Heavyweights Show Up at Scale Auction

Call it a whale of a scale sale.

“It’s the largest auction of antique scales the world has ever seen. Nothing before has ever come close,” said Bob Stein, 70, who flew in from Chicago.

More than 3,000 scales up for bid came from one collection, the largest ever assembled by one person, according to Stein. He should know. He’s the founder and president of the 375-member International Society of Antique Scale Collectors.

More than 200 scale collectors, scale restorers, scale dealers and others interested in the scales came from all over the United States to attend the auction Saturday and Sunday in a huge warehouse in Corona.

On the auction block were egg scales, people scales, letter scales, jockey scales, penny scales that play tunes and tell fortunes, coffee and tea scales, pharmaceutical, hardware and grocery store scales and dozens of other kinds of antique scales--all from the collection of Jon S. Hellman, former Denver millionaire.

“I was a scaleaholic. I bought every antique scale I could lay my hands on. It became an obsession. But then my whole world fell apart,” Hellman glumly explained as auctioneer Bernie Bishop sold scale after scale.

Hellman made his fortune in real estate--town houses, condominiums, shopping centers and office buildings. Then the market crashed and he went broke.

“I had assests worth $35 million, a net worth of $17 million. Then the roof fell in. Everything was taken from me except my scale collection,” he said.

He began collecting scales when he was “on top of the world. It was a hobby. Scales had a lot of meaning for me because I saw a balance in everything. Now things are out of balance not only for me but for a lot of Americans. I hate to see my collection dissipated, but I needed the money.”

Hellmann actually sold his collection three months ago to Corona businessman Tom Barnes, who set up the auction.

Barnes had hoped the scales would sell for at least $400,000. He declined to say Sunday how much he took in.

The scales originally were purchased by Hellman for as little as $5--for hand-held spring balance scales--to as much as $3,500 for turn-of-the-century Normandy chime scales that play music when a person is weighed. The oldest scale in his collection is an 1840 Even Arm hand-forged balance scale.

“That man (Hellman) bought scales all over the country, all over the world. I personally sold him about $20,000 worth of antique scales,” said Gerald Meade, a retired deputy with the Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures. Meade has a collection of 850 antique coin scales.

Steve Pletcher, a hotel manager, flew in from Boston “just to see this many scales in one location and to spend $1,000 adding to my collection.”

Members of the International Society of Antique Scale Collectors are found in 16 nations, said Stein, who owns 519 antique postal scales. Fifty-five of the organization’s 265 U.S. members live in California.

California collectors at the auction included Dr. Michael Lauermann, who lives in Huntington Beach and practices in Long Beach. He said he has 200 scales and has been collecting for 10 years. He spent $650 to buy two scales made in the 1890s. “That’s it,” he laughed. “If I buy any more I may lose my wife.”