Johnny Maenhout – 5 pigeons – 7,820 euro/pigeon
The auction day started with some very notable auctions, including first of all the sale of Johnny Maenhout's Vandenabeele collection. This was an exclusive group of birds, with for instance a renowned bird from Super Romeo x Mona (the dam of Gloria). It took an additional two hours to determine the winner, and the pigeon was eventually sold for 32,500 euro to a Chinese fancier. We also sold a number of youngsters. The 5 pigeons raised 39,100 euro in total, and they will be moving to China (3), Taiwan (1), and Belgium (1).
Stormont Lofts – 4 pigeons – 2,938 euro/pigeon
This was a smaller auction with four original Gaston van de Wouwer birds, sold from the UK. All four birds had been succesful breeders in the United Kingdom, and they are now offered for sale on PIPA. The most expensive pigeon is sale 1, a grandson of Kaasboer, which goes to China for 5,600 euro. The four pigeons raised 11,750 euro and will be moving to China (2), Romania (1) and the United Kingdom (1).
Sakis Minovgioudis – 7 pigeons – 8,271 euro/pigeon
Sakis Minovgioudis has had some highly successful auctions over the years as a satellite loft of Ludo Claessens, but this auction was quite exceptional, even to his standards: Sakis raised 57,900 euro for a group of unflown youngsters. The most expensive pigeon was of course sale 1, a youngster of Meeuwke 12, that goes to China for 28,500 euro. Sakis's pigeons and his old Ludo Claessens bloodlines have been fantastic in a number of One Loft Races, including China, and that explains why six out of seven birds are sold to Chinese fanciers. The other bird goes to Qatar.
Gert Noels – 8 pigeons – 1,213 euro/pigeon
Gert Noels has been a household name in Limburg and Belgium for quite a few years now. He offered for sale two old birds and six youngsters. The two old birds were the most expensive ones: sale 1 goes to China for 2,400 euro, sale 2 goes to Iran for 1,600 euro. Five young birds will stay in Belgium, the other young bird goes to China. The eight pigeons raised 9,700 euro in total.
Collectors Items – 40 pigeons – 1,986 euro/pigeon
PIPA hosts a Collector's Items auction about three times per year, selling pigeons with an exceptional pedigree that are increasingly rare to find. The two most expensive pigeons are not coincidentally two original Gaby Vandenabeele birds, which raise 7,000 euro each. The first of them is a son of Rambio II that goes to China, the other one is a daughter of Helena that moves to Taiwan. The 40 pigeons raised 79,425 euro together, and they are moving to China (12), Taiwan (8), Belgium (6), The Netherlands (5), Germany (4), Japan (3), Egypt (1), France (1), and the United Kingdom (1).
Rik Cools – 11 pigeons – 2,627 euro/pigeon
This was a very successful auction for Rik Cools, who sold 11 young birds from his best breeders in a fantastic auction, raising 28,900 euro in total. Sale 1, a daughter of Rex, and sale 11 (granddaughter Marieke) had the highest sale price: they were sold to China and Taiwan for 4,200 euro each. The other young birds were quite popular as well, resulting in an average sale price of 2,627 euro per young bird. The 11 pigeons were sold to three different countries: China (4), Taiwan (4) and Belgium (3).
Verweij De Haan – 16 pigeons - 1,331 euro/pigeon
Michel Verweij & Peter De Haan are one of the leading combinations in the extreme long distance in Europe. They have a close-knit pigeon breed closely related to Milos and Toon. They sold 16 young birds from their best breeding and racing birds, and the most expensive bird was a direct daughter of Milos, which was sold to a Belgian loft for 3,800 euro. The second most expensive pigeon is a youngster of their new super class bird Robben, which goes to Germany for 2,800 euro. The 16 youngsters raised 21,300 euro in total, and they are moving to The Netherlands (5), The Philippines (3), Germany (3), Belgium (1), France (1), the United Kingdom (1), Poland (1), and Romania (1).
Sky Chen – 14 pigeons – 1,471 euro/pigeon
Sky Chen is a Chinese pigeon fancier who regularly invests in top class birds, which are then temporarily used for breedings in Europe as well. For instance, he purchased such renowned birds as Chanel Nr. 5 of Veenstra and Magic 092 of Erik Limbourg in the past. The most expensive youngster in this auction stems from a joint breeding of Magic 092 and Miracle Eye of Freddy & Jacques Vandenheede; it goes to China for 5,200 euro. The 14 pigeons raised 20,600 euro in total, and they are moving to Taiwan (5), Thailand (2), The Netherlands (2), Poland (1), Canada (1), China (1), Denmark (1) and Croatia (1).
Performance Pigeon Auction – 16 pigeons – 2,606 euro/pigeon
A selection of racing birds mainly from Belgian top players was offered for sale. This is traditionally an auction that gets quite a number of bids from Chinese fanciers, and this auction was no exception: 14 out of 16 pigeons are moving to China, with the other two going to Italy and Taiwan. The most expensive bird was Son Victoire of Casaert-Senechal, which goes to China for 5,200 euro. The 16 pigeons raised 41,700 euro in total.