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Thursday, 23rd March 2006 (4408 views)

The market for Marilyn Monroe memorabilia is thriving, though checking for authenticity is both necessary and troublesome.

In the last quarter of 2005, 35,000 "authentic" Monroe items were sold on eBay, almost as much as the 40,000 Xbox games sold in the same period.

Since the sale of a cache, including a sequined dress the actress wore when she famously serenaded President Kennedy for $13 million in October 1999, the desire to own one of her possessions has been unprecedented.

Thousands of items – many of which probably never belonged to the actress – continue to generate consumer interest and fetch handsome prices: her estate earns $8 million a year from official sales of licensed memorabilia alone.

One genuine item is a gold Rolex engraved with the words "Happy Birthday, Mr President", purported to have been presented to Kennedy at the famous gala at Madison Square Gardens in 1962, the year of Marilyn's death from a drug overdose.

Founder of Alexander Autographs and former owner of the gold Rolex, Bill Panagopulos, recalled: "Everything about the watch was right – the serial number, the engraving, the $5,000 antique gold box it came in.

"Had the watch had rock-solid provenance, it could easily have sold in excess of $1 million," he added.

Unfortunately for Mr Panagopulos, the provenance was not sufficient at the time to convince the buyer of the gold watch to splash out more than the $120,000 plus premiums it fetched at auction.

 

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