The Stunning Amount Of Money Someone Paid For An Alleged Lock Of Elvis' Hair
Some kings wear crowns. Others wear a lavish head of greasy hair. The King of Rock N' Roll opted for the latter, sporting some of the most iconic locks of all time. That stark black mass of hair that rose out of Elvis Presley's scalp like an obsidian wave was really something to behold. Some called it the Pompadour, others simply refer to it as the Elvis Cut (via Elvis History). Either way, The King's hair was cornerstone to his rag-tag style, and when all is said and done, can you really put a price on style? Apparently, you can.
Original Elvis memorabilia are of the most sought-after objects in the world. Die-hard fans will go to astonishing lengths to obtain mementos connecting them to the long-deceased star of stage and screen, which means large sums of money are routinely coughed up in the process. When a jar of what was believed to be a small mass of his hair went up for auction in 2002, one particular buyer didn't sleep on the opportunity to acquire it (per Chicago Tribune).
Elvis Presley's alleged hair sold for over $100,000
According to Chicago Tribune, the hair was collected by Presley's long-time barber, Homer "Gill" Gilleland, while the King was still alive. The anonymous bidder, who is reported to have been a "big Elvis collector" at the time of the sale, was more than willing to pay whatever sum was necessary in order to add the jar of hair to his/her arsenal of all things Presley. "I have no idea what they intend to do with it," Brian Marren of MastroNet Inc. (the company who hosted the auction) shared after the sale.
Apparently, Gilleland stored bits of Elvis' hair in a plastic bag over the years, all the way up until the singer's death in 1977. While that may be true, experts claim that without a DNA sample to compare it to, there is no way to confirm for sure whether the hair actually grew out of Presley's head or not. Regardless, the bidder clearly wasn't of the same "suspicious mind" (via Chicago Tribune).
Other famous locks of hair that have sold at auction
Perhaps it will come as a surprise that the hair of dead famous people is something of a hot commodity among auction goers. Hair is an actual physical parcel that really doesn't decay and was literally once a part of someone, so it's about as personal of an object one can attain. Time published an article listing off some of the various tufts of hair and the historical figures they belonged to that went up for auction. Hair belonging to John F. Kennedy, Ludwig van Beethoven, John Lennon, and Che Guevara have — like Presley's — sold for staggering amounts of money in the past.
However, among all the handfuls of hair in all the towns in all the world, none have sold for nearly as much as that of Elvis. In fact, it sold for more than the grand sum of Lennon, Kennedy, and Beethoven's hair combined (per Time).