Miller & Miller Auctions

If there were an Academy Award for “Best Canadian Antique Dealer” Jim Miller would have had many people to thank in his winning speech starting with an old boss. He was barely out of high school when the fellow he worked for won the Irish Sweepstakes and hastily closed shop. This misfortune, coupled with the tragic death of his sister, sparked two philosophies that stayed with him through life,

“First, I decided I would never again have a job where I was under another person’s control. Second, I pledged I would live my life with gusto, to have no regrets.”

Jim "caught the bug" when he was six, buried knee-deep in mud digging up old bottles with his Uncle Stan. He cleaned up long before becoming founder of the internationally renowned J.C. Miller Antiques in 1977. Jim handled only the "best, original, unrestored" antiques, nostalgia and classic cars. His life was cut short by cancer, but the Miller story doesn’t end here.

Jim carried with him a couple of "sponges" (as he often called them) that quietly soaked in each experience: his sons Justin and Ethan. You may recognize them. They sold Paul Newman’s $250,000 woody wagon on CBC’s Four Rooms and have appeared as guest appraisers on Storage Wars. Their search for the most authentic, original and exceptional antique collections has led them far beyond the borders of Canada.

Launched in 2006, their eBay account justdiscovered became one of eBay Canada’s top 10 grossing accounts. This paved the way for Miller & Miller Auctions Ltd.: an auction company focused on the sale of high-value collections. Today it sells some of the country’s most important collections.

It took an Irish Sweepstakes, a generational passion for antiques, and an uncompromising commitment to quality to build what you see. The Millers are proof that like a good reputation, excellence is cultivated over generations.