Sometimes we like to surf the Internet to see what freaky things are out there. And sometimes we find gold. Take for example our latest expedition to Craigslist in which we stumbled upon a listing offering up a "SUPER RARE" signed letter from convicted serial killer Charles Manson. The same listing claimed to have an original document signed by big chin Benito Mussolini, an autograph by Marilyn Monroe, and even an unopened 1973 bottle of Bolinger Champagne used in a James Bond movie, presumably Live and Let Die.
It's all part of a private collection of Will (who asked for us to keep his last name unpublished. Can you blame him?), who's looking to sell or trade items he's collected over the years. We had to know more so we gave Will a call. Read on to find out what he had to say:
Will, 66, is a spinal technician/holistic engineer who collects rare
items but enjoys trading oddities as well. He denied that he was just
looking to offload his items to the highest bidder, instead saying he
was willing to trade the items, let's say for a shrunken head, and even
pay the difference in value. (By the way, what are shrunken heads going
for these days?)
He says he bought the Manson letter at an antique action many years ago.
Apparently, it was written from Manson to a friend in 1992, has a
postmark from the California prison Helter Skelter calls home, and
includes a diagram on how to property make your bed to prison
regulations. It's also full of grammatical errors.
When asked how he
knows the letter is authentic, Will points to the postmark and signature
and offers to have the letter professionally authenticated --at the
expense of the buyer, of course. He's selling it for a cool $850. So
that's the going price for a piece of evil these days.
The 1928 document signed by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and King
Victor Emmanuel of Italy is even more rare and valuable ($3,000), Will
says. It had to be smuggled out of the country, though Will wouldn't'
elaborate on why or what information it contains.
As for the Marilyn
Monroe autograph, he admitted that he couldn't vouch for its
authenticity but seemed convinced it was. And the champagne from the
Bond movie? Though its non-drinkable, Will says it was sealed and would
make a great conversation piece. Though he said it actually appeared in
the movie, we spent some time looking at old clips of the flick on
YouTube, but didn't' see it. We did, however, come away with a healthy
appreciation for a young Jane Seymour.
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