Well, although i wasnt there, i dont think it was a case of auction fever between 2 bidders because the bidding was strong, powerful and sustained, indicating many bidders until it went over 6k, at which point bidding slowed. It's often difficult to estimate something like this, it had condition issues like replaced bottom, patch on front and was repainted, that usually keeps the price down to one thousand or less. On the other hand, it had alot going for it, it was verifiable american (a big deal), was very early (1716) and the provenance of Florene Maine (a big time antique dealer at a time when it wasnt cool for females to do that sort of thing, she opened her shop in 1928) all contributed to the price and overcame all those condition issues.
