BELOIT, Wis. (PRNewswire) -- The world's biggest collection of angels may be split up if no buyer for the Angel Museum's 10,000-plus angels emerges by October 11. Beloit Auction & Realty is seeking offers for the collection, as Beloit's landmark prepares to close.

Angel Museum, which has received more than 180,000 visitors over the past 20 years, is recognized by the Guinness Book as having the largest such collection in the world, and the owners are hoping it will remain whole. However, the individual pieces in the collection are set to go to an online auction on October 13, according to Rich Ranft, president of the auction company.

"The collection started in 1976 when Joyce Berg and her husband, Lowell, happened into a store in a strip mall while on vacation in Florida. They saw some angels and fell in love with them, and accumulated this collection over many years," said Ranft.

Along the way, a famous African American celebrity contributed 600 black angels that are part of the collection.

"Whether the collection sells as a whole or as individual pieces at auction, it is probably the end of an era for Beloit, unless someone decides to buy it and continue to operate the museum here," said Ranft.

The final showing for the museum will be a "20-Year Celebration and Farewell" from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, October 13, beginning at the close of the Downtown Beloit Association's Wine Walk.

Individuals interested in purchasing the entire collection may call David Allen (608-333-4586) or Rich Ranft (608-751-2184) or email [email protected]. If the collection does not sell by the 11th, the pieces will go up in an online auction Saturday, October 13, at www.beloitauction.com.

Beloit Auction & Realty is a long-standing family-run auction house in Beloit, Wisconsin, that specializes in real estate, inventory liquidations, personal property, and specialty collections.

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