Wow.
That may be the best word to describe an auction taking place during the Ides of March. And you don't have to be a nostalgia buff to know that what's going under the hammer will bring a small fortune.
It's all thanks to a Florida real estate dealer named Anthony Pugliese, who for the past 25 years has quietly been putting together what experts call the greatest collection of pop culture artifacts in the world. The Miami mogul has items in his collection that are not only iconic but historic.
Among them: the gun Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas back in 1963. The expected price: US$2-3 million. Former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's badge will be sold off, as will rifles that once belonged to Elvis Presley and prop guns from some Hollywood blockbusters.
See them here
But it's not just fire power that will pull in the big bucks. It's star power, as well.
Pugliese's impressive collection boasts the original witch's hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in "The Wizard of Oz" ($60,000-80,000, top left); the bullwhip used in the first "Indiana Jones" movie ($50,000-75,000); Odd Job's bowler hat from the James Bond classic "Goldfinger" ($75,000-100,000); Charlie Chaplin's bamboo cane ($5,000-10,000); Christopher Reeve's original Superman costume ($60,000-90,000); Ron Howard's Happy Day's Letterman sweater ($10,000-$15,000); and John F. Kennedy's famous rocking chair ($80-100,000).
Then there's the coat Brandon Lee was wearing when he was accidentally killed during the filming of "The Crow." Expect to fork over $15-$25,000 for the privilege of owning it.
But it doesn't stop there. Also on the eclectic roster of what-once-was: jackets worn by the Three Stooges; a Bob Mackie Cher costume; the coat John Lennon was wearing on the cover of Abbey Road; a note signed by his killer, Mark David Chapman; a wanted poster for Bonnie and Clyde; letters signed by Thomas Edison; a denial of guilt from Charles Manson and one of Liberace's mink coats.
And that's just a partial list. "The Pugliese Pop Culture Collection may well be the finest collection focusing on 20th Century pop culture ever privately assembled," LiveAuctioneers notes on its website. "Approximately 850 of the most extraordinary objects imaginable from the worlds of motion pictures, popular music, magic, television and politics were gathered over several decades."
In all, those amazing artifacts are expected to bring in more than $5 million.
"This collection is as good as it gets," agrees Arlan Ettinger of auction house Guernsey's. "Most collections have one or two great things and then things trail off from there. This collection, there would have to be 100 items here, any one of which would be a star attraction anywhere else."
The biggest prize is what the hypesters are calling "the most famous gun in the world." The Colt Cobra Ruby used to work his way into history by killing the suspected U.S. presidential assassin has the initials of all the detectives who handled it carved into the weapon.
"The whole world saw that unfold live and here's the very gun and the hat that Jack Ruby was wearing," Ettinger relates, adding that they also have the toe tag put on Oswald after the murder.
So why is the mogul selling all these valuable items now? Pugliese has made his money and is turning his attention to charity, putting together an environmentally friendly project known as "Destiny", billed as North America's "largest eco-sustainable community." Some of the proceeds will also go to the Audubon Society.
But maybe the best part of the Las Vegas-based auction is that what happens there doesn't necessarily have to stay there. You can bid online from anywhere in the world and some of the items are just a few hundred bucks - well within the range of even the most causal fan.
After all, where else are you going to find the Mr. Freeze helmet from the old Batman series or one of Patrick Macnee's famous bowler hats from "The Avengers?" There are some things you can't put a price on - but don't worry, they have.
The auction is scheduled to take place March 15th and 16th.
You can see the lots available at the links below.
John F. Kennedy artifacts
Movie artifacts
TV/Bob Mackie artifacts
Famous guns