Remembering the King of Rock and Roll: Highlights from the Graceland Auctions

“I never felt poor. There was always shoes to wear and food to eat – yet I knew there were things my parents did without just to make sure I was clothed and fed “~Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley grew up in a modest home with few possessions’ but with his talent acquired wealth and fame that is still being sought after today. Recently it was the 38th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. A death that is still hard for fans to accept. In remembrance, Graceland Auctions held an auction on August 13th, consisting of 174 lots of items that we either owned by Elvis or referenced a part of his career.

The sale with buyers’ premium included brought in close to $1 million on August 13^th. The breakdown of the sales by categories is below (note: some items overlap by category so total below will look like earnings were $1 million plus but total earnings were $958,161) :

Jewelry is the clear winner by total sum of money brought in for the categories of this auction. Thirteen pieces of the King’s collection, brought in $296,469. Some highlights of the sale are below:

Other items besides jewelry did well at the auction. The top 5 items by price are below (some items tied) :

A more detailed photo of the highest sold item, the pistol, is below:

It comes at a surprise that this personal item sold far below the estimate with only 2 bids. Only 3 pistols/rifles were listed of the over two in that category only one went above it’s estimate, Lot 165, Shoulder Holster Given to Ed Parker by Elvis Presley – Embossed with “EP” and “TCB”, was given a max estimate of $3000 and sold for $3250(with buyer’s premium it likely only meet the estimate). For those interested the top five items that went far above the estimate were:

Below is the most bid on item, a program from a concert in Houston:

The auction overall missed the estimates made (assuming buyers premium was not counted in the final estimate price), many items sold below the maximum estimate. They’re weren’t any real show stopping pieces like Sotheby’s had last year in there Rock and Roll auction where Elvis’s Peacock Suit sold for $ 245,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer’s Premium), making it’s estimate of $200,000-$300,000. Hopefully there will be a few strong pieces next year to bring in better publicity.

If you missed out, check back next year, there were several items that were passed or offers/items that were withdrawn. If you’re thinking of selling an Elvis item don’t sell next year, the 40th Anniversary will be in 2017 and some press should create better interest in these items. If you’d like to stay updated follow me on Facebook and Thank you, Thank you very much, for reading my article.