A Canadian collector's recent winning bid for a 1972 John Deere tractor shattered the record price for the same model, according to a published report.
Formerly the property of Vernon Joyner of Murfreesboro, North Carolina, the John Deere 2520 power shift tractor sold to the anonymous bidder for $23,250 at an estate sale. Joyner's widow was aware the piece of farm equipment or used tractor would draw significant attention.
"I knew it was a classic tractor, and I knew that several people wanted it," Agnes Joyner told the Tidewater News. "I was thankful that it sold for as much as it did. I figured it would sell for about $12,000 or $13,000, but when I heard the sale going on, I knew it was going to do better than that."
Auctioneer Richard Vaughan said the same model's previous record price was slightly more than $17,000. Bids for the Murfreesboro machine kicked off at $4,000, then quickly rose.
"It just kept going, and so we had one man on the phone in Illinois, and one man bidding there, but we had a lot of live money up to about $15,000, $16,000," Vaughan said. "Once it got past $17,000, I thought, 'Wow, what's going to happen here.'"
Vaughan added: "I was shocked it went over $20,000. I thought it would bring $17,000, but I was shocked it brought $23,250."
NC estate auction sees Deere tractor sell for record price
A 1972 John Deere tractor broke a record when it was recently auctioned.