TubularBills said:
That is very interesting find. Shows that, in 2009, collectors were willing to overlook any suspicions about Armstrong and Livestrong Foundation
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/armstrongs-damien-hirst-bike-fetches-half-million-65240
Bono, the lead singer of Irish band U2, had approached Hirst to create the bike for Armstrong
Bono, of all people? One of the least-athletic celebrities circa 2009, so I would not have guessed there is any association between them. I had no idea that this butterfly bike ever existed.
A lot of the prices realized in that list has to do with: the sale being a charity fundraiser for Livestrong, and with the trendiness of artists like Damien Hirst, Yoshimoto Nara, KAWS. These bikes were bad investments, and have to be seen as a give-away to the 'charity' for unique artworks, not sports memorabilia per se
How about what purists would call 'real' cycling memorabilia, sold at 'real auctions', what was the highest price ever paid at auction for historic bikes, jerseys, etc. ???
Probably not very much for the clothing, if a Merckx yellow jersey sold for £4,200
http://www.thebikecomesfirst.com/eddy-merckx-jersey-sells-for-4200-at-auction/
Historic bikes might be worth a lot