Aumann Auctions, based in Nokomis, Ill., will be conducting an online-only auction from Aug. 20-22, 2019, to liquidate an extensive selection of antique equipment, vintage construction signs, implements and memorabilia housed in the Vintage Tracks Museum Collection, based in Bloomfield, N.Y.
If you're looking to add to your collection of antique equipment (or if you're looking to start one), you'll want to set aside some screen time.
Aumann Auctions, based in Nokomis, Ill., will be conducting an online-only auction from Aug. 20-22, 2019, to liquidate an extensive selection of antique equipment, vintage construction signs, implements and memorabilia housed in the Vintage Tracks Museum Collection, based in Bloomfield, N.Y.
Jeff Huff, owner of the museum and president of nearby Huff Equipment in Honeoye, N.Y., began collecting antique construction tractors in the early 1990s.
"My wife and I went to a tractor show down in Brownsville, Pa., and met some people there," he said. "We were actually doing an auction, and instead of coming home, I said to my wife, ‘let's go down to the show they are talking about.' And, so we went down and met some people who were very nice. And on the way home, I said, ‘I think I will start collecting some old tractors.' … and, I didn't stop."
Since that day, Huff has accumulated approximately 250 total items.
"We have a lot of unique one-of-a-kind pieces," he said. "I would ask different people, all over the country, if they knew of any old tractors here or there and old salesmen, and so, we brought stuff in from as far away as Hawaii, California and Alberta, and I have some pieces from Europe, though they were already on the States when I bought them."
All of these items will be going on the virtual auction block come late August.
Among the antiques going available to the highest bidder will be:
- a 1918 Holt 75 that came from a ranch in California;
- a Caterpillar 70 of which there were only 261 ever made;
- a Caterpillar Small 20 tractor of which there were only 652 manufactured;
- a Hough H12 crawler loader with a 4-in-1 bucket (only 234 of those tractors were manufactured;
- a Caterpillar 15, Serial Number 1;
- a 1918 Bates Steel Mule (one of the very few left in existence;
- a 1924 Monarch Model ‘C' of which there may only be three or four left in existence, according to Huff;
- a 1929 Monarch 75;
- a 1918 White TAD truck, which sports hard-rubber-tires and a chain drive; and
- a White 1923 Model 15B truck.
Huff said he's selling all these antiques because the curator of his museum, a man, whom he said worked for nearly 60 years in various parts departments in the area for farm dealers, recently passed away and he "couldn't find anybody to take his place after he passed."
Consequently, taking care of the museum had become too much for Huff to handle with "everything else that I have to do," he said.
Huff said that choosing an auctioneer to help him sell his collection was easy.
"Aumann Auctions is the premier antique tractor auction company in the country and even in the world since they're selling over on Europe now," he said, singling out praise for the company president, Kurt Aumann.
Selling his collection is bittersweet, though. Bitter because collecting these wonderful pieces of construction history and sharing them with others has been a passion of his for nearly 30 years. Sweet, however, because as he put it, "I'd like to spend more time in Florida [relaxing] and I want to spend more time with his grandchildren who live in Virginia and Ohio.
"They keep us running to sports games and their activities, so we are gone quite a bit," he said.
For more information, visit https://www.aumannauctions.com/. CEG
Craig Mongeau
Craig Mongeau has been Construction Equipment Guide’s editor in chief for the past 21-plus years. He directly manages CEG’s Northeast and Southeast editions (which includes New England, Georgia and Alabama state supplements); Superintendent’s Profile; Crane Guide; Northeast and Southeast-based anniversary magazines; and special event publications. He also oversees CEG’s Midwest and Western Editions as well as all CEG website content.
A Hofstra University graduate, Craig began his publishing career as a staff writer for local Southeast Pennsylvania newspapers. He then became an associate editor and book editor of Springhouse Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based medical publishing house and then worked as a managing editor of Rockhill Communications, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., where he created and managed content for a national Voluntary Hospital Association website.
Originally from Pittsfield, Mass., Craig has lived in North Wales, Pa., for the past 27 years. He has been married to his wife, Hillary, whom he met in college, since 1998 and together, they have two daughters, Jolie and Aubrie.
Read more from Craig Mongeau here.
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