Mecum Sells The First Corvette of the Sixties

One of selling features employed by the Mecum auction house is their “Bid Goes On” which allows bidding on Corvettes that did not sell on the block to continue in hopes that a sale can be reached. It gives buyers and sellers the opportunity to culminate a deal that otherwise would not have happened within the confines of a three-minute sale. One of Corvettes recently sold though this process was this 1960 Corvette with the serial #00001.

The first Corvette of the Sixties was Ermine White with a matching white convertible top. Like the first year 1953 Corvettes, a red interior compliments the white exterior. Vin #00001 is powered by RPO 579D – a 283 cubic inch fuel injected engine rated for 290 horsepower – and was coupled to a 4-speed transmission. Other options include the signal-seeking AM radio and classic wide whitewall tires.

At the auction, the Corvette reached a high bid of $290,000 without changing hands. Today we learned that the Corvette did sell after the auction at a slightly lower price of $275,000. We believe the seller, motivated by the no-sale changed his mind in regards to his reserve and took an offer through “the bid goes on” process.

So is this a fair price for a solid-axle serial #00001 Corvette? At the 2008 Bloomington Gold auction, three serial #1 Corvettes were offered: 1955, 1956 and 1957. As a group, the three Corvettes reached a high-bid of $2.8 million but failed to reach reserve. The three Corvettes were then offered individually. The 1955 #0001 Corvette high bid was $850,000. The 1956 #0001 Corvette high bid was $900,000 and the 1957 #0001 Corvette reached a high bid of $950,000. All three Corvettes were no sales and haven’t been seen since.

So along comes the 1960 Corvette with serial #1 a year later and it sells for a fraction of the prices offered for the 1955-57 Corvettes. Will this price of $275,000 suck the wind out of those other cars when the resurface at another sale or will the 1960 Corvette be flipped when the market rebounds for a much higher price? This is what makes watching pricing so fun.

For a complete recap of the 2009 Bloomington Gold Auction, click here for the original post or here for just the auction results.

Source:
Mecum

Related:
Bloomington 2009: Mecum Sells $5.2 Million in Corvettes at Gold Auction
Bloomington 2009: Harley Earl’s 1963 Corvette a No Sale at $985,000
Bloomington 2009: 1968 L88 Corvette Sets Auction High Selling Price at $300K
Bloomington 2009: Twin-Turbo 1991 Corvette Callaway Speedster Sells for $115,000
Bloomington 2009: 1966 Corvette Convertible Sells for $83,500
Mecum’s Two-Day Corvette Auction at Bloomington Gold Show
Auction Preview: Mecum Selling Harley Earl’s 1963 Corvette Roadster

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