Over £2 million-worth of classic machinery and collectors’ items were sold at a record-breaking vintage sale in Cambridgeshire.
The first Cheffins collective vintage sale of the year grossed over £2m as record prices were paid for classic and vintage machinery and collectors’ items.
Taking place on 22 and 23 April at Sutton, near Ely, the sale saw over 2,800 lots go under the hammer and buyers in attendance from the UK and Europe.
The highest price paid on the day was £214,400 for a 1982 County 1474 ‘Short Nose’ tractor, which smashed its presale estimate of £120,000-140,000.
Having been fully restored, the tractor saw significant presale interest and now holds the record for the most expensive modern classic tractor sold to date.
Other significant sales in the tractor section include £73,000 for a 2004 JCB 2140, against an estimate of £60-65,000.
A 1983 Mercedes-Benz MB-Trac 1500 went for £48,240, well over its pre-sale estimate and £42,880 for a stunning 1974 County 1164. These were bought by collectors from the UK and Ireland.
Another noteworthy lot was a 1956 Fowler VF Crawler, which was found in original condition having been used on the Landwade Hall Estate, near Newmarket, since new.
It sold for £16,080, against a presale estimate of £6-7,000 and is a new record price for this particular model.
Oliver Godfrey, head of the machinery at Cheffins said: “We knew the April sale was going to be a record breaker, with a strong catalogue of varied items, however, to sell over £2m-worth is bonkers.
"The market is alive and well, in fact it is thriving, as collectors still have cash in the bank which they want to invest in something tangible.
"Collectors are becoming younger, so the focus in the market is really on tractors and machinery from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s as they look to buy up a part of their youth."
