The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - A mainstay of Louisville television went up for auction over the weekend as insurance magnate Dinwiddie Lampton Jr. auctioned off his horse-drawn carriages, coaches and apparel.

The items auctioned were featured in numerous commercials aired by Lampton as he advised viewers to "Be Wise, Be Insured." The auction took place on a farm in Oldham County.

Top hats and bridles brought as little as $5, while carriages, coaches and buggies ranged from as little as a few hundred dollars to $60,000 for a large coach. Carriages sold were made in faraway locales of London and Montreal and not-so-far-away Owensboro.

Lampton, 90, dabbed his eyes, feigning tears when asked about seeing many of his carriages sold.

"Old friends," he said. When one large coach sold for $17,500, Lampton said: "The buyer is stealing this one."

Customers drove from as far as Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Ontario, Canada. Bidders and onlookers ranged from the curious to people who restore and show the carriages for hobbies and business.

Harold Barger of Hamilton, Ohio, bought a buckboard carriage for $1,100, and $400 for a training cart that he said is worth more.

"I wish I had more room," he said, noting that he brought a small truck.

Barger, who is retired, said he fixes up the vehicles and then shows them in a "period class" competition, where he dresses to match the vehicle's era.

Bill and Julie Wahl of Goshen, Ky., surveyed a field full of carriages and sleighs.

"The problem is a lot of us don't have the knowledge to know what it really is," said Bill Wahl, who owns the Skylight Training Center for thoroughbreds in Goshen.

The Wahls were considering buying one for their personal farm.

"He's always wanted one," Julie Wahl said.

Marie and Lloyd Rupp of Louisville attended the auction, but only joked about buying. Marie Rupp said she wanted to see a coach that Lampton used in his commercials.

Lampton said none of those coaches were being auctioned.

"Sold a lot of insurance with them," Lampton said of the commercials.