Birmingham-Southern selling statues, furniture and more in online auction
Have you ever wanted to buy the Vulcan statue that sits on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College?
It could be yours, starting at $2,850.
Or, how about a complete set of yearbooks between 1919 and 2017, starting at $465?
Hanna Estate Services is hosting a 10-day online auction and estate sale for the private liberal arts college that closed last month after years of financial troubles.
The auction continues through Sunday at 9 p.m.
It features 28 items of memorabilia, including the BSC letter sign starting at $750, the Rowdy mascot costume starting at $1,000 and a college trophy from 1938 starting at $50. The auction is affiliated with the antiques mall Hanna Antiques.
There is also an online estate sale that includes dozens more items from the Birmingham-Southern campus, such as paintings by former art professor Raymond MacMahon, sousaphones, oak library tables, sofas, audio equipment, Adirondack chairs, and vintage cheerleader uniforms.
Prices for the estate sale will go live on Friday at 7 p.m. and ends Sunday at 11 p.m., according to the estate website.
Meanwhile, it’s still unclear what will happen to the college’s other assets – particularly, its campus.
Alabama A&M University officials have said they will soon make a second offer to buy the campus after making an initial $52 million offer in May. Birmingham TV station WBRC reported that Miles College in Fairfield also is interested in buying the campus.
But no official deals have been finalized publicly. A Birmingham-Southern spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Birmingham-Southern concluded the final academic year of its 168-year history in May, after decades of financial struggles and the state’s denial of a loan.
Last year, the college reported nearly $36 million in debt to the IRS, according to its tax forms. Its current debt is unclear, as nonprofits file those forms a year after the end of the tax year. But selling physical assets like buildings and equipment is one way the college can pay off some of its debt, said Linda Parsons, an accounting professor at the University of Alabama who specializes in nonprofits.
The college has not filed for bankruptcy, or otherwise outlined a public plan for settling its accounts.