By Jeremy Walsh
How much for the memories of two notable 2008 failures? As of Tuesday afternoon, it is $1,420, if you ask the New York Mets.
AIG was taken over by the Federal Reserve last month after its financial products division, heavily invested in the mortgage−backed securities market and losing billions as the market slumped, threatened to drop the company into bankruptcy.
A few items are currently going for more than the AIG panel: A mounted photo of Jerry Koosman and Jerry Grote embracing during the triumphant 1969 World Series was bidding at $1,750, while the letter “S” from the “Shea Stadium” sign on the exterior was currently at $2,500.
The most hotly contested item up for auction appeared to be a menu board from a Midtown Express snack bar, which advertises $4.75 hot dogs and $8 beers. A user called onlinedan@earthlink.net was in the lead with a bid of $750 after he and three other people bid 20 times for the item, which opened at $120.