It's truly hard to imagine this cue would be put up for sale on the open market. Is it the tough economy causing this sale? I don't know the people involved or the circumstances so, why speculate.
It will be interesting to see if someone steps up and opens for the $18,000. While that opening bid is a lot of money, there is no doubt this is a piece of cuemaking history.
Good luck to anyone hoping to win this treasure.
I do like the idea that was previously mentioned here, however; that if Mr. Prout could be lucky enough to acquire this cue to display alongside his Kersenbrock #1. Talk about a centerpiece pair for a cue collection! WoW.
Best,
Brian kc