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Wall Street sign fetches $116,500 at auction

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-23 09:27

A vintage sign that marked the intersection of Broad and Wall streets, which was the center of historic events dating back to the 1920s, sold for $116,500 at auction, Christie's said on Tuesday.

The winning price by a telephone bidder was nearly double its presale estimate of $60,000-$80,000.

"It is a very historical, very American iconic sign," said Sung-Hee Park of Christie. "Wall and Broad street is in the heart of the finance district and everyone know about Wall Street, which is why is has so much interest."

The sign, which was sold by a private collector, had been on loan to the Museum of Finance in New York. It was once situated in front of the original J.P. Morgan and Co. building. On Sept, 16, 1920, the corner was also the site of the Wall Street bombing that killed 38 people and injured several hundred others.

Crowds gathered at the intersection after the stock market crash in October 1929.

The sale follows signs of recovery in the art market and other auctions in which record prices were reached in recent months. In May, Christie's sold Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" for $106 million, a record for a work of art sold at auction.

"It is a great sign that people appreciate great works of art and especially something special like this," said Park.