A few 2-inch strands of Lincoln’s hair fetched $81,250 at auction on Saturday, September 12, 2020, ABC News reports. Read story here. It’s not the same item shown at left. In fact, when I started nosing around on the internet I found a lot of these, and learned they typically sell for $25,000 to $35,000. They must have buried the poor guy bald after the souvenir hounds got through with him. This one apparently is worth more because it has blood on it, presumably his, although it’s conceivable the people standing in line were pushy and one of them stabbed himself with the shears.
The gun (below) is in the National Park Service collection. If it ever came on the market, it would fetch millions. John Wilkes Booth probably paid a buck for it, maybe less. If you want to drastically increase the value of a cheap little gun like this, all you have to do is shoot somebody important with it. I have no idea what the bullet’s worth, but probably enough to buy a house with a deck and view.
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Actually that was not a cheap little gun in 1865. It is a Derringer made in the 1850’s with silver decorations. Booth was a successful actor actually one of the top actors of stage at the time…he was a star. He easily could have afforded a well made Derringer appropriate for a Gentleman of his caliber. Of course a dollar in those days was worth considerable more than one is today. It is also possible that the gun was supplied by southern spies. It was a conspiracy after all.