NUNICA, Mich. – After 30 years in the auction business, 53-year-old Auctioneer Steven Cole had “that once in a lifetime auction.”

“This was an auction where I sold a military uniform, turned around and sold a diver’s helmet, then sold an antique boat motor, then a steam whistle, an antique bicycle … it just went on like that for two days,” Cole says of the Nov. 23-24 auction.

It just wasn’t Cole that was daunted by the three-generations of unique inventory consigned by a Spring Lake, Mich. family who have been in the auto and truck parts market for more than 80 years.

“We were packed with bidders both days of the auction,” Cole said. “And, to a person, people were going, ’Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this.’ It was one of those auctions where things you just don’t see anymore, came up for auction. There really wasn’t any overall theme to the collection, unless you take military items into account. And those we had from the Civil War, up through World War I and II.”

Being sold that weekend was an eclectic collection of nautical, railroad, aviation, military gear, automotive items, vintage advertising, large church bells and more.

For Cole, his co-workers and “those in the know,” the collection became known as the Bisacky Family Collection. The collection began with Joe Bisacky, a well-known mechanic and local race car champion, who in 1938 opened Joe’s Auto & Truck Parts in Spring Lake, Mich.

From this patriarch, his son, Gary, inherited the business (and collection); and being, an inherent full-bore collector, the collection took many twists and turns while incrementally growing over the years.

The late Gary Bisacky, who died at age 72 in 2015, was a military historian who, according to Cole, bought most of the family’s collection. The collection, which had been locked away for years, reflected Bisacky’s diverse interests.

About 425 lots were sold each day. Many of the items were geared more to bidders looking for a “man cave” or “rec room” item.

There was also more than sufficient interest in the sale on the internet. There were 8,212 pre-bids left on Proxibid, nearly 30,000 catalog views and more than 45,000 views on Facebook, according to Cole.

The top selling item was a deep-sea diver’s helmet – a perfect desk accouterment – manufactured by A.J. Morse & Son of Boston. It brought a cool $6,875. Another similar helmet, made by the same company, sold for a little more than $2,000.

All prices reflect the addition of a buyer’s premium, which was 10 percent on all onsite transactions and 18 percent for online bidders.

Selling at $6,160, was a vintage porcelain Packard Service sign, about 5-feet in diameter, two-sided with bright vivid colors and a round steel frame for mounting.

Capturing top honors among the several restored and original outdoor boat motors was a 1915 Blakely Engine Co. in restored condition, labeled as a type B engine no. 188 with Muskegon Michigan patents pending, which brought $3,875. Not only was the winning bidder impressed with the motor; accompanying it was a “Best of Show” ribbon from an antique outboard motor club dated June 2013.

A vintage row boat motor, manufactured by Lockwood Ash and Jackson Motor Company, Michigan, in restored condition, sold for $2,100.

A Schwinn Whizzer motorbike, with only 459 miles on the odometer, sold for $2,425, while an American Bicycle Company antique bicycle by Pope manufacturing company, sold for $2,450.

A bell marked "Buckeye Bell Foundry, Cincinnati Cast by G.W. Coffin Co.," was 24 inches in diameter and 19 inches tall. It rang a final bid of $2,850. Other bells sold included a bullet-riddled (with the inscription San Phelipe El Real Ano De 1817) Spanish American War-era bell that brought $2,200.

More than 15 aircraft propellers – primarily vintage wooden props – sold, at different sizes, for $500-$2,400. A PennyPack advertising gumball machine brought $525; an antique tabletop rotating advertising display sold for $550; and a “Pere Marquette” ship’s wheel and pedestal brought $1,950, while a “Pere Marquette 21” brass ship plate sold for $2,400.

A U.S. Lighthouse Service oil can sold for $2,100, while a ship’s binnacle (among many to sell) with a Sperry Gyroscope sold for $1,100.

Cole, whose company specializes in simulcast bidding, said both consigners and buyers were pleased with the sale. “I appreciate the confidence shown by the Bisacky Family in choosing Cole’s Auction Service to bring their collection to a worldwide audience.”

Cole said he has several more unique auctions scheduled for the next six months, adding that his website show calendar is constantly changing.

Professional auctioneers, in addition to Cole, were Kelly Merryman, Ashley Peters and Bud Hartwell.

Contact: (810) 397-3199

www.colesauctionservice.com