J510/2540 -- RM Auction, Hershey 2008
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RM offered this 1933 factory supercharged LWB La Grande Dual Cowl SJ Phaeton at its 2008 Hershey Auction. According to RM, the car sold for $1,688,500 (including 10% buyer's premium), slightly below the pre-auction estimate of $1.8-$2.4 million. |
DUESENBERG HOME
I
viewed this car in the closing moments of the Thursday preview. A
prospective buyer (I suppose) was quite interested in verifying the chassis
number, as shown to the right. From what I overheard, the chassis number is
generally stamped on the passenger's side frame rail, either on the side, or
on the top of the rail. The gentlemen are removing a piece of flashing (shown
here) to view the number. I am assuming that they found the published
serial number, 2540.
The RM description lists the original owner as Mr. Ben E. Smith, Sr. with the NY stock brokers, Hutton & Co. Apparently, the crash of 1929 did not hurt stock brokers that much!
Mr. Smith's son took the car to Mexico, where it passed through two owners before returning to the United States in 1968. It was restored at about this time (almost 40 years ago). A Gephardt reproduction supercharger probably replaced the original in about 1975. The seller had owned the car for over 25 years.
RM's YouTube video can be watched here.
