NOKOMIS, Ill. – A rare, antique tractor set a pair of world records at a recent online auction.
Aumann Auctions hosted its Pre-30 auction last month, offering bidders a chance at tractor engines and vehicles built before the 1930s. The prized lot being a 1913 Case 30-60.
The J.I. Case Company only built 500 of these tractors, its first attempt at a gas-powered vehicle. In 1913, the tractor was sold for approximately $2,500 ($72,600 adjusted for inflation). Today, only five are known to exist. The other four are currently in private collections.
On April 21, the Case 30-60 sold for a whopping $1.47 million, making it not only the most expensive antique tractor ever sold, but also the most expensive tractor sold in history. By comparison, the priciest modern tractor on the market today—the 16-V 747 Big Bud—retails for approximately $1.3 million.
The previous record for an antique tractor sold at auction belonged to a 1910 Marshall Colonial Class C Tractor. That vehicle went for $535,000 in April 2019.
The new owner of the Case 30-60, whose name was not disclosed, will have the tractor delivered to a private collection in the Northeast.
