George Zimmerman’s gun has apparently reached $65 million at an online auction, organizers say.
The gun was used to kill unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
The sale has been plagued by fake bidders including “Racist McShootface”.
George Zimmerman had planned to auction what he called “an American icon” on the website Gun Broker on May 12.
However, the web posting was removed just as the auction was due to begin with a reserve price of $5,000.
United Gun Group is now hosting the auction.
George Zimmerman has been arrested on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend
In a statement on Twitter, they defended the sale of the gun on their site: “Unless the law has been violated, it is the intention of the United Gun Group to allow its members to use any of the available features. While not always popular this is where we stand.”
They were “truly sorry” for Trayvon Martin family’s loss but said it was their goal to “defend liberty”.
On May 13, the top bidder was a user named Craig Bryant.
George Zimmerman, 32, a neighborhood watchman, was cleared over the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012 after saying he acted in self-defense.
In an online posting to announce the auction, George Zimmerman said that he would use the profits to “fight” the Black Lives Matter movement and oppose Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
A lawyer for Trayvon Martin’s family told the Washington Post that “it is insulting to this family that he would decide that he would sell the gun that he killed their child with”.
“Think about what that means: This is a gun that took a child’s life and now he wants to make money off of it.”
On the auction site, George Zimmerman said it was recently returned to him by the Department of Justice.
He claimed that the Smithsonian museums had expressed interest in buying the 9 mm handgun, but Smithsonian officials denied that in a statement.
Speaking to a Florida TV station, George Zimmerman had defended the auction saying: “I’m a free American, and I can do what I’d like with my possessions.”
Sotheby’s and eBay will create a web platform to allow viewers to bid on and buy art.
According to Sotheby’s chief operating officer Bruno Vinciguerra, the international art auction house hoped to reach “the broadest possible audience around the world” with the move.
Sotheby’s said the number of lots purchased online increased 36% in 2013.
Online art sales are expected to reach $13 billion by 2020.
Sotheby’s and eBay will create a web platform to allow viewers to bid on and buy art (photo Getty Images)
In April, John James Audubon’s elephant-folio The Birds of America sold for $3.5 million online via a live auction at Sotheby’s – a record for the company.
The venture will start with live auctions streamed from Sotheby’s New York headquarters, which will allow “real-time bidding from anywhere around the world”.
Sotheby’s will offer 18 categories to start, focusing jewelry, watches, prints, wine, photographs and 20th century design – categories the company says have been particularly appealing to online buyers.
The move comes just ahead of eBay’s earnings, which are set to be released on Wednesday, and as more and more start-ups, such as Artsy, Artspace and Paddle8 allow consumers to buy art on the web.
In 2013, Amazon announced it would sell works by artists such as Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol on its website.
Sotheby’s and eBay declined to give a firm start date for the service.
Monica Lewinsky clothing and notes collection fetched only $12,650 at an online auction scheduled to end last Thursday night.
The Nate Sanders website doesn’t list a final price in their results. It appears the highest bid didn’t met the reserve set by the unidentified consigner.
Monica Lewinsky clothing and notes collection fetched only $12,650 at an online auction
The 13 bids for 32 items collection went as high as $12,650, but “it didn’t meet the consigner’s reserve,” as auction manager Laura Yntema told The Washington Post.
“For something that’s rare, it’s hard to determine the value,” she added.
Laura Yntema didn’t say if the items will be offered again.
Ronald Reagan Foundation has expressed outrage after a vial said to contain the former US president’s blood was put on sale in an online auction.
British-based PFC Auctions says the blood sample was taken from Ronald Reagan after the failed 1981 assassination attempt against him.
The PFC website put the latest bid for the vial at £6,270 ($9,910) on Tuesday.
John Heubusch, executive director of the foundation, said that, if true, it would fight to stop “this craven act”.
“If indeed this story is true, it’s a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase,” he said.
British-based PFC Auctions says the blood sample was taken from Ronald Reagan after the failed 1981 assassination attempt against him
John Heubusch said the hospital where Ronald Reagan had been treated had assured the foundation that an inquiry was under way into “how something like this could possibly happen”.
PFC Auctions, based on Guernsey in the British Channel Islands, displayed a picture of the vial on its website bearing a label showing the president’s name.
The lot includes a letter of provenance from the seller who says their late mother worked at the laboratory which carried out blood testing for George Washington University Hospital after Mr Reagan was shot.
“These articles have actually been in my family’s possession since… the day that President Reagan was shot in Washington DC,” the letter reads.
Ronald Reagan suffered a punctured lung and internal bleeding when he was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel.
John Hinckley Jr. was later found not guilty by reason of insanity and is being treated at a psychiatric hospital.
Ronald Reagan, who went on to serve two terms as president, died at the age of 93 in 2004.
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