When flamboyant rockstar Freddy Mercury died in 1991, he left everything to his close friend, Mary Austin. After over 30 years, Austin has decided that it is time to let the possessions go, and they have been put up for auction through Sothbey’s.
The auction house needed 15 of its galleries to display all the memorabilia – over 1,400 items. More than 140,000 people came to Sothbey’s to view the items on display like a museum exhibit.
While the online auction runs through next week, some of the items have already been sold and have brought in record numbers.
The silver snake bangle and ivory catsuit Mercury wore in the “Bohemian Rhapsody” video fetched a whopping £698,500 ($881,000). Sothbey’s reports that was the highest price ever paid for a piece of jewelry worn by a rock star which was previously set by the sale of John Lennon’s leather and bead talisman which sold for £295,000 ($368,000).
The opening item – a graffiti filled green garden door – became a sign of things to come when the estimated £25,000 value sold for nearly £413,000.
Some of the proceeds from the sale of the items will go to charity including the £273,000 collected from the sale of an onyx and diamond given to Mercury by Sir Elton John. All of the money earned from the ring will go to John’s AIDS charity. Mercury died from AIDS related pneumonia in November 1991 at the age of 45.
Still up for auction are handwritten lyrics and Mercury’s baby grand piano.