The market for famous pieces of hair is a market in itself. Collectors from around the world scour the internet to find that one special piece of hair that belonged to a person they are fascinated with. Most of the pieces of hair are from famous people who have passed away, making the locks even more expensive. This is also why people want to buy the locks. If you own a lock of hair that belonged to a world renowned person, you may feel like you own a piece of them. Over the years Catawiki has sold some unique locks as well (John Lennon and Napoleon), but there are more famous locks out there that have been sold for big prices. Check out the top 10 most expensive pieces of hair ever sold in the world.
10. J.F. Kennedy
You might wonder how one could obtain the hair of such a well-known person. Well, most of the time it's through their hairdressers. In Kennedy's case, it was Harry Gelbart, a famous Barber at the time. He obtained the pieces of hair from Kennedy's last haircut before he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The strands of hair were sold for €4,160 in Beverly Hills.
9. Mickey Mantle
In 1997, the agent of Yankee baseball star, Mickey Mantle, sold the hair of his client in a sandwich bag. He said that Mantle gave it to him as a joke, which is why it was placed in a not so glamorous sandwich bag. A really devoted fan of Mickey Mantle paid €6,900 to own a piece of the Yankee player.
8. Beethoven
Beethoven is known for his legendary music, but his long strands of hair are well known as well. His international fame got confirmed when various locks of his hair were sold for €7,300 in 1994. There is even a book written about his hair.
7. David Bowie
Thanks to an employee of Madame Tussauds, fans had the opportunity to own a piece of David Bowie by buying a piece of his hair. It was expected that his hair would sell for €4,000, but it fetched €18,000 in June 2016. The employee, in hindsight, should have waited a few years so that the hair pieces would have increased in value, namely after his death.
6. Abraham Lincoln
Joseph Barnes was the leading general surgeon during an operation on Abraham Lincoln. Before the surgery, Joseph removed some of his hair and this hair was later obtained by Donald Dow. After Dow's death, his son sold the piece of hair, along with 300 other items. His son obtained a staggering €25,000 for Lincoln's dark pieces of hair.
5. Marilyn Monroe
The golden locks of Marilyn Monroe are worth a lot more now than when she was alive. Frieda Hull, one of Monroe's best friends, put the hair of Monroe up for sale in October 2016. One of Monroe's biggest fans, Remi Gangarossa, was very interested in owning a piece of Monroe and history for the sum of €40,000 euro. A real bargain.
4. Justin Bieber
The only one on this list that is still alive is Justin Bieber, which says a lot about his worldwide popularity. In 2011, Justin Bieber donated a lock of his hair for a good cause to famous talk show hostess Ellen DeGeneres. Fans were only too ready to get their hands on their favourite idol's hair and were willing to pay a lot for it as well. A dedicated fan paid €41,000 and the money was given to the Gentle Barn Foundation.
If you think Marxist leader Che Guevara isn't famous enough for a collector to have paid €119,000 for a piece of his hair, think again. Even with the protest of Che's former wife, collector Bill Butler was more than happy to pay this hefty sum for a lock of Che Guevara's hair. The hair came with a fingerprints and photographs document of Che as well.
As we said before, a lot of hairdressers are cashing in some extra money by selling the hair of their former clients. Elvis Presley is no exception to that statement. In 2002, a big collector of Elvis memorabilia paid €115,000 to express his devotion to the king of rock and roll. Strands of Elvis’ hair were also sold on Catawiki in 2016. The hairs were found by Martha Dunkle when visiting her boyfriend, Harold Loyd. Loyd was a cousin of the king and was working as a gate guard at Graceland that night. When visiting the bathroom, where Elvis had received a haircut earlier that day, Martha scooped up as much of the hair as she could. In September 1988 she gave some packets of hair to Alyce H. Peterson, one of the leading experts in Elvis memorabilia. Peterson sold these 10 strands to Frans Billen, owner of the Hollywood Museum in Hasselt, Belgium, and from there they came to Catawiki.
Whether you want to find famous memorabilia of your own, in search to stock up your collection, or if you’re just looking for the weird and wonderful of the world, keep checking Catawiki, where new auctions begin every Friday. Do you own any memorabilia yourself, famous or not, that could be worth something? Then become a seller on Catawiki.