Online Auctions Put A Price On Strange
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A drawer containing 171 early 20th-century German glass prosthetic eyes sold for $2,640, including the buyer’s premium, after 11 bids at a Potter & Potter auction on Oct. 1. The sale’s 569 lots included outsider art, tattoo memorabilia and medical curiosities, showing how online catalogs can bring specialized objects to a wider pool of potential buyers. Prices for other featured works were estimates, not confirmed sale results in the available report.

A drawer of 171 early 20th-century German glass prosthetic eyes sold for $2,640, including the buyer’s premium, after 11 bids at a Potter & Potter auction on Oct. 1. The sale, titled “Weird Tales! UFOs, Curiosities and Tattoos,” brought unusual collectibles to an online audience and offered a concrete example of how niche auctions can establish a price for objects with few conventional retail comparisons.

According to the auction house listing cited by PYMNTS, the brown glass eyes were arranged in a wooden grid drawer. The condition report noted light dust and occasionally sharp glass ends. The reported $2,640 price includes the buyer’s premium; the source does not break out the hammer price separately.

The auction offered 569 lots spanning outsider art, tattoo memorabilia and medical curiosities. One featured painting, “Hairy Creature in Shower,” by New Jersey artist David Huggins, had a presale estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. That was an estimate, not a confirmed result in the report. Bidsquare’s preview also highlighted a 1980 hand-colored tattoo design sheet by Don Nolan and a circa-1920s blueprint sheet by Percy Waters, each estimated at $1,000 to $2,000.

The source identifies the eye drawer’s sale price and bid count but does not provide confirmed final prices for those other highlighted works. It also describes the sale’s online availability as a way for shoppers to browse its specialized catalog; it does not specify how many bidders participated online or how the buyer found the lot.

At a glance
reportWhen: Auction held Oct. 1, 2026; report dated…
The developmentA collection of 171 antique glass eyes sold for $2,640 at a Potter & Potter auction featuring unusual art and collectibles.
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How Niche Auctions Find Buyers

The sale illustrates how a specialized auction can connect an unusual object with people who may be searching for a specific type of collectible. A local shop’s customer base is limited by location, while a searchable catalog can be accessed by prospective buyers beyond the auction room. The source does not quantify the reach or effect of online access for this particular sale, but the catalog’s range shows the kind of inventory that can be presented to a varied audience.

It also shows how bidding can produce a transaction price where a familiar retail benchmark is lacking. The $2,640 result after 11 bids records what bidders were prepared to pay for this particular drawer at this sale. It does not establish a general market value for antique prosthetic eyes or prove that the same price would apply to another collection.

Behind the unusual merchandise, the transaction still depends on standard commerce details: descriptions, charges, payment, packing and delivery. Potter & Potter’s conditions of sale cover the purchase price, buyer’s premium, applicable taxes and other charges. The eye listing also explains that shipping expenses include labor, materials, insurance and transportation. Those terms matter to buyers assessing the full cost and practicalities of a purchase.

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Inside the 569-Lot Sale

Potter & Potter held its “Weird Tales! UFOs, Curiosities and Tattoos” auction on Oct. 1, 2026. The sale assembled objects that sit outside routine household buying, including medical curiosities, tattoo-related material and art associated with unusual subject matter. PYMNTS reported on the auction on Oct. 10.

The featured Huggins painting depicts what the artist describes as encounters with otherworldly beings, according to the report. Its stated price range was a presale estimate. Likewise, the tattoo sheets by Nolan and Waters were presented with estimates in Bidsquare’s preview, not confirmed sale prices. Keeping those categories distinct matters: an estimate expresses an auction house’s anticipated range, while a final result records an actual transaction.

For collectors, tattoo designs can preserve artistic methods and cultural history, while medical and outsider-art objects may serve specialized interests. The report presents these as possible reasons unusual lots appeal to particular buyers; it does not identify the winning bidder or explain the buyer’s intended use for the drawer of eyes.

“The collection sold after 11 bids for a reported $2,640, including the buyer’s premium.”

— Potter & Potter auction listing, as cited by PYMNTS

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Prices Beyond the Eye Drawer

The available report does not state the winning bidder’s identity, the buyer’s intended use for the eyes, or the lot’s separate hammer price before the premium. It also does not provide the final results for the Huggins painting or either tattoo design sheet, so their presale estimates should not be read as sale prices.

The source does not give totals for online bidders, bidder locations, or online versus in-room purchases. It therefore supports the conclusion that the catalog was available to online shoppers, but not a measurement of how much online access affected participation or prices. No broader valuation data are supplied for comparable collections of antique prosthetic eyes.

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Following the Auction Results

The immediate next step for readers seeking a fuller account of the sale would be to consult the auction house’s results and lot records, where available, for additional realized prices and transaction details. The source does not announce a follow-up auction date or describe any planned next development involving the glass-eye collection.

For this sale, the confirmed result remains $2,640 including the buyer’s premium. Any broader conclusions about demand for unusual collectibles would require more results across lots and auctions, along with information about bidding channels and comparable sales.

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Key Questions

What sold at the auction?

A drawer containing 171 early 20th-century German glass prosthetic eyes sold at Potter & Potter’s Oct. 1 auction.

How much did the glass-eye collection sell for?

The reported price was $2,640, including the buyer’s premium. The report does not give a separate hammer price.

How many bids were reported?

The auction house listing cited by PYMNTS records 11 bids for the lot.

The report gives presale estimates for a David Huggins painting and two tattoo design sheets, but it does not provide their final sale prices. The estimates are not confirmed results.

What additional costs could apply to a buyer?

Potter & Potter’s terms cover the buyer’s premium, applicable taxes and other charges. The listing also says shipping expenses include labor, materials, insurance and transportation.

Source: rss

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