auction

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Laurence Olivier's Nose Will Soon Be Up for Grabs

The prosthetic one he donned for 1955's Richard III is headed for the auction block

(Newser) - The prosthetic schnoz that Laurence Olivier donned to play the title role in 1955's Richard III is so famous that it's appeared on lists of "best/worst fake noses in cinema history." Now, the costume nose is headed for the auction block next month, part of a...

Price of the $120K Duct-Taped Banana Has Gone Up

Maurizio Cattelan's piece is heading to auction; Sotheby's says it'll fetch $1M to $1.5M

(Newser) - If you thought that selling banana duct-taped to a wall as "art" for $120,000 was—let's just go for the low-hanging fruit here—bananas, well, Sotheby's would like you to know the price has gone up. The Art Newspaper tackles next month's scheduled auction:
  • The
...

Ohtani's Historic Baseball Sells for More Than Any Ball Ever

But who owns the baseball is still being worked out

(Newser) - Shohei Ohtani's 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million—though who the ball belonged to originally isn't exactly clear. Regardless, the item fetched a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said...

Robot Artist's Painting Could Fetch Big Dough

Ai-Da's portrait of Alan Turing is expected to sell for up to $180K at Sotheby's auction next month

(Newser) - At just 5 years old, she's already given a Ted Talk , served as an artist in residence at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival, and seen her artwork displayed at the United Nations. Now, the artist known as Ai-Da will make history at Sotheby's with the auction house's first...

Rare Copy of Constitution in Filing Cabinet Sells for $9M

Document said to be the only privately owned copy of the US Constitution was printed 237 years ago

(Newser) - A rare copy of the US Constitution printed 237 years ago and sent to the states to be ratified was sold for $9 million at an auction Thursday evening in North Carolina. Brunk Auctions sold the document, the only copy of its type thought to be privately owned, at a...

A Piece of Game of Thrones History Could Be Yours
Someone Just
Paid $1.49M
for the
Iron Throne
UPDATED

Someone Just Paid $1.49M for the Iron Throne

Hundreds of props from HBO's classic Game of Thrones sold on the auction block

(Newser) - Game of Thrones fans came out in droves over the weekend to bid on more than 900 costumes, props, and other items from the series in an auction that raked in $21.1 million, the AP reports. The top-dollar item was the very thing the characters in the series vied...

Interested in Buying Infowars? You'll Have Competition

Both Alex Jones' supporters and enemies are apparently vying to buy his site at auction

(Newser) - Alex Jones owes more than $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook victims, the result of their defamation and emotional distress lawsuits against him for spreading conspiracy theories related to the 2012 massacre. Bidders are already champing at the bit to scoop up the assets he needs to sell...

Guy on Smashing Taylor Swift Guitar: It Was Just a Joke

But it wasn't a guitar signed by Swift

(Newser) - The Texas man who spent $4,000 on a guitar at a charity auction only to immediately smash it says the whole thing was "just a joke" and not at all "malicious," though he also confirmed to NBC News that he's a Donald Trump supporter, and...

Sale of Ohtani Home Run Ball Now Even More Complicated

Another man sues, claiming he was the one who originally grabbed the ball

(Newser) - The sale of the baseball Shohei Ohtani hit for his 50th home run this season is now even more complicated after a second lawsuit was filed over ownership of the ball. Joseph Davidov claims in his suit that was able to "firmly and completely grab the ball in his...

'Piece of Baseball History' Could Break Auction Record

Ball hit in home run by LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, putting him in the '50-50 club,' could go for millions

(Newser) - About 25 years ago, someone forked over a record $3.05 million for a baseball, hit by Mark McGwire for his 70th home run. That record may be broken in the coming days, thanks to a home run ball slammed by Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani—one that...

Magritte Painting Expected to Sell for More Than $95M

Smashing the record for a Magritte sale at auction

(Newser) - A rare painting by Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte may set a record for the highest price ever paid for one of his works at auction. The painting is one from Magritte's series "L'empire des lumières" that he produced in 1954 (see it at Christie's...

Just 8 of These Exist. We the People Can Now Bid on It

Minimum bid for rare 237-year-old copy of US Constitution found in NC filing cabinet: $1M

(Newser) - Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broadsheet of paper across a desk. It's in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it's just a few weeks shy of...

Indiana Jones Artifact Goes for $630K at Auction

Signature fedora was worn by Harrison Ford and his stunt double in Temple of Doom

(Newser) - A brown felt fedora worn by Harrison Ford—and his stunt double—in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom has a new owner. The hat sold for $630,000 at auction in Los Angeles on Thursday, the BBC reports. The makeup residue on the sweatband, which could have been...

Woman Fails to Auction Off Her Quirky Collection

Mary Jacobs of England amassed 163 bedpans over the past 4 decades

(Newser) - Some auction items are hot. The gold bikini Carrie Fisher wore as Princess Leia fetched $175,000 on Friday, for instance. But some auction items are not. In the "not" camp comes a new quirky entry: an English woman's collection of bedpans. Mary Jacobs, 77, of Newmarket, England,...

Biggest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Found Sells for $44.6M

Buyer says it 'was born in America and is going to stay in America'

(Newser) - A stegosaurus fossil found in Colorado two years ago has become the most valuable fossil ever sold, fetching $44.6 million at an auction in New York City. Sotheby's says the stegosaurus, nicknamed Apex, sold for more than 11 times pre-sale estimates, the BBC reports. Apex, found by fossil...

Pistols Napoleon Planned to Use to End His Life Are Sold

They were auctioned for $1.8M

(Newser) - As the story goes, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte intended to shoot himself on April 12, 1814, after he was forced to abdicate. But the BBC reports his grand squire, Armand de Caulaincourt, emptied Napoleon's two pistols of their gunpowder; he instead consumed poison but vomited and survived. Those pistols...

First Edition of Frankenstein Fetches a 'Hair-Raising Sum'

Heritage Auctions sets new high price for 3 beloved book titles

(Newser) - The only privately-owned first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein became the pièce de resistance of a rare book auction over the weekend, selling for a "hair-raising sum" of $843,750, nearly triple the estimate, per UPI . Just three first editions of the horror novel are known to...

It's the Most Expensive Piece of Harry Potter Paraphernalia

Illustration for cover of first book sells for $1.9M

(Newser) - An original watercolor illustration for the cover of the first Harry Potter book has sold for $1.9 million at auction, making it the most expensive piece of Potter artwork ever, reports the BBC . The illustration for Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone shows Harry waiting for his train...

Einstein Came to Regret Letter That Could Now Fetch $4M

Christie's plans to auction 1939 note urging FDR to invest in atomic energy research

(Newser) - A signed copy of the letter Albert Einstein sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to fund the atomic energy research that would lead to the atomic bomb, will soon hit the auction block and set a new record if it sells, the Wall Street Journal reports. In September,...

Scientists Bristle at Auction of a Rare Stegosaurus

Critic argues 'the uber-wealthy will always be able to outbid museums'

(Newser) - The rich will battle next month to claim the first stegosaurus skeleton ever to be auctioned, per the BBC . Paleontologists, meanwhile, will be cringing. As paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Steve Brusatte tells the outlet, stegosaurus fossils are quite rare and this one is 70% complete. That's "incredible for...

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