On July 25, 2009, a remarkable auction was carried out in Baileborough, Ireland with 400 lots, mostly from the estate of deceased Packie Joe McBreen, who was described as a 'classic hoarder'.
The range of items in the auction was fairly extraordinary.
The most coveted lot however, was a set of Hibernian Telegraph or Morning Star dating from February 24, 1797 to February 16, 1798.
This was correctly predicted as the top seller and went for €1,700, though to the National Library rather than a private collector.
The other notable sale item was a large mirror advertising Corbett's whisky, which sold for €1,300. Classic advertising can be valuable, though Corbett's was never a world famous brand.
The papers gained their value not just because there are unlikely to be many other copies in existence, but due to the number of consecutive issues: a complete set of editions 619 to 801 inclusive.