Auction houses are great place to purchase variety of things, where you can also enjoy being a spectator as you watch auctioneers bid openly against one another. There are several types of auction and its range is wide, that you can buy almost anything from land titles, to antiques and collectibles. However, there were auctions that took place with most of the items being auctioned are weird. We are not sure why anyone would actually place a bid for them, but here are a few examples of them:
- One of John Lennon’s teeth. No one has confirmed how one of ex-Beatles John Lennon’s teeth came up for auction in 2011, but the tooth sold to a Canadian dentist for $31,000. The dentist displays the tooth in his office.
- Some of Elvis Presley’s hair. In 2002, an auction for some of the King of Rock-n-Roll’s hair sold for $115,000, setting a record for the most expensive lock of hair sold at auction (the runner-up is a lock of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara’s hair in 2007 which sold at a value just below Presley’s hair).
- A phone number (sort of). In 2009, New Jersey DJ Spencer Potter listed his established Dj business up for auction on eBay, listing its major sell point as having the phone number 867-5309 (from the Tommy Tutone hit ‘867-5309 Jenny’). Potter estimated that he received 10,000 calls each year asking for the infamous Jenny. The business and the famous phone number sold for almost $187,000.
- Elvis Presley’s stained underpants. In 2012, the Omega Auction House attempted to sell a pair of clearly used undies once owned by the King of Rock-n-Roll and set a reserve price of $11,000 on the soiled garment, but bidding failed to reach that level.
- A suit that belonged to the prime minister of India. The suit worn (only once) by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet President Barack Obama sold earlier this year at auction for a whopping $690,000. Not only do you probably not need an Indian-style pinstripe suit, but when you look closely enough at the pinstripes, you will see that they spell out the prime minister’s name.
- A set of Hitler’s drinking glasses. The infamous Adolf Hitler had a set of drinking glasses engraved with the Nazi swastika, which you can’t exactly hand to your guests at your next party. However, the set sold for almost $7,000 at an auction in 2011 to an anonymous bidder.
- Michael Jackson’s sequined glove. Several years ago, Michael Jackson’s famous sequined glove was put on the auction block by Julien’s with an estimated value of $19,000. It sold for an amazing $190,000, and that was before Jackson’s untimely death. Experts estimate that the glove would auction at almost twice the price today (and remember, there’s only one glove, not two!).
- A used tissue. In 2008, Scarlet Johansson appeared on “The Tonight Show”, even though she had a cold. During her appearance with Jay Leno, she blew her nose into a tissue. She later auctioned the tissue to raise money for USA Harvest. Yes, it’s a weird idea, but this is weirder: the tissue sold for over $5,000.
Img c/o Pixabay.