From Auction Central News: The eight-hour auction of the renowned Prospero coin collection concluded at 3:30 this morning, and when all was said and done, the team at Baldwin’s auction house had a lot to smile about. Although results are still in the process of being confirmed, initial figures released by the company state that the sale total for all 642 lots is approximately $25,000,000 (inclusive of 17% buyer’s premium at 17%). The gross more than doubled the total presale estimate. Lot 213, the catalog cover coin set a new world auction record for an ancient Greek coin, when it sold for a phenomenal $3.25 million on the hammer. This beautiful example of a gold stater from Pantikapaion depicts the head of a satyr, a character from Greek mythology. The coin is one of the most important numismatic objects to have survived from the classical world and is one of the most admired of all Greek coins. Around 200 bidders were in attendance at the auction venue, the Vanderbilt Suite of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Anticipation was high prior to the sale, and bidders appeared unrestrained as they offered three, four and five times the presale estimates on various coins in the sale. There was a noticeable presence of bidders from Europe and the United States.

A Starbucks shop will open shortly in the former TD Bank building at the corner of Eglinton Ave. E and Laird Dr. Only recently, we were pondering the lack of a tenant here. It’s been a while. The bank has been gone for nearly a year. This fine example of 1940s bank architecture will make a good home for Starbucks. A Green Bank store for the Green Mermaid, so to speak.  It’s thought among Starbucks staff that the management is looking ahead to the day when the Crosstown LRT opens with a station at this intersection. It is a boost for the whole Eglinton strip on the north side which has languished for years. May it have a re-birth.  

The Financial Post is suggesting that Research in Motion  is preparing to shake up management at the company by appointing Barbara Symiest as Chair of the Board-of Directors. She is already an independent director who joined RIM’s board in 2007,  Stymiest was CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange before moving on to become chief operating officer at the Royal Bank of Canada. . CBC.ca

A police car and the police identification unit sat outside the modest semi-detached home which was the focus of investigation. The address is on Airdrie Rd just north of Heath Road. As reported in the post below, a man is in custody following the discovery of a woman’s body in the home. Neighbors are deeply shocked. They spoke of a domestic argument.  It appears police came to the home Sunday around 4 p.m. It is not clear how or by whom they were called. The Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star have published a photograph of a door and porch of a home which is part of a semi-detached residence at 211 Airdrie Rd..  According to a story in the Star neighbours said Lisa Lebitka, 45, was renting the home, where she lived with her boyfriend, known to them as Paul, her three young children from a previous marriage and their golden retriever, Bella.