NEW YORK (Nov. 2) – A miniature portrait of Czar Peter the Great in a diamond-encrusted frame — owned for decades by an Arizona family that didn't realize its historic significance — has been auctioned for $1.3 million.
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Amazing Auctions
A signed copy of Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' manifesto sold for $34,900 at an Aug. 13 auction in England. The buyer was an anonymous telephone bidder. The book was written in 1924 while Hitler was serving a four-year prison term. This copy is believed to be a second edition given by Hitler to a fellow inmate in 1925.
Barry Batchelor, PA / AP
Barry Batchelor, PA / AP
Sotheby's auction house says the 18th-century Russian treasure was purchased Monday by an anonymous telephone bidder for 10 times its pre-sale estimate of $120,000. The estate of the original owner, George Roberts, learned of its importance during an appraisal over the summer. Roberts purchased it in 1951 from a London dealer.
Experts believe that as few as 10 of the bejeweled miniatures were bestowed by Peter the Great on his subjects. The 3 1/2-inch-high oval portrait sold Monday depicts the czar in a blue cape and a sash. The frame hangs from an imperial crown.
