Motorcycle Signed by Pope Benedict Sells for 80 Percent Less Than One Signed by Pope Francis - Bloomberg Business

Motorcycle Signed by Pope Benedict Sells for 80 Percent Less Than One Signed by Pope Francis - Bloomberg Business: "In an unintentional test of present and past popes’ popularity, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with Pope Benedict XVI’s screen-printed signature went up for auction on Thursday at Bonhams Paris, a year after a similar motorcycle with Pope Francis’s signature sold for $275,551.
Today’s sale totaled less than a fifth of that amount, with the final price of $52,651. The buyer was identified only as a European collector, who bid by phone. In a twist, Bonhams confirmed it was the same collector who’d bought the Francis Harley last year. This time around, however, there was less interest.
“In 2014, Pope Francis was having something of a renaissance,” says Ben Walker, the international departmental director for the Bonhams motorcycle department. “We saw a huge increase in his popularity.” For the Benedict Harley, however, “we didn’t anticipate the same hype,” he says. The “huge amount” of interest from South American bidders during the 2014 auction was simply absent today."



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