Vectis Auctions

Part 2 of The Ali Sarkarati Matchbox Collection continued on from day 1 with Lot 5596; starting with Early Moko Lesney Toys, plus Accessory & Major Packs including roadway series, garage sales and service centres, tractor units and car transporters. King Size models included construction and farm, commercials and cars, whilst Super Kings & Speed Kings featured groups of cars, commercials and tankers. There were factory pre-production and colour trial Models of Yesteryear and giftsets, and a large selection of Superfast cars, commercials, buses, motorcycles, campervans, tankers and emergency vehicles, plus Pre-Production Models, Blister Pack Issues and Gift Sets. The sale concluded with Catalogues from the UK, Germany, US and Trade.

On the 22nd of November 2003 England won the Rugby World Cup final against Australia at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney, in front of a crowd of 82,957. The breathtaking Jonny Wilkinson drop goal just 26 seconds from the end of extra time ensured captain Martin Johnson’s team became the first northern hemisphere side to win the world title; the match was watched by a British television audience of 15 million viewers

On the 26^th of September Vectis auctioned an England Rugby World Cup signed replica shirt, LE 171/1000, in their TV & Film related sale. Lot 4196 has been signed by all 31 members of the England Rugby World Cup 2003 winning squad - Stuart Abbott, Neil Back, Iain Belshaw, Kyran Bracken, Mike Catt, Ben Cohen, Martin Corry, Lawrence Dallagio, Matt Dawson, Andy Gomarshall, Martin Johnson, Paul Grayson, Will Greenwood, Danny Grewcock, Richard Hill, Ben Kay, Jason Leonard, Josh Lewsey, Dan Luger, Lewis Moody, Mark Regan, Jason Robinson, Simon Shaw, Steve Thompson, Mike Tindall, Phil Vickery, Dorian West, Julian White, Johnny Wilkinson, Trevor Woodman and Joe Worsley.

Signed between 20 October and 8 November 2004 at a number of private signing sessions organised by the squad and with COA- personally signed by Kyran Bracken MBE, on behalf of the England World Cup Squad the framed shirt is 35" x 35" and has been estimated at £200 - £300, a significant piece of history for all England Rugby fans.

Other sporting lots include signed photographs from Manchester United’s Eric Cantona, a Wayne Rooney signed football shirt, The Busby Babes Last Photo official fine art print, George Best Manchester United 1968 European Cup Football Final at Wembley, Manchester United FC Team Sheet, autographed by David Beckham, Japp Stam, Dennis Irwin, Nicky Butt, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ronny Johnson, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunner Soskjaer and Jordi Cruyf.

Day one of the Ali Sarkarati Matchbox collection featured Matchbox Regular Wheels from numbers 1 to 75, and Regular wheel gift sets. Interesting lots to note were a No.17e AEC Horse box, which is a factory pre-production model; No.30b Magirus Deutz crane, with orange jib; a very rare issue No.53c Ford Zodiac with lilac interior and the reverse colour No.13d Dodge BP Wreck Truck, a very rare factory painted model dating from 1970, the first Vectis have seen with an amber roof light rather than red. There were many other interesting rare and colour-variation models in this sale with models to suit every level of collector.

The Ali Sarkarati Matchbox Collection
27th & 28th of September 2018

To be featured over two days in September, with day one now online, The Ali Sarkarati Collection from California features 950 lots of exceptional Matchbox models, including pre-production Regular Wheels and Superfast as well as rare colour variations.

He writes below of how his collection came to be and his love of collecting Matchbox.

Hello,

My name is Ali H. Sarkarati.

Collecting die-cast models is my main hobby and I collect various lines of die-cast models, but I have a special interest in collecting Matchbox series. I have been a serious collector for over 40 years, and, throughout my collecting time, I have met many reputable, nice, and generous collectors and have learned a great deal from them.

My initial Matchbox Regular Wheels cataloging was based on A.I.M.’s catalog, and my initial goal was to collect all the Matchbox Regular wheels variations listed in the A.I.M. catalog. However, since meeting Mr. Stannard and acquiring his catalog, I have been using his fantastic catalog to learn more about Matchbox Regular Wheels variations, and also refer to it to verify the authenticity of my newly acquired items.

Throughout my collecting time, I have acquired several quality collections from reputable and serious Matchbox variation collectors who have provided me with the opportunity to have different variations of the same casting readily in hand to compare, study and learn about the differences in features and colors among them.

I share my Matchbox knowledge with my fellow collectors. I have been invited to a Matchbox convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the USA several times to make presentations of my knowledge and findings about interesting and undiscovered Regular Wheels variations.

I am fortunate to have this hobby of collecting Matchbox and other die-cast models which has provided me the opportunity to meet and know many great fellow collectors throughout the world and to learn from them about this fantastic hobby.

The TV & film related sale which was held on the 26^th of September started with some interesting Lego Point of Sale display pieces, plus many sets of Lego Technic, Lego System, and boxes of loose Lego. The sale also included a number of Star Wars Lots, from both 3¾” and 12” carded figures, loose and boxed figures, playsets, vehicles and weapons, plus books, games and collectables. Other items in the sale included Dr. Who, Batman, James Bond, Gerry Anderson, Thundercats, He-man, My Little Pony, Ghostbusters, and a number of Action Man figures, vintage clothing and boxed clothing “Uniforms of the world”. There was an interesting collection of signed sports memorabilia including posters and photographs, football and Rugby shirts, including an England Rugby Official Replica shirt which had been signed by all 31 members of the England Rugby World Cup 2003 winning squad, plus a number of Trading cards, trade catalogues, comics, books, annuals, magazines, DVD’s and CDs, Subbuteo, Warhammer Games and other general toys and games.