Chaplin Auction Sets New Record

This isn't the most amazing news I've ever heard, but it got me thinking about auctions and Ebay and what not (plus it is a slow news day), so I thought I'd mention it. Yesterday at an auction in L.A., a hat and cane set once used by Charlie Chaplin was sold for $139,250, the new record for such a set. I'm not sure how many sets there are -- surely he went through quite a few in his many years as the Tramp -- but that is a lot of money for something that isn't a one-of-a-kind. I'm surprised that things like this can net such prices, particularly give how much the market for auctions has widened since the internet and Ebay came along. (Maybe I'm just bitter because I could sell an old comic book or a signed copy of a book for a lot more before online auctions made everything a lot less rare.) I'm also shocked that people still trust or care about authenticity when scandals like the Queen Mary Marilyn Monroe exhibit happen.

I guess I'm just not a big enough fan of anything to buy expensive props or merchandise or souvenirs or whatever. Once in awhile, I will purchase movie-related clothing, like my The Fisher King t-shirt and my Adaptation long-sleeve with script excerpt on the back, provided they are relatively cheap. But then, I'm not the geek that some people are. The only thing of this sort that I would spend a lot of money on is a painting commissioned for the original Star Wars poster, which was never used, only because it was done by my father.

What is the most you've ever spent on Ebay or at an auction for something movie-related?