Star's cherished items with traces of use sold to fans at high prices
Marilyn Monroe dress 5.05 billion won, Britney Spears chewed gum 16.49 million won
Marilyn Monroe in the movie. The dress in the photo was purchased by a fan for over 5 billion won at auction. Photo by AP Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] A worn pair of Birkenstock sandals that Steve Jobs frequently wore sold at auction for about 290 million KRW. When a celebrity (a famous person with a fandom, hereafter referred to as a celeb) gains great popularity, items they used among fans become cherished collectibles. Marilyn Monroe’s dress, who was hugely popular as a 20th-century sex symbol, has sold for tens of billions of won.
Especially if the item favored by a celeb carries some anecdote or the celebrity’s essence, its value skyrockets. Part of the proceeds from such sales is sometimes donated to charity.
According to CNN on the 16th (local time), at the Julien’s Auction held in New York on the 13th, Jobs’ brown suede sandals sold for $218,750 (about 290 million KRW), far exceeding the initial estimate of $60,000 (about 79 million KRW). The cork and jute sole of the sandals bears the imprint of Steve Jobs’ footprints, showing signs of long years of use.
Darren Julien, CEO and founder of Julien’s Auction, said, “Steve Jobs changed the world not only through his innovative inventions but also through his unique fashion, such as wearing sandals.” He added, “These sandals cherished by Jobs accompanied him as he made history, including creating Apple Computer, and were his treasured possessions.”
While Jobs’ worn sandals selling for hundreds of millions of won have attracted great attention, there are also cases where a star’s hair sold for such high prices. In 2002, a 3-inch lock of hair from Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death, sold for $115,120 (about 135.6 million KRW). Although there was once controversy over authenticity, hair experts certified it as genuine.
Meanwhile, an X-ray photo taken in 1954 of Marilyn Monroe for endometriosis surgery was auctioned in 2010. Fans eager to own even her X-ray photo made the auction a huge success. It sold for $45,000 (about 42 million KRW) at an auction held in Las Vegas.
Though a glamorous silver screen star, Marilyn Monroe, known as the epitome of “dumb blonde,” had many anecdotes related to her works. When Monroe expressed a desire to appear in Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov,” a reporter asked her, “Do you know how to spell Dostoevsky?” Monroe famously replied, “Oh, I don’t know how to spell any of the words I say.”
The white halter dress Monroe wore in the subway grate scene of “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) sold for the highest price ever at a Hollywood movie memorabilia auction. In a 2011 auction, a billionaire fan bought the dress for $4.6 million (about 5.05 billion KRW).
The sports star memorabilia auction market is similar. According to sports media ESPN, the contract Babe Ruth signed with the Boston Red Sox sold for $1.02 million (about 1.03 billion KRW) at an auction in July 2014. The contract was signed by Ruth, then American League president Ban Johnson, and Red Sox owner Harry Frazee. Ruth also holds the record for the highest price in sports auctions. The most expensive sports auction item across baseball, basketball, and football was the uniform top he wore for the New York Yankees in 1920, which sold for $4.4 million (about 4.48 billion KRW). The auction was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ruth’s Major League debut on July 11, 1914.
On August 14, 2020, a pair of basketball shoes worn by NBA star Michael Jordan sold for $615,000 (about 730 million KRW). There is an anecdote related to these shoes. In a 1985 exhibition game in Italy, Jordan threw the ball so hard that he shattered the glass backboard, and the shoes he wore then were the “Air Jordan 1 Highs.” Caitlin Donovan, head of handbag and sneaker sales at Christie’s, which organized the auction, said, “The original shoes contain actual shards of the backboard glass in the sole.” For fans, owning these shoes means sharing memories with Jordan. This is also why celeb memorabilia auction prices soar.
Items from living celebs are also popular among fans. Especially items with the celebrity’s essence are highly sought after. A piece of gum Britney Spears, a sexy pop star, chewed and discarded sold for up to $14,000 (about 16.49 million KRW) on eBay in August 2004. A pregnancy test she used sold for 6 million KRW. This auction once again proved the so-called “economics of celebs,” where items bearing a celeb’s essence naturally attract great popularity among fans.
There is another “chewed gum.” The gum chewed by former manager Alex Ferguson during his last game leading Manchester United in May 2013 sold for ?390,000 (about 600 million KRW).
The value of a star’s “breath” is also considerable. In 2005, to promote the movie “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, someone near the entrance at the premiere event held a large glass container and captured the air they exhaled as the couple passed by. The “Breath Bottle” containing their breath sold for $529.99 (about 620,000 KRW) on eBay.
Additionally, a kidney stone from William Shatner, famous for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series, sold for $25,000 (about 29.4 million KRW), and a tissue with which Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson blew her nose twice sold for $5,300 (about 6.24 million KRW). CelebrityNetWorth.com, a U.S. wealth site, reported, “Both actors willingly made these decisions to raise donations,” adding that Shatner donated the proceeds from the kidney stone sale to the nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity.
Pop star Justin Bieber’s hair cut in 2011 sold for $40,668 (about 47.9 million KRW). In fact, Bieber gave his hair to famous comedian Ellen DeGeneres, but when confusion arose among fans, DeGeneres sold Bieber’s hair at that price and donated the proceeds to charity. Also, two slices of toast from Justin Timberlake, who was very popular in the 2000s pop market, sold for $1,500 (about 1.76 million KRW).
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