“Weird and wonderful” items go under the hammer

Thursday 12 March 2020

Fidel Castro's cigar, a Kray twin's watch and a tiny Hogwarts book handwritten by JK Rowling estimated to be worth up to £150,000 are among the “weird and wonderful” memorabilia up for grabs at a wacky auction this month.

Online bidding has just gone live on the rare and unusual items being flogged by Jersey Auctioneer ‘Just Collecting’.

The lot expected to attract some of the highest bids is Rowling’s 31-page handwritten 'student starter book'.

It gives advice to first-year Hogwarts pupils, including, “Students may also bring an owl or a cat or a toad,” and, “Parents are reminded that first-years are not allowed their own broomsticks.” 

Pictured: Expected to be the auction's most valuable lot, a handwritten book by JK Rowling is going under the hammer (Just Collecting).

Speaking about the auction’s most valuable lot, Auctioneer Dan Wade said: “We’ve watched the market for the rarest Harry Potter books soar tenfold over the past decade or so, as childhood fans of the series have grown up to become serious collectors. 

“I think every Harry Potter fan in the world would love to own this book, so we’re expecting a lot of interest – and maybe even a couple of bids via Owl Post.”

Whilst many might want to ‘slytherin’ to snatch up this lot, it’s not the only unusual item on sale. From items used by celebrities like Mick Jagger and Madonna to a memento from the first transatlantic flight, the auction boasts a treasure trove of peculiarities.

Ending on 26 March, the auction also features: 

• a life-size fibreglass T-Rex head (estimated at £6,000);
• a Bolivar cigar case, with cigar, signed by Fidel Castro (estimated at £1,000);
• a piece of fabric from Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis plane (estimate: £3,000);
• Reggie Kray’s pocket watch (estimate: £1,000);
• Marilyn Monroe’s 1941 high school photo (estimate: £1,500);
• Madonna’s 2006 concert-worn hat (estimate: £600);
• Rolling Stone Mick Jagger’s 1964 concert-used maraca (estimate: £1,000);
• KFC’s Colonel Sanders signed photo (estimate: £400);
• and an original vintage Japanese Geisha wig (estimate: £300).

Pictured: (Clockwise) A Japanese Geisha wig, a cigar case signed by Fidel Castro and Mick Jagger's maraca (Just Collecting).

Mr Wade added: “These pieces are undoubtedly ‘weird and wonderful’, yet they’re also rare and valuable.

"Own one of these and you have the ultimate piece to show off to friends and family."