Video: World's Most Expensive Tractor Sells For $1,470,000 US Dollars
On April 21, 2022 Aumann Auctions, Inc. sold a 109 yr old Case Tractor for $1,470,000.00, breaking the world record price for an antique tractor. This price range might be common for the vintage car hobby, it but breaks the 2019 world record of $535,000, for the antique tractor hobby by almost triple. Ironically, that last record was also held by Aumann Auctions.
Kurt Aumann, auctioneer and owner of Aumann Auctions, says, “The 1913 Case 30-60 is one of only 5 known of the original 500 built to still exist and the first model of gasoline tractor built by the J. I. Case Company. The other 4 are tied up in private and museum collections and this one will be carefully delivered to a private collection in the North East.”
This particular piece of our American farm history weighs 25,800 lbs - just shy of 13 tons - and the rear wheels alone are 6 ft in diameter, giving you some idea why there are thousands of vintage car collectors for every one vintage tractor collector and why the survival rate of these massive relics of our past is so low.
J. I. Case Company is known as Case IH today, but in 1842 it was founded by Jerome Case building threshing machines and then became a leader in steam driven power. In the late 1800’s Case saw the new internal combustion engine would overtake steam power on the farm and in the early 1900’s started experimenting with gas engines. In 1910 Case released their first gas tractor, the Case 60, powered by a two cylinder, horizontal, 1,884 cubic inch gasoline engine rated at 60 hp.
In 1913 this huge tractor would have cost around $2,500 or about $71,721 today after adjusting for inflation. The world record breaking price of $1,470,000.00 was not just the highest antique tractor ever sold, but the most expensive of any modern tractor ever sold. For example, today a Case iH Quadtrac will run you about $600,000.00 USD.