November 1988 — Hegarty Bank Collection Sold — Maine
Antique Digest
| MAINE ANTIQUE
DIGEST — November 1988 New York Dealer Alexander Acevedo sits on the Hegarty collection of mechanical and Still banks, all boxed up and ready to go. Hegarty Bank Collection Sold New York dealer Alexander Acevedo didn't sit on "The Magnificent Hegarty Collection of Mechanical Banks" for long. In fact, he was pretty sure he had the collection sold when this picture was taken. The deal was consummated on November 1st. After Acevedo bought the fabled Hegarty collection, he held a cocktail party to introduce the banks to collectors on Friday, October 14 on the third floor of the Perelman Toy Museum in Philadelphia. Many collectors were in Philadelphia to pick up the banks they had bought at the Perelman sales or to attend the final Perelman liquidation that weekend. Everyone expressed amazement at the condition of the banks. Many looked new; others were new in their original boxes. Acevedo let it be known that if he didn't have an offer for the entire collection within a week, he would hold a tag sale at the Seventh Regional Armory in New York at the first available date. Collectors tried to put together a syndicate to buy the collection. "It will take a lot more than $3 million to buy it." Acevedo warned. The syndicate did not materialize, but there was a buyer; Al Davidson, the Oyster Bay, Long Island, collector and author of the useful book on mechanical banks, Penny Lane. "I bought it, "Davidson said in a phone interview November 7th. "I've sold approximately half the banks — about one third money wise — and I've only owned it a week." Davidson said he was keeping quite a few banks for himself and selling others. "I'm upgrading my own collection. I'll keep The Preacher in the Pulpit, it is rare, but I'll sell a lot of others." To help him sell, Davidson said he has taken as partners the Weiss twins of Hillman-Gemini, New York toy dealers, and Sy Schreckinger, an old school chum who has been collecting banks since 1970. |
