For those familiar with the former Punky’s Palace antique shop and bed and breakfast, a chance to go to a two-day auction to see items sell at Houchens Auction Service’s (H.A.S.) new location (which they call “The Country Store”) was a wonderful thing.

With the mansion, which has been a local historic icon for years, overlooking the auction site, auction-goers had a chance to view quality items – along with an outside view of the mansion said to be part of the Underground Railroad at one time. The former antique shop once again held an amazing array of items in the 16,000 square-foot building.

H.A.S. is primarily out of Palmyra, Ill., and the main auctioneer – the H in the H.A.S. – is Bill Houchens. Although the Palmyra auction house schedules regular sales, this building serves when there are huge items for large quantities of items and large crowds.

This auction’s crowd-pleaser was the 1890s W.H. Mullins John Deere leaping stag.

The story behind the eight-foot statue is that Charles Deere saw a prototype of it at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and ordered 20 of them. Two are on display at John Deere world headquarters, commonly deemed “The Rusty Palace,” in Moline, Ill.

Mullins was famous for his amazing statues. Bidders from all over expressed interest in the statue, and the winning bid was $68,000.

This was just one of the interesting items at auction. Many amazing cabinets from closed-out stores were for sale.

A Corticelli spool cabinet sold for $3,750 and a Stromberg Carlson oak telephone desk sold for $2,800.

This auction literally had something for everyone, from a Royal Electric coffee grinder with hopper, patented from Dec. 31, 1907, to a grain painted icebox by Eddy & Sons Refrigerator.

Jane Elliott of Godfrey, Ill., attended the show and shared that her favorite item was the Minneapolis-Moline pedal car.

There were several other pedal toys available at auction; there was a Steelcraft City Fire Department car that sold for $725 and a rare American National Indian motorcycle and sidecar that sold for $3,000.

Signs were also popular items at the show; there was a Case sign and a variety of John Deere signs that also sold well, along with a Red Crown gasoline porcelain sign that brought $500.

The auction lasted two days and brought good crowds. The Elliotts, Kent and Jane, traveled about two hours for the big event and were impressed by the “Country Store,” but a bit put off by the 13 percent buyer’s premium.
H.A.S. has found a great location for large venues right off Interstate 55 and will continue to draw the public who want to see this iconic landmark and location that has meant so much to so many over the years.
For questions, call 217-414-6634 or visit www.hasauction.com

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.