From mid-October when it was posted on the Swedish online auction platform Tradera, till right before the auction was to end, no bids had been placed on the unusual Moomin mug titled 'Swimming with Seashells'. With only a few minutes left, the first bid was made for SEK 175,000 (£15,030). A couple of minutes later, the 'Swimming with Seashells' mug sold for the record sum of SEK 236,478 (£20,300), making it the most expensive Moomin mug, which have become popular collector's items since 1990.
See also: Moomin Mugs: 30 Years of Collectables
The Moomin mug 'Swimming with Seashells' is a prototype of the summer mug 'Swimming', and consequently never went on sale. 'Swimming' was released in 2006 and was Arabia's first summer mug. 'Swimming with Seashells' mugs were still made in small editions and then distributed to the staff at Arabia's factory. The motif is from Tove Jansson's series 'The Dangerous Winter' from 1955.
