Mecum Auctions will let you buy that collector car with cryptocurrency

Mecum has just become the first collector car auction house in the world to add cryptocurrency as a payment option. The firm that calls itself the world’s largest collector car company has partnered with BitPay, a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment service, for in-person purchase settlements.

“We’ve already had one buyer do an immediate transfer from his crypto wallet,” said Mecum Auctions Chief Operating Officer Sam Murtagh on the first day of the company’s flagship mid-May Indianapolis auction, which will see 2,200 collector vehicles cross the block. “More and more people are using cryptocurrency every day. It’s a lot bigger than people might think.”

He says this payment option will help Mecum attract new customers and sales by opening doors to the massive crypto marketplace. “Registered bidders will have the option to pay with cryptocurrency and, perhaps more importantly, online bidders will now have the convenience of an end-to-end digital experience from the comfort of home.”

Murtagh says the speed to transact with cryptocurrency eliminates the time to set up a money transfer, with many financial institutions closed on weekends when the auctions are running. “It’s borderless and makes for a smoother process overall. The future opportunities are endless.”

BitPay CEO Stephen Pair believes this opens the door to the future. “Mecum Auctions realizes the potential for crypto to revolutionize the collector car auction industry, making payments faster, more secure and less expensive on a global scale. Our goal is to make accepting crypto a seamless process and to increase adoption as crypto is the future of payments.”

More and more people are using cryptocurrency every day. It’s a lot bigger than people might think.

Mecum has been running auctions throughout the United States since 1988. COO Murtagh says the auctions have been back in full force since last July, with social distancing and masking requirements in effect. But the pandemic opened the company’s eyes to providing more services to enhance all auction experiences digitally, and the cryptocurrency payment option is part of that.

“The market for classic cars is on fire,” he says. “Sell-through rates that were 65 to 75 per cent are now 85 to 90 per cent, with prices super-strong.”

He says the auctions attract a huge international audience, but travel is difficult. Offering enhanced digital experiences for internet and telephone bidding helps the buying process.

Top attractions at the 2021 Indy event include a 1936 Duesenberg, the last of the company’s 487 Model Js to leave the assembly line, and indeed the last complete car ever ordered from and sold by Duesenberg while it was in operation.

The Rollston-bodied Model J special berline convertible was built for Coca-Cola president Conkey Whitehead. It is expected to bring between US$3.5 million and US$4 million.


A 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertible, auctioned at Mecum’s 2021 Indy event

Mecum Auctions

Another collector car that will bring big money is one of only 12 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles built in 1971. It is anticipated to attract bids up to US$6.5 million.

The auction at the Indiana State Fairground in Indianapolis runs through to May 22.