Gold Slot Machine, Monopoly Board to Go Under the Hammer

A 24-karat gold slot machine and a gem-set monopoly board are among 60 lots Bonhams will offer at a single-owner online auction.

The June 9 to 20 sale of items from the estate of American artist, jeweler and philanthropist Sidney Mobell includes his elaborate creations and his personal items, the auction house said recently. Mobell, who died in 2022 at 96, owned Mobell Jewelry. His two boutiques in San Francisco were frequented by Hollywood celebrities and well-known politicians.

The top lot in the auction is a 24-karat gold, gold-plated, gem and diamond slot machine, circa 1981. Mobell redecorated a 1925 Art Deco slot machine with gold, adding more than 600 sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds of different shapes and finishes. It’s accompanied by gold-plated American Liberty Head coins and carries an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

Sidney Mobell. (PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo)

Another important lot is a Sidney Mobell 23-karat gold-plated and gem-set Monopoly game. The game includes the board, dice, tokens, cards, hotels, houses, dice cup and play money printed in metallic paper. Mobell was commissioned by Parker Brothers — now Hasbro Corporation — to create an actual-size Monopoly game. The original set included 165 gemstones, and its dice and tokens were made with 18-karat gold. In 1998, Guinness World Records deemed that version the world’s most expensive Monopoly game. The set Bonhams is auctioning is expected to fetch $3,000 to $5,000.

“The collection is not only playful, with jewel-encrusted everyday objects, it also encompasses some fine jewelry, much of which belonged to Mobell’s wife, Ronni Grant Mobell,” said Emily Waterfall, the director of Bonhams Jewelry Department, based in Los Angeles.

Other highlights of the sale include:

A platinum and diamond ring centered with a cut-cornered rectangular step-cut, 1.97-carat diamond, surrounded by 26 tapered baguette diamonds, with a price range of $7,000 to $10,000.

A 14-karat bicolored gold mousetrap, circa 1975, with moving parts and a white gold cheese wedge set with 60 round diamonds, is predicted to realize up to $7,000.

A Sidney Mobell 24-karat gold plated, gem-set and diamond gumball machine, circa 1984, covered in diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and amethysts. Its presale estimate is $3,000 to $5,000.

A Sidney Mobell 18-karat bicolored gold loupe with round diamonds weighing 4.35 carats with an upper price of $2,500.

A Sidney Mobell 18-karat gold and diamond hourglass necklace with diamonds that sift through the glass, which became one of his signature jewels, which is expected to achieve $1,000 to $1,500.

Main image: The 24-karat gold slot machine. (Bonhams)