LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (UPI) — Marilyn Monroe‘s grave marker in Los Angeles is expected to fetch more than $50,000 at auction, sellers announced Wednesday.
Nate D. Sanders Auctions is handling the sale of the marker, which was made in the early 1990s. The auction ends at 5 p.m. Thursday and no bids had been listed on the site by late Wednesday morning.
The marker is one of multiple plaques that have been used to identify her crypt at Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery. The chemical reaction from fans’ fingers and lipstick has oxidated the bronze, meaning it must be replaced.
“Monroe’s bronze grave marker has been replaced periodically due to the attention of thousands of adoring of fans who visit the beloved star’s grave each year,” the auction site said in a release.
The Hollywood star died at age 36 in 1962 after overdosing on barbiturates.
The bronze marker reads ”Marilyn Monroe” on the first line, and “1926 – 1962,” on the second line. The reverse side of the marker reads, ”Make Two Patterns for Marge.” Marge was the production supervisor who set the lettering on the marker.
The Gasser-Olds Company made all of the Monroe markers.
In 2015, another marker from Marilyn Monroe’s site sold for more than $200,000 at Julien’s Auctions.
Another auction house in Los Angeles, Julien’s, is also selling Monroe memorabilia Thursday through Sunday.
Included in that sale is the dress the actress wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, and its worth is estimated at $3.3 million. Jewelry includes a diamond cocktail watch worth $100,000. Also, Monroe’s famous recipe for stuffing, scrawled on a sheet of City Title Insurance Company notepaper, will be auctioned.
In 2009, the crypt next to hers was auctioned off for $4.6 million.
