According to Emmert Auction Associates‘ Butch Emmert, there are three reasons why Delaware residents spend thousands of dollars on certain Delaware tags: “they are loyal Delawareans, they want to pass wealth from generation to generation and the tags hold a lot of prestige.”
Out of the 300 member crowd, the ‘prestigious’ tag went to lifelong Delaware residents, Donna and Ray White, as Butch yelled for the final call at $325,000.
Tag sold for $325,000 (Photo: Jim Weller)
“A lot of people search through the internet and they see we have a reputation for selling these tags and getting the most money,” Butch said. “In 2008 we were fortunate to sell tag No. 6 for $675,000, breaking the world record.”
The two day estate sale included five lower Delaware tags from multiple estates including tag No. 774 for $30,000, tag No. 457 for $32,000 and tag No. 1785 for $8,000.
This tag sold for $8,000 (Photo: Jim Weller)
This tag sold for $2,500 (Photo: Jim Weller)
Just sold for $32k (Photo: Jim Weller)
According to Butch, the Valentine’s Day and President’s Day weekend sale is historically a great sale and bidders come from all over the state. The weekend event took place at the Rehoboth Beach Fire Hall while the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center undergoes construction.
Butch says the tags are a fabulous pieces of art, people can enjoy them aesthetically and historically they go up a lot in value as they are passed down from generation to generation.
Emmert Auction Associates is the Delaware coast’s leading auction and appraisal company and has been in business for nearly 40 years, holding 30-40 sales a year.
Tag 14 is now at 325k (Photo: Jim Weller)
