I came across two stories regarding unique items being sold this week.
The first story was about the Tuttle Family Farm sale.
John Tuttle came to the good ol’ U.S. of A. in 1632 on a land-grant from King Charles I.
He used that grant to purchase land near the Maine/New Hampshire border.
The farm has been passed down from generation to generation making it one of the oldest continuously family-operated farms in America!
But, the 11th Tuttle generation just can’t hack it any longer – and they’ve discouraged their children from taking it over because they’d be “saddled with debt”, according to Lucy Tuttle, 65, who runs the farm with her brother Will.
Looks like this original 20-acre-parcel-turned-134-acre-tract has seen its last days of sweet corn, cucumbers and squash.
Unless of course, the new buyer would like to keep on farming. But that doesn’t seem likely.
Farm sales are common in the United States and are gaining in popularity, but this one is unique because of its history.
The other story was about an Alaskan comic book buff who is putting his prized possession on the market.
Batman No. 1!
This rare comic from 1940 was the first solo spin-off for Batman who originally made his debut in 1939.
Mike Wheat, the owner of this vintage comic said the time was right for someone else to take it over.
There have been a few Batman No. 1′s that have gone to auction, but this one is unique because it’s in excellent condition.
I’m no comic book afficionado, but my guess is that a 70-year-old rare comic book can look pretty rough!
I don’t care how well you take care of it, a vintage newsprint comic cannot hold up that well.
Except for this one – apparently the cool temps and low humidity in Alaska make this a perfect area to “raise” comics!
The condition of this particular Batman No. 1 is “white” and “crisp”.
I think that’s comic-speak for “Wicked Awesome!”
So, which will fetch more?
A vintage Batman comic book…..or, a nearly 400 year old family farm?
The comic already has bids pushing it up to $35k and it’s expected to get more than $40,000!
Meanwhile, Lucy and Will have set an asking price on the 134-acre family farm at a cool $3.35 million!
I know one thing is for sure – holding on to farmland for 378 years and a comic book for 70 is definitely not a “Get Rich Quick” Scheme!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t see the value in the comic book so I’d sell in a heartbeat. The farm is difficult from a sentimental standpoint. But $3.35 million is a lot of money! There probably is no correspondent return on the land for farming that would justify passing on a multi-million dollar payday, so even though it’s difficult from an emotional standpoint, it’d be hard to pass on the money.
The land works out to be about $25,000 per acre and maybe that’s it’s value in terms of new homesites? We’ll have to see if they can get it. It says that’s the asking price.
Yeah, hard to pass on a cool $3 mildo – and I’d definitely take $40 G’s for a comic book any day! Apparently the comic book buff bought the comic originally for $300!
Whenever I hear of a painting or rare coin selling for $1M, I ask myself how much wealth the buyer has. Does someone worth “only” $50M spend $1M on a single purchase?
BTW – that comic is “slabbed”, graded and sealed, it’s not for reading. I own an Iron Man #1 like that, and I don’t know what I was thinking.
It’s a pity to see the family farm sold after 11 generations — the $3m is likely to be spent within a couple of generations without a trace… If the farmland is currently worth $3m+ it is likely to keep appreciating in value in the next hundred years, so would be worth holding on to (although the increased value is moot if you never, ever sell it). From the parent’s comment that “they’ve discouraged their children from taking it over because they’d be “saddled with debt”” it sounds like they’ve already spent part of the value of the family farm and need to sell out just to pay off their debts. This often happens when farming can’t provide enough income and money is borrowed to hold on until the next ‘good year’. It would have been better if the farm had been moth-balled (eg. lease the land out for agistment to cover costs) and the parents had moved the family to the ‘big smoke’ and got a paying job. That way the family would support itself without selling off the asset they had inherited.
I agree with Kevin. I would sell that comic as soon as possible, as I see no value in it.
However, I can see the reluctancy in selling the farm because of the family history involved. But $3 million for a property that is most likely a financial and emotional drain? Sign me up!
Sometimes asking myself the “reverse question” helps me think through whether to sell something…if I DIDN’T own the comic, would I pay $40K for it? Of course not – so I would definitely sell it. About the farm: if I didn’t own it, would I pay over $3 million for it? I don’t have $3 million, so I couldn’t buy it. But if I did have $3 million I can’t imagine myself spending it on a farm. Admittedly, the farm is a bit more complicated because of its long family history. Still, I would sell it.
It is sad to hear about so many independent farmers selling their farms. In response to the question of either being worth the money, I think that the farm is a little over priced, but that is mainly due to its historic nature. Maybe it can be restored as a historical site?
Moneyedup, that’s a good idea to check into it being restored as a historical site – not sure how they go about determining that, but it seems like this would qualify.