The most expensive lot was a Soviet female purse with a metal accessory on its front shaped like a fly with a miniature camera hidden in it. The estimated price was $2,000-$3,000, but the purse ended up selling for $32,000 pursuant to 14 bids.
The second-most expensive lot was a Soviet coin with a hidden compartment, which was sold for $25,600 instead of the estimated $200-$300, followed by a Soviet make-up kit with a hidden camera, which was sold for $22,400 instead of $600-$800.
Soviet KGB equipment items took all nine top lines on the list, while number 10 was a 1960 journal believed to be hand-written by Cuba's Che Guevara, which was sold for $16,000 instead of the estimated $10,000-$15,000.
The entire collection included over 400 lots featuring hidden cameras, counter-intelligence detectors, machines for ciphering and deciphering, morse code machines, airplane radars, voice recorders and official government documents.
The KGB Espionage Museum of New York opened in early 2019, but closed down last March because of the pandemic.
