Mecum Auctions achieves $578 million in total sales for 2021



(December 31, 2021) WALWORTH, Wis. — Mecum Auctions has reported resounding live auction success for calendar year 2021, resulting in $578 million in total sales with a 90 percent overall sell-through rate—the highest annual total ever achieved by a U.S. domestic-based live collector car auction company, and the highest total achieved in the entire industry this year on a global scale.

Reflecting on a year that seemed to fly by faster than a 1,000 HP purpose-built drag car speeding down the strip, Mecum pulled together a list of defining moments of 2021, which kicked off in record-setting fashion and became a year dominated by rapidly building momentum that was fueled by a seemingly endless list of unmatched accomplishments at every calendar turn.

The highlights

January 2021


    •    The world’s largest collector car auction in Kissimmee, Florida, combined with the offering of the Muscle Car City Museum collection that immediately followed, resulted in $141.2 million in sales, the highest total ever achieved in Mecum’s 34-year history

    •    Carroll Shelby’s personal 427 Cobra (CSX3178) sold in Kissimmee for $5.94 million, taking the crown as the most valuable 427 Cobra ever sold at public auction



March 2021

    •    Mecum’s Glendale, Arizona, auction grew in status to become a Top 5 auction on the Mecum live event calendar with a record-setting $42.3 million in sales at State Farm Stadium

    •    Mecum’s Gone Farmin’ Tractor division realized a 68% increase over the previous year’s Spring Classic auction by recording $8.4 million in sales with a 96% sell-through rate

April 2021

    •    The Houston auction achieved a 43% year-over-year increase in overall sales reaching $21 million in total

    •    1,214 motorcycles went up for auction during the world’s largest vintage and antique motorcycle auction in Las Vegas, and an astounding 95% sell-through rate was achieved with totals reaching more than $18 million



May 2021


    •    Dana Mecum’s 34th Original Spring Classic in Indianapolis reached $107.8 million in sales, a first-time achievement for the auction that is recognized for putting Mecum Auctions on the map back in 1988

    •    Mecum became the first company in the collector car auction industry to conduct two separate auctions to achieve more than $100 million in overall sales in the same year (Kissimmee and Indy)

    •    “Big Oly,” the most famous Ford Bronco of them all, sold for $1.87 million to become the most valuable SUV ever sold at public auction

June 2021

    •    Mecum took over Tulsa, Oklahoma, and tallied up $21.2 million in sales, nearly doubling expectations for the inaugural event

July 2021


    •    Mecum’s Summer Special moved south to Orlando, and like Tulsa, total sales reached nearly twice what was anticipated with $35 million achieved



August 2021


    •    Overall sales at Mecum’s Monterey, Calif., auction climbed to $57.4 million with 80% of all cars sold, marking the most successful “Daytime Auction” since its inception back in 2009
October 2021

    •    For the first time in Mecum history, the company successfully executed three full-scale auctions in as many weeks, tallying more than $60 million in sales from Las Vegas, Chicago and a first-time event in Chattanooga, Tenn.

    •    Mecum and MotorTrend announced a multiyear strategic partnership to deliver exclusive, live coverage of Mecum Auctions on MotorTrend+ and MotorTrend TV, beginning in January 2022

November 2021

    •    Mecum held its first Gone Farmin’ tractor auction at the all-new Bend XPO in East Moline, Illinois, recording a 136% increase in total hammer sales over the previous year’s Fall Premier with a remarkable 95% sell-through rate

December 2021

    •    Mecum closed out the year by setting an all-time sales record in Kansas City, Mo,, with total sales reaching $19.2 million, far exceeding the previous Kansas City high mark of $13 million

With such a heady list of record-setting achievements and sales figures, 2021 will go down in the history books as Mecum Auctions most successful calendar year to date with overall sales of $578 million, but the accomplishments extend far beyond any traditional means of measurement.

At each event and with each highlight recorded, the countless people and cars involved all added another element of history-making intrigue to their own personal tales of triumphs and success, ultimately creating an unparalleled roster chock-full of historic moments fostered by a company that is thriving like never before and with no indication of slowing down anytime soon. Mecum is now prepared to welcome in 2022 in Kissimmee, Fla., Jan. 6-16 with every intention of outdoing itself once again.