Ruth Bader Ginsburg auction brings in nearly $517k
This article discusses how recently, personal items belonging to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been auctioned off and accumulated to an astounding $517k, approximately. Amongst the items that were auctioned off were a gold judicial collar made of glass beads (sold for $176, 775) and a gavel (sold for $20,400). The funds from this latest auction will help fund an endowment in Ginsburg’s name benefiting an organization that supports vulnerable children around the world, SOS Children’s Villages. This auction was conducted by Ginsburg’s daughter in law, and is one of three auctions that have been conducted since Ginsburg’s passing- the first being an online auction of her books that generated $2.3 million, and the second being an auction of Ginsburg’s items including art she had in her home that raised more than $800,000 for the Washington National Opera.
While the article does not explicitly state the type of auction that was conducted, I presume that it was an ascending-bid auction, or an English auction, that brought in as much as this recent auction of Ginsburg’s items. Ascending bid auctions are carried out interactively in real time, where the seller increases the price gradually as bidders drop out, until eventually there is one bidder who wins the object at the final price. In the case that this was an ascending bid auction, it is interesting to observe how buyers in the auction had a true value for an item such as Ginsburg’s gold judicial collar. I suppose an individual saw the worth of such a rare collar and considered it to be worth $176,775 if not more, as the reason they likely stayed in the bid was to win an item that was either at or below their true value. As we learned in class, bidding at one’s true value is a dominant strategy. It is interesting to read about how individual valuation of objects can become so high, especially in the case of personal items from individuals the buyers admire.
Link to article: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/18/ruth-bader-ginsburg-auction-brings-in-nearly-517k-00057345