2024 Holiday Highlights: Santa Claus Sale Results

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and rocking around the Christmas tree seems to be on everyone’s mind as the calendar page turns to December. Christmas-related vintage to antique treasures, especially those incorporating Santa Claus in some form, continue to capture the hearts, minds, and pocketbooks of enthusiasts regardless of the time of year. Broad cross-category appeal– incorporating doll, toy, holiday, figurines, and childhood collecting interest–- helps keep these rarities in demand. With a nod to Auction Daily’s tradition of recognizing super Santa results over the years, here are five amazing auction results from 2024 that will have you feeling the holiday love. All sale prices noted include the auction house’s buyer’s premium.

Santa Claus Chocolate Mold

An Anton Reiche showpiece Santa Claus chocolate mold was estimated at USD 500 to $700 and sold for $18,750 at Leonard Auction of Addison, IL’s March 2024 Online Auction. This fully dimensional Santa figure was hallmarked and stamped #11166. The mold measured 31.5 inches by 11 inches by eight inches overall, with separate head, arm, and cage components. Santa wore his traditional garb including an oversized, fur-trimmed hat and coat, big boots, and a thick belt.

Chocolate molds came into fashion in the 19th century, when the proper proportions of ingredients that go into solid chocolate candy were finally established. Before then, most chocolate was consumed as a liquid. Friedrich Anton Reiche began producing candy molds in 1888 in Dresden, Germany. In the early 20th century, the company employed about 2,000 workers and became known for its nickel-coated sheet metal molds. These were produced in a spectrum of sizes and novel forms. At the height of its business, the company’s catalog contained nearly 50,000 different products. 

Santa Claus Hatpin Holder

A Santa Claus hatpin holder was estimated at $1,500 to $2,000 and made $9,600 at Woody Auction LLC of Douglass, KS’ August 23, 2024 sale. This 4.25-inch tall example was marked with a Royal Bayreuth blue mark. This flat-bottomed rarity featured a Santa donned in a brown, fur-trimmed coat and hat. He carried a large green sack of holiday goodies on his back.

Hatpin holders were common during the Victorian era and were designed to store and display hatpins. These fashion accessories were long, narrow, and spear-shaped. They were usually made from metal, glass, bone, or clay. They helped to secure large headgear to the wearer’s noggin. Hatpin holders usually featured a surface punctuated with skinny openings to protect the pins and a wide base for stability. It is easy to see how this Santa example is the perfect form for this design! Germany’s Royal Bayreuth, known for its quality porcelain production, was founded in 1794 and ceased operations in 2019.

Self-Walking Santa Claus Toy

A self-walking Santa Claus toy was estimated at $2,500 to $3,000 and delivered $2,750 at the RSL Auction Company of Whitehouse Station, NJ’s June 29, 2024 sale. This eight-inch tall toy was produced in the 1880s by the Ives, Blakeslee Company of Bridgeport, CT. Santa was made from cast iron with his hood, shoes, and facial detailing integral to his form. His red and white coat was made from soft plush fabric.

The Ives company produced well-engineered playthings from 1868 through the 1930s. Its production was mainly focused on toys for boys and featured cast iron cars, trains, and other tinplate vehicles and figures. The Santa under discussion here was part of a series of nine key-wound, gear-activated self-walking figures produced by Ives; others in the collection included Charlie Chaplin, a man in a blue coat and red trousers, and an anthropomorphic donkey. Ives was granted a patent for the mechanism behind these walking dolls in 1875.

Carved Wooden Santa Claus 

An early 20th-century carved wooden Santa Claus was estimated at $300 to $500 and made $2,880 at Bray and Company Auctions of Portsmouth, NH’s September 21, 2024 sale. This delightful unsigned piece, perhaps designed as a store display item, measured 25 inches tall and was made with great attention to detail. The smiling Santa carried a sack full of toys, including a soldier doll, Teddy bear, and play ball. He held his hand out at an angle– suggesting he was designed to hold a banner, bag, or other display item.

Santa and Christmas have been associated with each other in the United States since the 1840s, with the retailer F.A.O. Schwarz introducing the first live in-store Santa in 1875. Although the date and maker of this fantastic carved wooden Santa are not known, it is most likely that he was produced after 1931. It was that year that Coca-Cola introduced its happy, rounded, smiling Santa to the world. Before then, Santa was usually not presented in such an accessible, friendly way; he more often appeared as a grumpy, serious, or scary older man.

Steiff St. Nicholas Doll

A rare sample of Steiff’s felt St. Nicholas doll from 1912 had an opening bid of EUR 850 and made $14,325 at Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH’s November 2024 Steiff Archive Auction. This exceptional doll, seldom seen outside of elite collections or museums, stood 50 cm tall, was fully jointed, and wore a brown felt coat trimmed in brown tipped mohair, felt pants and slippers, and a chocolate brown mohair hat. His coat closed with a cord belt. His face came to life with Steiff’s traditional center seam construction, blue and black glass pupil eyes, a gray mohair inset wig, and a long, inset gray beard and mustache.

Although St. Nicholas is technically not Santa Claus, the legend of everyone’s favorite big guy in red is based on this Christian bishop from the fourth century. St. Nicholas was beloved for his benevolence and philanthropy, especially toward sick and poor members of the community. He was also the patron saint of children. St. Nicholas was featured in the legacy German children’s book Der Struwwelpeter (Shockheaded Peter) which was written and illustrated by Heinrich Hoffmann in 1845. Steiff created many character dolls based on Hoffmann’s book in the early 1900s; others in the series included a hunter doll and a young boy doll with long blonde hair and leather fingernails.

Feeling nostalgic about past Santa sales? Check out this amazing Christmas event from 2023.