New York City by John Montresor (British, 1736-1799), a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card graded 3.5, and a 16.75-carat diamond tennis bracelet are just a few of the expected top lots in a two-session estate auction scheduled for Saturday, May 15th by EstateOfMind starting promptly at 11 am Eastern time.

Session 1, at 11 am, will feature property from longtime gun collectors and dealers. Included will be assorted rifles, large lots of gun parts (including 03-A3 stocks, some with cartouche) and large lots of contemporary and vintage ammunition. Rifles will feature a U.S. M 1917 30-06 cal. rifle, serial #05965; a Venezuela mfd. 7 x 57 cal. Mauser carbine; a DSM 34 Nazi .22 cal. training rifle B 1972, serial #73151; and a Yugo M48 8mm Mauser rifle with bayonet, Bez Oznake.

Session 2, immediately following, will contain estate items, to include important jewelry from a New York City financier; items from the 18th century Sanford Homestead in Warwick, N.Y; a large hoard of sports memorabilia from a home in Monticello, N.Y.; a collection of rare American large denomination gold coins (including Carson City); ancient Roman and Greek silver coins; furniture from period to mid-century modern; and folk art, paintings and prints.

The Montresor map of New York City, titled A Plan of the City of New York & Its Environs, was published in 1775 by A. Dury in London, England, even though the actual survey was performed ten years earlier, in 1765. It was printed in anticipation of New York becoming a battleground prior to the start of the Revolutionary War and measures 26 inches by 21 inches (less the frame).

The Bowman Mickey Mantle card #253 is considered the first and only real Mantle rookie card, since his rookie season was in 1951, when the card was issued. The more famous Topps Card Company Mantle rookie is from 1952, Mantle’s sophomore season. Other sports items include a 1950s-era baseball signed by 18 members of the Brooklyn Dodgers (Robinson, Campanella, Hodges, Snider and others); and a Topps 1969/1970 Lew Alcindor basketball rookie card #25.

In addition to the exceptional Deco 18kt white gold and diamond tennis bracelet weighing 16.75 carats and made around 1990, the fine estate jewelry category will also feature large lots of estate Jay King silver and turquoise pieces from the 20th century; an exquisite pair of Deco 18kt yellow gold/onyx and cabochon emerald earrings signed Hallmark 750, circa 1950-1960; a fine Tiffany 18kt yellow gold, diamond and coral crab sweater pin, circa 1980, weighing 15.1 grams.

Watches will be plentiful and will include the following:

- A Patek Philippe 18kt yellow gold Calatrava wristwatch with original signed lizard skin band and clasp and boasting an ultra-thin design.

- A Rolex 18kt yellow gold and diamond dial and bezel Oyster Perpetual Datejust chronometer, circa 1980, with original box, papers, wallet and credit card sleeve.

- A rare circa 1916 Illinois 23J Bunn special pocket watch with fancy dial.

- A fine and rare Breitling 18kt and stainless-steel chronograph wristwatch, model #d11352, serial #458753, with the original Tourneau retail box.

- A Cartier 18kt yellow gold Panthere men’s wristwatch, circa 1970.

- Several Omega Seamasters, one 18kt gold, one 14kt gold and one s/s contemporary professional model, highly desired by collectors.

Artwork will include a large oil on canvas signed by the Lithuanian-born American artist Aaron Harry Gorson (New England/N.Y., 1872-1933), titled Hudson River Yacht Basinat Twilight; an oil on canvas signed by Hal Robinson (British/American, 1867-1933), titled The Brook-Winter; and an oil on panel advertising Lucas Ship Paints showing the battleship USS New Jersey (1907).

Bronze sculptures will feature a 1981 contemporary museum release by Frederic Remington (American, 1861-1909), the renowned Western artist, titled Rattlesnake, 18 inches tall; and a circa 1890 depiction of the Greek figure Hippolyte signed by Moreau (U.S./France, 1832-1927), 22 inches tall, deaccessioned from the Paramount Theatre in Middletown, New York in 1977.

The furniture category will include a George Nelson for Herman Miller leather loveseat, circa 1940-1950, 55 inches long by 32 inches deep; and a Hudson Valley shoe foot elm folding tavern table from either the 17th or 18th century, measuring 27 ½ inches tall and 31 inches in diameter.

Other noteworthy items up for bid include a 2009 Cadillac four-door sedan with 48,715 miles; a huge gilt copper eagle weathervane, circa 19th/20th century, 60 inches wide by 36 inches long; a paper currency half-dollar engraved by Benjamin Franklin and signed Thomas Morris with a chain link back (Hall & Sellers, Philadelphia, 1776); a circa 1912 Lionel 408E standard gauge electric train set boasting the original paint; and a fine Shaker painted three-finger sewing box.

Live, in-gallery bidding will be available, but seating is limited and all CDC, state and local regulations with regard to the COVID virus will be strictly enforced. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted. Bidders can view lot photos and get more information at EstateOfMind.biz and at AuctionZip.com (ID # 11093).

Live, in-gallery previews will be held on Friday, May 14th, from 11 am-5 pm Eastern time, and Saturday, May 15th, the date of auction, from 8 am-10 pm, or by appointment. To schedule an appointment, you may call EstateOfMind at 845-386-4403. Masks are required at the previews. The EstateOfMind gallery is located at 195 Derby Road in Middletown, N.Y. (zip code: 10940).

To learn more about EstateOfMind and the big two-session auction scheduled for Saturday, May 15th, please visit www.EstateOfMind.biz.

Award-Winning Filmmaker Tonja Ayers is making her return to the literary scene by releasing her ninth book, Low Down. The upcoming book features two men, Grant Ashford and Jalen Ross, who live very affluent yet different lifestyles but are on the verge of meeting head-on due to their decision-making and shared relationships. While one man is running for the highest office held in a major city, the other is a party promoter, hanging on by a thread and who unknowingly sacrificed everything to feed his personal desires.

“Low Down is a book loosely inspired by true-life events,” Ayers stated. “Many women are dating and even married to men who unbeknownst to them, are living double lives by participating in down low lifestyles.”

Since the release of her first book, “Stay in Your Place,” Ayers has continued to push the envelope in both film and literature. Low Down will be released June 12th, 2021 at the Hustle & Grind Literary Convention in Detroit, MI. Ayers has been selected as a featured author along with several other notable authors in urban literature like New York Times Best Seller Wahida Clark, Teri Woods, and Shannon Holmes.

“Low Down is different from my previous books because it’s more of a crime story versus a relationship story,” said Ayers.

Like many creatives, Ayers was affected by COVID-19 and had to make certain adjustments for promoting the new book. “COVID-19 has caused me to shift to conducting more business online, but the initial shutdown provided some extra time for me to complete Low Down,” said Ayers.

For more than 20 years, Tonja Ayers has helped others get on their feet—literally and figuratively. Affectionately known as “The Shoe Lady” worldwide, Tonja Ayers has made monumental strides in business, books, and the big screen. A proven industry leader who is widely respected amongst both colleagues and consumers alike, Tonja’s entrepreneurial insight, entertainment acumen, and literary genius are second to none. Featured in several prominent publications across the country, this author, playwright, retail guru, and filmmaker is not only intentional about creating the life of her dreams—but she’s most passionate about helping others do the same.

From selling stilettos to receiving standing ovations in sold-out theatres, Tonja is destined for greatness. She has authored eight books and will release her ninth book project, Low Down, in the summer of 2021. Based on the stories of infidelity her clients shared while trying on shoes, she authored the bestselling book, Stay in Your Place. Even though she wrote the book as a joke, when she mistakenly ordered 500 copies, little did she know that she’d sell out in just a week. Taking the message from the page to the stage, Tonja hosted her debut stage production, Stay in Your Place, before two sold-out audiences. The success of the stage play inspired her to film the movie version of Stay in Your Place, which sold out three movie theaters at its premiere. By February of 2020, Tonja released her second feature film, Chocolate Kiss, which premiered before five sold-out theaters. Her short film, TEN has been nominated and selected for various film festivals.

Tonja was honored with the Spirit of Detroit award in 2019 and was recently nominated for the 2021 Detroit Choice Awards.

For more information about Low Down, please contact Tonja Ayers at 248-973-SHOE or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.