David Dale Koning, 74, of Monroe, Wisconsin, passed away on Thursday, October 19, 2023.
Dave was born in Sterling, IL on August 8, 1949, the oldest of 8 children born to Willard and Mildred (Longanecker) Koning. He helped on the family farm and enjoyed sports, especially wrestling and football. Dave graduated from Annawan High School in 1967 and was employed by Morton Buildings. He married his high school sweetheart, Rena Detwiler, on October 20, 1968 in Annawan, IL and were married for 55 years.
In 1969, Dave took advantage of an opening within Morton Buildings and relocated to southern Wisconsin. In 1974, with a young family, he graduated from Reisch Auction College and started his career in the auction industry. As a licensed auctioneer in WI and IL, Dave specialized in buying and selling farm equipment. He worked with many area auctioneers and established Koning Auction Service. As Dave and Rena’s four children became involved in 4-H, they began establishing a herd of Angus beef cattle which the family showed throughout the Midwest.
Dave had strong passions for the auction and cattle industries and became heavily involved in the WI Auctioneer’s Association, WI Cattlemen’s Association, Green County Beef Producers, Green and Dane County Fair 4-H/FFA youth auctions and the Green County Cheese auction. Dave and Rena managed the WI Cattlemen’s Steak Trailer for eleven years. Dave humbly accepted accolades for his leadership and volunteer service fostering the success of 4-H and FFA youth. He was an example of hard work and was the first individual to be awarded both the WI Auctioneers Association titles of Ringman of the Year (2007) and WI State Champion Auctioneer (2014). Through these honors Dave was invited to auctioneer at the WI State Fair FFA Foundation Cheese and Cured Meat Products Auctions. In 2022, he was awarded the WI State Fair Governor’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Association’s Friend of the Fair award.
Dave believed in the “conception to consumption” model of breeding, raising and serving high quality beef products to consumers which led him and Rena on several entrepreneurial adventures including Koning Meats and Deli and Koning Maple Lane Event Center. Dave’s dream for Koning Maple Lane Event Center was to provide a gathering space for families and community members to build friendships.
Family was very important to Dave. He especially loved the role of Grandpa and Great Grandpa. He proudly supported his four children and eleven grandchildren by attending their activities and encouraging them to “give 110%” to anything they do.
Dave will always be remembered for his powerful voice from the auction block, his support from the bleachers, his passion for auctions, his never-ending stories, and most of all, his love and pride for his continually growing family.
Survivors include his wife, Rena; children, Matt (Sue) Koning of Amboy, IL, Kris (Curt) Sticha of New Prague, MN, Robin (Matt) Cowden of Mt. Horeb, WI, and Brad (Becky) Koning of Madison, WI; grandchildren, Lea (William) Henert, Cassidy (Kolton) Myrvold, Lane Koning, Erin (Jerod) Novak, Sam Sticha, Sydney, Lydia, and Meredith Cowden, Gillian, Justice and Bentley Koning; great-grandchildren, Wilson and Roy Henert, Brantley Myrvold; siblings, Steve (Judy) Koning, Mark (Karen) Koning, Jim (Mary Ann) Koning, Danny (Lisa) Koning, Kathy (Trey) Barker, and Kevin (Monica) Koning; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Willard and Mildred Koning; brother, Joe (Cheri) Koning.
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History of Auctioneering
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The world’s most expensive Barbie was sold in an auction at Christie’s in New York, USA, on 20 October 2010, for a price of $302,500 (then approx. £192,000). The custom-designed doll stands 11.5 inches tall and wears a strapless black evening dress and a one-carat pink diamond necklace surrounded by three carats of white diamonds. All proceeds from the auction were donated to breast cancer research.
The doll, first unveiled on 4 May 2010, during Australian Fashion week, was designed by world-famous Australian jeweller Stefano Canturi, who has also made jewellery for the likes of Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey and Kylie Minogue. The designer was enlisted by Barbie manufacturer Mattel to help promote the launch of the Barbie Basics range in Australia, which features dolls wearing commonly available clothing.
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At Christie’s auction house in New York, USA, on 11 May 2015, Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti’s 1947 work L’homme au doigt (Pointing Man) was sold for $141 m (£98.9 m), the most ever paid for a bronze statue at auction. The 180-cm sculpture shows a man – tall and spindly (Giacometti’s trademark style) – with one arm extended in a pointing gesture. It is believed that the left arm was originally curled around a second figure, which Giacometti subsequently removed.
Created at short notice for an exhibition in New York in 1947, Giacometti reportedly made L’homme au doigt in a single night between midnight and 9 am. He produced a total of six casts of the piece, most of which are in museums around the world.
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The 25.59-carat “Sunrise Ruby”, set with diamonds in a ring made by Cartier, sold for 28,250,000 Swiss francs ($30,274,100; £19,552,200; €27,122,000), including commission, to an anonymous buyer at Sotheby’s auction house in Geneva, Switzerland, on 12 May 2015. This puts its per-carat price at an incredible 1,103,946 Swiss francs ($1,183,044; £764,009; €1,059,770).
The Sunrise Ruby originates from Myanmar. It is described as a “pigeon’s-blood ruby” – the rarest and most precious class of rubies, distinguished by its intense colour.
Its original auction estimate was between $12 million and $18 million. Its total sale price is also a record for a single ruby.
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The most expensive painting by the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt Van Rijn to be sold at auction is Portrait of a Man, Half-length, With his Arms Akimbo, sold at Christie’s in London, UK, on 8 December 2009, for £20 m ($28.5 m). The painting is oil on canvas and was produced in 1658. The winning bid was placed over the telephone by an anonymous customer, believed by industry insiders to be Las Vegas casino owner Stephen A Wynn.
The auction was part of a sale of Old Masters and 19th-century art that raised in excess of £68 m ($97 m).
The most expensive painting sold was Head of a Muse by Italian artist Raphael, which raised £29.2 m ($41.6 m).
Another painting, Saint John the Evangelist by Italian Baroque artist Domenichino, sold for £9.2 m ($13.1 m).
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A lithograph depicting Houdini’s famous Water Torture Cell escape, printed by Strobridge (USA) in 1914, was sold to David Copperfield (USA) for US$55,000 (£29,930), excluding buyers premium of 15%, by CRG Auctions in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA during the sale of the Sidney H. Radner Collection on 30 October 2004. The poster measures 1 x 2.79 m (3 ft 4.5 in x 9 ft 2 in). During an auction sale at Christies, London, UK, on on 25 May 2000, a lithograph printed by Dangerfield (UK) c.1912 of Houdini’s Water Torture Cellwas purchased by Norm Nielsen (USA) for £30,000 (US$44,669), excluding buyers premium of 17.5%. The poster measures 2.22 x 1m (7 ft 3.5 in x 3 ft 3.48 in) and is now housed in the Nielsen collection in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
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A rare, complete copy of John James Audubon’s Birds of America was sold for £7,321,250 ($11,365,000), including buyer’s premium, at Sotheby’s in London, UK, on 7 December 2010. The book contains 1,000 life-size illustrations of 435 birds drawn and printed by the Haitian-born American artist Audubon (1785–1851) between 1827 and 1838. The illustrations were originally sold a page at a time to collectors, and only 119 complete editions are known to exist. Prior to the auction, the book formed part of the collection of Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955).
At the time, this was the most expensive book sold at auction overall, extending its own record following another copy of Birds of America that was auctioned for $8,802,500 (£5,567,573) by Christie’s in New York City, USA, on 10 March 2000.
The book was purchased by Michael Tollemache, a London art dealer who was present in the room for the auction. Only 120 complete copies of this book are known to exist, of which a mere 13 are in private hands.
Currently, the most expensive book is the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first book ever printed in British North America. A copy sold at Sotheby’s in New York City, USA, on 26 November 2013 fetched $14,165,000, purchased by American businessman David Rubenstein. Just 1,700 copies were produced by the residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and there are thought to be only 11 surviving copies.
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The most expensive trainers (sneakers) sold at auction are a pair of Nike Air Jordan XIIIs, game-worn by Michael Jordan in 1998, which were sold for $2,200,000 (£1,700,000; €2,022,013) by Sotheby’s, on 11 April 2023.
The shoes were worn by Jordan in the second half of the Chicago Bulls game against Utah Jazz, in which Bulls went to win 93-88.
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Les femmes d’Alger (Version O) by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), oil on canvas, dated 14 February 1955, sold for $179.3 m (£115 m), including commission of just over 12%, at an auction held by Christie’s in New York, on 11 May 2015. The buyer, who bid by telephone, chose to remain anonymous. The painting is the last in a series of 15 paintings and drawings inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s 1834 Femmes d’Alger dans leur appartement.
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The highest auction price paid for a suit of armour was £;1,925,000 ($3,038,998) at Sotheby’s, London, UK on 5 May 1983. B. H. Trupin (USA) bought the armour, which was made in Milan, Italy by Giovanni Negroli (Italy) in 1545 for Henri II of France.
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