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Finds and Interests
Our WorthPoint Price Guide updates daily, with thousands of new items streaming in from our Industry Partners. I like to try to single out a few of my favorites to share with our followers. There’s usually a good story behind so many of these pieces, and sharing my passion for antique and vintage items is the best part of my job. Recently, two of our Industry Partners featured lots with precious items from the film classic, The Wizard of Oz. Hats, and shoes, and a torch, oh my! Items from this iconic Hollywood treasure are highly valued and consistently generate excitement in the auction world.
On December 10, 2025, Julien’s Auctions held their Hollywood Legends and Classic Hollywood sale. One of the standout items in this sale was a torch, used in the filming of the movie. It was a wall torch consisting of four pieces, including an original metal wall bracket in a pattern resembling scrolls, a long wooden pole, a U-shaped bracket, and a metal basket with prongs to hold a flame. The torches feature in scenes of the Wicked Witch’s castle. Indeed, she lights her broom to attack “Scarecrow” from the flame of one of the torches, and that is when Dorothy kills her by throwing a bucket of water, which kills the witch.
Another of our valued Industry Partners, Heritage Auctions, recently dropped the hammer on a special item from The Wizard of Oz with the sale of the black witch hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in the film. With some fast and furious bidding, the hat sold for $575,000. Heritage has a history of valuing and auctioning special items from the iconic film classic. In addition to this hat, they sold another Wicked Witch hat last year, which included a scarf on the back that fluttered in the wind in scenes where the witch was flying. That 2024 auction also included the sale of a recovered pair of the “Ruby Slippers” for an over-the-rainbow price of $32,500,000.
The film will always be an American classic, so whenever items from it come up for auction, collectors and film buffs will fly like the witch’s monkeys to find something to add to their treasures.