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John Lennon's Lost Guitar Turns Up in Weird Way

Gibson instrument expected to fetch up to $800K

(Newser) - John Lennon last saw his prized J-160E Gibson guitar—the instrument he played when recording "Love Me Do"—in December 1963, during a Beatles Christmas show in a London park. The guitar went missing and stayed that way for about 50 years, when an amateur guitarist realized he'...

Rare Surrender Papers of Last Nazi Leader to Be Sold

Adm. Karl Doenitz's 'we give up' message could fetch up to $30K

(Newser) - Tomorrow at Bonhams auction house in New York, more than 300 lots of WWII memorabilia—uniforms, flags, cigarette cases—from nearly 10 countries will go on the selling block. But one piece of memorabilia is especially rare, somehow making it out of war-torn Germany before it could be thrown into...

'Perfect' 100-Carat White Diamond Sells for $22M

Gem expert says transparency of auctioned jewel is like a 'pool of icy water'

(Newser) - An anonymous buyer is sporting some major bling after ponying up a tad over $22 million yesterday for a 100-carat diamond that Sotheby's likens to "the definition of perfection," the AP reports. It's the only white diamond of the classic emerald cut more than 100 carats...

$20 Gone With the Wind Dress Sells for $137K

James Tumblin found it on costume company's floor in the 1960s

(Newser) - James Tumblin's 300,000-piece collection of Gone With the Wind memorabilia started with a single gray dress with black appliques that lay crumpled on the floor of the Western Costume Company in Los Angeles in the 1960s. "A docent told me not to bother to pick it up,...

'One of Rarest Types of Titanic Collectible' Is Sold

Deckchair recovered from the Atlantic sells for $150K

(Newser) - After the Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, the Mackay-Bennett was dispatched from Halifax to the scene to recover bodies; it pulled 306 corpses from the water, and ended up carrying 190 of them back to Canada. But according the the ship's logs, it also brought something...

Bye-Bye, 'American Pie': Manuscript Sold for $1.2M

Don McLean manuscript and notes scooped up at Christie's auction

(Newser) - Singer-songwriter Don McLean's original manuscript and notes to "American Pie" have been sold at auction for $1.2 million. McLean offered the wistful anthem that asks, "Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died?" at Christie's today; the 16 pages included the original...

Winston Churchill's Blood Being Auctioned

A nurse kept it after British leader was hospitalized

(Newser) - Winston Churchill fractured a hip at age 87 and stayed in a London hospital, leaving behind a vial of his own blood. Now it's resurfaced for auction and could fetch hundreds of dollars, the Guardian reports. "It is impossible to put an accurate estimate on this unique piece...

Lock of Lincoln's Hair Sells for $25K

Boastful letter from assassin fetches $30K

(Newser) - A lock of hair taken from Abraham Lincoln's head by Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes soon after the president had been assassinated sold for $25,000 at a Texas auction—$5,000 less than a buyer paid for a letter from assassin John Wilkes Booth. The sale of a...

Warhol Bidding Is Behind 2014's $16B in Art Sales

Collectors paid more than $650M for Andy Warhol works alone

(Newser) - As it stands, the estimated $16 billion in art sales in 2014 is the second-highest in history, close on the heels of the $16.3 billion record set in 2011. And a sizable chunk is attributed to fierce competition among billionaires for works by Andy Warhol, 1,295 of which...

James Watson's DNA Nobel Sells for $4.1M

$4.8M if you count the premium paid to Christie's

(Newser) - James Watson will collect $4.1 million for the Nobel medal he received in 1962 for unraveling the structure of DNA. The anonymous buyer will actually have to shell out $4.8 million counting the premium that goes to Christie's auction house, reports the New York Times . The newspaper...

Historian Watching Movie Spots Long-Lost Painting

'Sleeping Lady with Black Vase' was last seen in 1928, bought for $500

(Newser) - Hungarian art historian Gergely Barki was watching Stuart Little with his young daughter five Christmases ago when he noticed a painting above the mantelpiece in the film—and did a double-take. It looked just like "Sleeping Lady with Black Vase," a painting by Hungarian artist Robert Bereny that...

Most Famous Movie Piano Sells for $3.4M

'Casablanca' instrument still had piece of gum stuck to it

(Newser) - The most famous piano in movie history has been sold at auction for $3.4 million—complete with a "petrified chewing gum wad stuck to underside of keyboard." The piano that featured heavily in Casablanca was the star of a sale of movie memorabilia at Bonhams in New...

Up for Auction: Marilyn Monroe's Love Letters

Including notes from Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller

(Newser) - It's no secret Joe DiMaggio loved Marilyn Monroe. The baseball great cried at her funeral and for 20 years had flowers placed at her crypt several times a week. The public displays were unusual for the famously stoic and private DiMaggio. Now, his heartbreak over the breakup of their...

Manet Painting Reaps Record $65M

French impressionist painting from 1881 had been valued at $25M to $30M

(Newser) - An 1881 painting by French impressionist Edouard Manet raked in $65.13 million at an auction in New York yesterday—a record for the artist. (Manet's previous auction record is $33 million for a self-portrait sold at Sotheby's in London in 2010.) AFP reports that "Le...

Connecticut Ghost Town Up for Auction

Start your bidding for Johnsonville, Connecticut, at $800K

(Newser) - Bidders who aren't scared off by million-dollar purchases can take possession of an American ghost town in Connecticut. Johnsonville was a robust mill community in the 19th century, but it is now abandoned and up for sale at auction.com . Bids start at $800,000, and the top one...

New Images of JFK's Fairy-Tale Wedding Surface

13 'unpublished' photos, negatives sell for $34K at auction

(Newser) - Thirteen photographs from John F. Kennedy's wedding to Jacqueline Bouvier have been printed for what may be the first time since the images were taken 60 years ago. An unnamed Las Vegas doctor bought the negatives, each paired with a print, at a Boston auction yesterday for $34,073....

Want a Lighthouse? Feds Giving Them Away

100 sold in 14 years, unknown number still available

(Newser) - Ever wish your man cave or summer retreat was in a lighthouse? You may be in luck, now that the federal government is selling or giving away dozens of them, the AP reports. They've shed 100 obsolete or unneeded lighthouses in 14 years, 68 of them freebies handed off...

Slice of Diana's Wedding Cake Sells for $1.4K

It's 33 years old now

(Newser) - Somewhere out there is what the Independent calls a "passionate group of royal cake collectors." And one member of that group shelled out $1,375 this week for a 33-year-old slice of cake served at Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981. "With best wishes from Their...

Robin Williams' Donated Bike Raises $20K for Charity

Still had mud on tires from actor riding it

(Newser) - Robin Williams loved cycling—he even once gave Conan O'Brien a "ridiculous" bike to cheer him up—and a few weeks before his death, he donated his custom-made Pegoretti bicycle to a charity auction, Page Six reports. At Saturday night's Hotbed Benefit, which raised funds for 10,...

Car Auctions Off for Record-Breaking $34M

Ferrari 250 GTO was once owned by Olympic gold medalist

(Newser) - A rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO once owned by a famed racing driver and Olympic gold medalist has sold for $34.65 million. Yesterday's sale at an auction in California during Monterey Car Week is believed to be a record public auction price for a classic car, topping the...

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