Collector Network
APRIL 2026
PUBLISHER
LETTERS
NEWS
HEIST
MARBLES
FIREARMS
RAGO
AUCTIONS
SHOWS
SHOPS
ROCK
CLASSIFIEDS
COVER STORY
Monterey Specialist Launches Industry-Wide Dragnet
Her U-Haul truck was stolen from a Long Beach sidewalk in under a minute. It was filled with almost a quarter-million in rare Monterey furniture, art pottery, California tile tables, and fine art.
$200K+ Stolen
90+ Items Missing
$10K Reward
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COVER PHOTO
Khobe DeLucca seated on antique Monterey desk with drawers and iron hardware
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Why This Story
And not so many others like it
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PUBLISHER PHOTO
Frank!, Publisher of Collector Network
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Several months ago I ran two stories, almost back to back, about collectors who were selling off their collections. The first involved a gentleman who had built a substantial collection of paper crate labels—orange crate labels and others—and had become a well-known pioneer in that particular field. When he decided to sell, I jumped on the story and it became a cover. Shortly after, a woman sold off her collection of Max Factor-related collectibles. I had never done a story on Max Factor, but I found the novelty compelling, and she provided excellent photographs. That one became a cover as well.
The response to those two stories was an avalanche. Calls came in from collectors across the board wanting me to do similar pieces about their collections. I declined, and for good reason. If someone wants to sell a collection, the appropriate vehicle is an advertisement or a classified listing.
As a general rule, I don’t cover local crime. That isn’t because crime doesn’t occur within the collecting world—it does, with some regularity—but because I have no interest in casting a shadow over an industry I serve.
The story of Khobe DeLucca is an exception. I have known Khobe for several years, having first noticed her work at Urban Americana in Long Beach. When I learned that the truck carrying her unsold inventory had been stolen—a loss approaching a quarter million dollars—I felt this story warranted an exception for two reasons. First, Khobe has a clearly defined specialty. She is, in my view, the “Monterey Girl of California.” Second, I was genuinely impressed by how she handled the situation. She documented her losses thoroughly, posted her items on Facebook, and sent me a detailed PDF with photographs and descriptions of every stolen piece.
That is why I ran this story. It is not an invitation.
Frank!
LETTERS
Readers Write Back
Those Comic Book Ads Were Pure Magic
Your article on the ads in the back of comic books hit me right in the childhood. I spent every dime of my allowance on Sea-Monkeys, X-Ray Specs, and a seven-foot submarine that turned out to be a cardboard box with a periscope made of mirrors. The disappointment was crushing—and also kind of the point.
— Gerald Hutchins, Tucson, Arizona
Superman at Nine Million? The Market Has Lost Its Mind
I read your piece on the Superman #1 selling for $9,120,000 at Heritage and I have to ask: has the comic book market completely lost touch with reality?
— Phil Andreason, Scottsdale, Arizona
Bill Harry and the Beatles—A Story That Needed Telling
The detail about Lennon’s first published essay—payment being coffee, toast, and jam, with the jam costing a penny extra—is the kind of thing that makes history feel alive.
— Margaret Finlay, Liverpool, England
Dan Matthews Is the Kind of Auctioneer We Need More Of
His approach to the chant—just counting cleanly without the extra patter—says a lot about the man. No flash, just competence.
— Dorothy Stanek, Champaign, Illinois
NEWS BRIEFS
Fine Art, Music Memorabilia, Numismatics
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Rembrandt, Young Lion Resting, chalk-and-wash drawing
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FINE ART
Rembrandt Lion Drawing Sets $18 Million Record
Young Lion Resting, believed made from a live subject around 1638–43, sold for $18 million at Sotheby’s New York, setting an auction record for the artist’s works on paper—nearly five times the previous mark. Proceeds benefit Panthera, a wild cat conservation charity.
FINE ART
Michelangelo Foot Study Surfaces in California
A newly discovered red chalk study of the Libyan Sibyl’s foot, owned by a Northern California family since the 1700s, headed to auction with a $2 million estimate. Only about ten Michelangelo drawings remain in private hands.
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Jerry Garcia performing, for handwritten lyrics story
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MUSIC MEMORABILIA
Prince, Beatles, Who Lead RR Auction
A Prince screen-worn outfit led at $36,598. A signed Who Live at Leeds with all twelve inserts brought $31,316. Garcia’s handwritten lyrics to “The Maker” brought $20,870.
NUMISMATICS
1804 Dollar Heads to Heritage FUN Sale
The Adams-Carter 1804 silver dollar, graded PR58 by PCGS, headed to Heritage’s FUN sale in Orlando. Last sold in 2009 for $2.3 million.
COVER STORY
After Quarter-Million Dollar Heist, Monterey Dealer Khobe DeLucca Launches Dragnet
$200,000 in antiques stolen in U-Haul theft after LA Pottery Show
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PORTRAIT
Khobe DeLucca seated at table with turquoise mugs
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A 15-foot U-Haul box truck packed with more than $200,000 in antiques, art pottery, California tile tables, Monterey furniture, and fine art vanished from a Long Beach sidewalk on a Tuesday afternoon. The truck had been parked directly in front of dealer Khobe DeLucca’s home, loaded with inventory fresh from the Los Angeles Pottery Show.
Within one minute—captured on a home security camera between 10:33 and 10:34 a.m.—the vehicle was gone.
“At first, I assumed my partner had moved it to another parking space,” DeLucca said. “He had the keys in his pocket. That’s the moment I realized it was gone.”
DeLucca posted to Instagram and a neighborhood Facebook group, offering a $10,000 cash reward. The truck was found the next day in Compton with the motor still running. Roughly 20 items were recovered—the largest, heaviest pieces. Still missing are more than 90 items valued at over $103,000.
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FULL-WIDTH PHOTO
DeLucca’s complete 1929 Monterey room setting recreation at the Los Angeles Pottery Show — Buckaroo Couch, cabinet, wing chair, bench, tile tables
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Complete 1929 Monterey Room Setting at LA Pottery Show
DeLucca assembled every piece from a 1929 Hollywood Daily Citizen advertisement. The sofa (Buckaroo Couch) was $75.50 in 1929, now $8,000. The cabinet, originally $45, is now $7,800. The wing chair: $53.50 then, $4,600 now.
1929 Will Rogers Desk at Santa Barbara
A 1929 Monterey desk in Spanish red finish, priced at $12,000. Known as the Will Rogers desk because Rogers owned one at his Pacific Palisades ranch.
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California tile tables with iron bases (stolen)
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Early Monterey Monk Chairs, pair (stolen)
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Juan Duran Tinoco paintings (stolen)
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Malibu 24-tile table with ornate iron base (stolen)
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Contact: Khobe DeLucca, khobe@studiodelucca.com, 562-606-6309. Reward available, no questions asked.
MARBLES
Morphy’s Premier Marbles Sale: Onionskins, Pink Lutz, Peltier Box Sets
478 lots, April 11, online-only
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Shrunken core onionskin with blizzard mica, Lot 1221, est. $20K–$30K
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Deep four-lobed onionskin, Lot 1013, est. $18K–$25K
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A shrunken core onionskin marble with floating blizzard mica (lot 1221), estimated at $20,000–$30,000, leads Morphy Auctions’ Premier Marbles sale. The auction presents 478 lots spanning 19th-century German handmade marbles, Lutz varieties, sulphides, china marbles, and American machine-made examples.
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Pink Lutz marble, Lot 1034, est. $20K–$25K
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Pink Lutz Marbles
A pink Lutz marble (lot 1034) and a pink base banded Lutz (lot 1140) are each estimated at $20,000–$25,000. The sale includes more than 60 additional Lutz lots.
Peltier Box Sets
A Peltier Indian box set No. 228 (lot 1377) is estimated at $8,000–$10,000. The sale also includes Peltier comic marble sets and individual examples including Golden Rebel, Superman, and Blue Galaxy marbles.
FIREARMS
New Law Opens Door to Military Surplus Shotguns for Civilian Collectors
Morphy’s: 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War sale, May 12–14
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MORPHY AUCTIONS AD
Purdey shotguns and engraved Revolutionary War powder horn of Benjamin Wille, 1777
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A provision in the FY2026 NDAA will allow the Civilian Marksmanship Program to sell surplus military pump-action shotguns to civilians for the first time in the program’s 123-year history. The military’s long history with Winchester, Remington, Ithaca, and Mossberg pump guns suggests the inventory could hold items of collectible interest.
On the Morphy’s auction calendar, a major sale timed to the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War is scheduled for May 12–14.
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Collectors Armoury, Culver City — Pre-1899 guns, swords, armour
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A segment on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow revisited an engraved Sharps pistol rifle connected to Thomas Leaper Kane. Standard value: $10,000. With documented provenance: approximately $30,000.
GUEST EDITORIAL
David Rago Advocates “Social Investment”
55 years in American ceramics, Antiques Roadshow since 1996
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PORTRAIT
David Rago holding a Grueby Pottery Kendrick vase at the LA Pottery Show
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David Rago has been in the American ceramics market for 55 years. He began dealing at the age of seventeen, has authored several titles, and has appeared on The Antiques Roadshow since its inception in 1996.
A White Glove Sale
He cited a July sale of just 22 pieces: aggregate low estimate $400,000, totaled just under $1.1 million. 100 percent sold.
The Social Investment
“Most of my best friends are people I met through the business. I realized after a few decades: I’m in the relationship business.”
The Farm Stand Education
Rago grew up on a tomato farm in New Jersey, run by his Italian immigrant grandparents. “I had a product people wanted, and they gave you cash for it. Those things haven’t changed.”
AUCTION BRIEFS
Headline Prices Realized
$38.5M
White Ferrari 250 GTOMECUM
$14.5M
Gilmour black StratCHRISTIE’S
$12.1M
Kerouac scrollCHRISTIE’S
$11.5M
Garcia TigerCHRISTIE’S
$6.9M
Cobain MustangCHRISTIE’S
$6.4M
Rothschild MahzorSOTHEBY’S
$3.2M
Lennon pianoCHRISTIE’S
$3.1M
Frazetta VampirellaHERITAGE
$2.9M
Ringo drumheadCHRISTIE’S
$2.3M
Detective #27HERITAGE
$788K
Bob Ross (record)BONHAMS
$317K
$10K Fed NoteHERITAGE
UPCOMING SHOWS
West Coast Events Calendar
APR 24–25
Three Speckled Hens
Paso Robles, 150+ vendors
MAY 3
Redo Vintage Market
Dana Point, 200+ vendors, free
MAY 3
Cayucos Antique Street Faire
Ocean Ave, 100 dealers, free
MAY 7–9
Grass Valley Old West
Nevada County, 120 dealers
MAY 9–10
L.A. Postcards & Paper
Arcadia, 30+ dealers, free
MAY 16
Behind the Picket Fence
Heritage Museum, OC, 75 vendors
MAY 23
Flying Miz Daisy
Solvang, 60+ vendors
JUL 24–25
Rose City Vintage Market
Portland Expo, 150 outdoor spaces
ONGOING
Silver Lake Flea (New Location)
Atwater Village, Sat 9–3 Sun 10–4
MALL REPORT
New Openings & Profiles
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Maggie Danise, co-developer of SoCal Antiques, Carlsbad
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CARLSBAD
New 45–50 Dealer Mall Opening May 1
SoCal Antiques at 6118 Paseo del Norte. 6,000 sq ft. Contact: 760-529-3718.
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Nathan Piliero, 26, co-owner, with late-1800s photo album
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CORONA
Corona Antique Gallery Reopens
80 W. Grand Blvd, 3,700 sq ft, 30–40 dealers. (951) 272-0909.
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Steve Molina of Groovy Ghost Vintage holding Coolio CD
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ORANGE
Groovy Ghost: Boomers Through Zoomers
Physical media shop on the Orange Plaza. 8-tracks to digital, generation by generation.
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Myrna Mendoza, Le Cordon Bleu chef and mall administrator
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OCEANSIDE
Cordon Bleu Chef Runs Antiques Mall
Four years at the Louvre, three at Le Cordon Bleu, now running Oceanside Antiques.
HILLCREST
CASA Vintage Opens in San Diego
1735 University Ave, opening May 1–15. Melanie Fantus. (760) 331-4066.
ENCINITAS
Western Dealer & Ecuadorian Specialist Expand
Horse Feathers, Petit Chateau, and French-themed booth by Rebekah Cunningham.
CLASSIC ROCK
Auctions, Deaths, Touring, Film
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John Lennon at Broadwood piano, Sgt. Pepper sessions
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AUCTIONS
Lennon’s Sgt. Pepper Piano: $3.2 Million
Estimated $400K–$600K; realized $3,247,000. Also: Gilmour Strat $14.5M, Garcia Tiger $11.5M, Cobain Mustang $6.9M, Clapton’s The Fool $3M.
DEATHS
Country Joe McDonald, 84
Co-founded Country Joe and the Fish. Performed before half a million at Woodstock.
TOURING
Eagles Sphere Passes 50 Shows
Longest-running Sphere concert. Bonnie Raitt extends tour. Billy Joel at Carnegie Hall tribute.
INDUSTRY
Live Nation Antitrust Settlement
Pay up to $280 million. Internal Slack messages mocking customers over pricing.
CLASSIFIEDS
Marketplace
$35/25 words · $200/year · Deadline: the 10th
COINS
Wanted: Coin Collections. Pre-1965. 1 (951) 672-3099, R.C. Conway.
COMICS
Buying Comic Books, Animation Cels, Original Art. TOP DOLLAR. 310-717-7164.
FURNITURE
Full at Ken’s. Clocks, pianos, armoires. 1910 White, La Verne, (909) 593-1846.
ARCADE
Vintage arcade, pinball, slots, jukeboxes, gas pumps, signs. (562) 544-5430.
MARBLES
German Swirls, Akro, Pelt, Christensen. 1 (951) 672-3099.
RECORDS
1950s–80s LPs & 45s. Jazz, Soul, Funk, Blues, Rock. #619-846-8939.
EPHEMERA
Postcards, movie stills, props. Ralph, (619) 508-3299.
SILVER
Coin silver spoons 1700–1850. McHale (213) 507-3906.
WATCHES
Largest selection in San Diego. Rolex, Cartier, Patek. Paul, 619-927-2143.
HAWAIIANA
Buying Tiki memorabilia. (415) 341-5618.
ESTATE SALES
Hoarder to High End. 562-221-3305 Michelle.
DEALER SPACE
Old Barn, San Juan Capistrano. Rheanna @949-493-9144.
ADVERTISER DIRECTORY
Shops & Services
Urban Americana
Long Beach, 50+ vendors
562-494-7300
Kurtz St Vintage
San Diego, 175+ shops
619-291-3000
The Mart
San Diego, 150+ shops
619-821-8700
Stars Antique
Hermosa Beach, #1
310-318-2800
George’s
Fullerton, est. 1967
(714) 871-4347
Orange Circle
Orange, 125+ shops
(714) 538-8160
Old Barn
San Juan Capistrano
949-493-9144
Granny’s Attic
Temecula, 200 shops
(951) 699-9449
Morphy Auctions
Denver PA & Las Vegas
877-968-8880
Artemis Fine Arts
Louisville CO
720-890-7700
SUBSCRIBE
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Contact
Frank! Publisher · Christie Reed Managing Editor
Box 8367, La Verne, CA 91750 · (310) 849-4257
collectormagazine@gmail.com
© 2026 Collector Network · collectormagazine@gmail.com · (310) 849-4257