Auction Hunters: Season 3, Episode 9: “Fake Punt Payoff.”
Haff-Ton drove to Pasadena, California. Town known for wealthy residents and famous flea market. A popular spot for collectors and antique dealers.
Fact: Pasadena’s Rose Bowl flea market attracts over 15,000 buyers monthly.
Allen and Ton attended a large shipping container auction. Mix nuts of buyers from teachers, students, and pros.
Apartment Unit
Chair set, refrigerator, mid-century fabric, plastic bags, and boxes. Duo won the unit for $350.
Chair set was made of solid oak. Mid-century fabric belonged to vintage 1950s chairs made with Naugahyde.
Fact: “Naugahyde” is an American blend of artificial leather trademarked in 1936.
Ton found Princess pattern china.
Fact: “Princess” is a pattern of glass made by the Hocking Company in the 1930s.
Allen discovered a mint condition vintage football board game.
Fact: A 1933 edition of the board game ‘Monopoly sold at an auction in 2010 for $146,500.
Duo retrieved a carpet rolled and duct taped at the ends. Ton wondered why anyone would duct tape a carpet. Allen’s response: “Because you have a dead body.”
Ton opened the carpet. No dead body. Phew!
Fact: The oldest surviving carpet, found in a Siberian tomb in the 1940s, is over 2000 years old.
Jones however, did find one very long, l-o-n-g, gun.
Fact: The longest gun ever built is the 140 ft. long “Gustav Gun,” used in WWII.
Allen and Ton both carried the gargantuan gun to Brian, a firearms expert.
He told them it was a “punt gun” used to lash onto a boat. It could decimate an entire flock of ducks. Really? Longest gun you’ll ever see just to kill ducks?
Fact: A ‘punt’ is a flat bottomed boat propelled with a pole and used in shallow waters.
Punt gun in good shape. Logo was made with a Dremel Moto-Tool, which 
was a newer model.
Fact: The Dremel Moto-Tool first hit the market in 1945.
Ton volunteered to shoot the antique gun.
Fire!
Fact: Punt guns can fire over one pound of lead shot at once.
A ginormous gun appears only once in a blue moon. Brian knew that – Sold at $5,000! Allen and Ton allowed visitation rights.
Bubble Wrap Unit
Dresser, bubble wrapped items, and crates. Duo gambled and won the container for $250.
Ton unpacked furniture. Side table and leather top desk.
Fact: A mahogany desk from the 1760s sold at auction in 1989 for over $12 million.
Allen found handlebars to a Segway. Ton did better. He found three whole Segways in the back.
Fact: The ‘Segway’ is a two-wheeled vehicle that one controls by shifting their weight.
Allen discovered a giant inflatable ball called a “Zorb.”
Fact: “Zorb” balls were first invented in New Zealand in 1994.
Ton explained to Allen that people entered inside the Zorb then rolled downhill or even rolled on water. Yeah, they had to give it a go.
Segways were taken to Suzanne, a dealer, for appraisal. She said they were first generation Segways.
Fact: The name “Segway” is derived from the word ‘seque,’ which means ‘smooth transition’.
Gen 1 Segways didn’t qualify as collector’s items, though still used today.
Fact: In 2001 the ‘Generation 1’ Segway was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
One of the machines was past repair. Two were in good condition. Two Segways. Two Auction Hunters. Allen and Ton took the Segways for a spin.
Suzanne was impressed and bought the pair for $5,500.
Big gun. Big ball. Big fun.
Auction Total:
Paid $600
Sold: $12,760
Profit: $12,160
Would you like to walk over water inside a Zorb?
Please post your insightful and thoughtful opinions in the comment box below.
