Showtime Auction Service has high hopes for top-quality coin-ops, advertising and lighting

Showtime Auction Services will sell the collection of Marvin Yagoda of Farmington Hills, Mich., and other selected items in an April 7-9 auction that may rival the sales prices normally enjoyed by fine art firms.

"Mr. Yagoda has been collecting for nearly 45 years and has amassed a very unique collection of rare antiques,” said Michael Eckles, owner of Showtime Auction Services. “This auction will be a lot of fun.”

The auction has more than 1,800 lots. It features one of the finest collections of advertising ever offered at auction, Eckles said. It will be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor, Mich.

This auction includes coin-operated machines, arcades, nickelodeons, slot machines, trade stimulators, gambling paraphernalia, saloon items and barber shop antiques and memorabilia. Collectors of country store items won’t be disappointed. Seasoned collectors may spark a bidding war over a Samuel A. Robb cigar store indian that caries a pre-auction estimate of $25,000 to $75,000.

The auction also includes folk art, automobilia, petroliana and items pertaining to veterinary and pharmaceutical collecting areas. There will be antique toys, coffee grinders, bean counters, soda fountain items and drug store advertising such as an important Buster Brown and Tig tin diecut sign that’s expected to sell for $7,500 to $15,000.

Among the store fixtures is a rare apothecary hanging show globe estimated at $10,000 to $15,000. There will even be a band organ and a double violano.

Eckles has posted photos of some lots on his Web site at www.showtimeauctions.com. A full-color 172-page catalog is available for $35.

Showtime Auction Services, 1537 Caddy, Wichita, KS 67212. (316) 721-5236 or (951) 453-2415. mikeckles@aol.com.