The world of high‑stakes bidding isn’t just about glittering jewels or priceless paintings – it’s also a theater for the truly odd, the ethically fraught, and the downright unsettling. In this top 10 strange roundup we explore auctions that made headlines for all the wrong reasons, from Hollywood trophies to ancient relics and even human lives.
Why These Top 10 Strange Auctions Matter
Each of these sales reveals a different shade of controversy, whether it’s legal loopholes, cultural theft, or moral outrage. By unpacking the backstories, we get a clearer picture of how money, power, and curiosity collide in the auction house.
10 The Oscar Auction
Back in 1942, art director Joseph Wright earned an Oscar for his work on the Technicolor musical My Gal Sal. The trophy, however, didn’t stay in the family forever. Decades after Wright’s death, his relatives decided to place the golden statuette on the block, and Briarbrook Auction House supervised the event. The winning bidder walked away with the prize for a cool $79,200.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences wasn’t thrilled. It sued the buyers, claiming a contractual right to a first‑refusal purchase. The Academy’s counter‑offer? A symbolic $10. This stemmed from a 1950s waiver that all Oscar winners supposedly sign, obliging them to sell back the trophy for a nominal fee. Even though Wright never actually signed such a contract, the Academy still tried to flex its muscle.
In the end, the lawsuit fizzled, but the episode highlighted a little‑known clause that gives the Academy a theoretical claim on any Oscar that leaves its original owner’s hands. It also showed how even a Hollywood icon can become a courtroom drama.
9 Queen Victoria’s Bloomers
When a buyer snapped up a pair of silk bloomers once worn by Queen Victoria for £1,000, the auction world got a whiff of Victorian intrigue. The undergarments measured a massive 112 cm (44 in) at the waist and bore the numeral “2” and the monarch’s initials “VR,” indicating they were her second set.
Victoria allegedly rotated these bloomers to keep them from wearing out, and they featured an “open drawer” style – a practical hole in the middle for bathroom use. The garment’s size and royal provenance made it a collector’s dream despite its intimate nature.
The bloomers entered the market via a great‑aunt who had been friends with Susan Heard, a London lady‑in‑waiting. Heard apparently swapped clothing items from her employers during tea gatherings, a practice that, while unconventional today, was not unheard of in aristocratic circles of the era.
8 A Laptop With Six Viruses
Chinese digital artist Guo O Dong turned a Samsung laptop running Windows XP into a living museum of malware by loading it with six of the world’s most notorious viruses. Titled The Persistence of Chaos, the piece sold for $1.3 million in 2019, proving that digital danger can be a lucrative commodity.
The six malicious programs included the 2000 “ILOVEYOU” worm, which caused billions in damage, the 2003 “Sobig” worm that once held the title of fastest‑spreading malware, the 2004 “Mydoom” worm (still the swiftest email worm), the 2007 “BlackEnergy” remote access tool, the 2013 “DarkTequila” trojan, and the 2017 ransomware “WannaCry.” Each represented a different era of cyber‑threats.
To ensure the viruses didn’t escape into the wild, Dong partnered with a cybersecurity firm that isolated the code, preventing any accidental spread beyond the laptop itself. The work sparked debate about whether art should ever be weaponized, even when safely contained.
7 Paintings By Hitler
Adolf Hitler, infamous for orchestrating the Holocaust, also dabbled in watercolor painting. Though his artistic skill was widely regarded as mediocre, a 2015 auction in Nuremberg saw a secretive collector pay $450,000 for a set of 14 of his works, which primarily depicted castles and floral scenes.
Hitler’s repeated rejections from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna are well‑documented; his artistic ambitions never materialized into a professional career. Still, the paintings fetched a hefty sum, prompting intense ethical discussions about profiting from the creations of a mass murderer.
The sale raised questions about the responsibilities of auction houses when dealing with morally repugnant items. While the buyer remained anonymous, the incident underscored how the art market can sometimes turn a blind eye to the darker histories attached to certain works.
6 Sketchy King Tut Sculpture
An exquisite quartzite sculpture of the young pharaoh Tutankhamen fetched nearly $6 million at Christie’s in 2019, but the triumph was short‑lived. Egypt’s antiquities ministry declared the piece stolen from Karnak Temple in the 1970s, turning the sale into an international scandal.
Christie’s claimed the work had been legally owned by the late Prince Wilhelm von Thurn und Taxis, yet both his son and niece refuted any such ownership. Investigative journalists uncovered no evidence that the prince ever possessed the artifact, deepening suspicions of illicit provenance.
Both seller and buyer chose to remain anonymous, but the controversy sparked diplomatic tension. If Egypt lodges a formal complaint with UNESCO, the sculpture could be repatriated, highlighting the fragile balance between private collecting and cultural heritage protection.
5 The Meat‑Eating Dinosaur
In 2018, a carnivorous dinosaur skeleton sold for $2.36 million at a Paris auction, igniting fury among paleontologists. The fossil, likely an Allosaurus, exemplified a growing trend where private owners monetize prehistoric treasures, often at the expense of scientific study.
U.S. law permits landowners to sell fossils found on private property, regardless of their scientific value. Critics warn that this encourages a market that siphons important specimens away from research institutions, especially when fossils are illicitly taken from federal lands and falsely presented as privately discovered.
Adding to the uproar, the auction catalog claimed the specimen might represent a new, previously unknown allosaurid. If true, the loss to science would be profound, as contextual information from the original site would be forever gone.
4 A Giant Rabbit
Christie’s made history in 2019 when Jeff Koons’ stainless‑steel sculpture titled Rabbit sold for a staggering $91.1 million, becoming the most expensive work by a living artist. The seemingly whimsical piece, standing 91 cm tall, mimics a balloon animal with a mirror‑like surface that captures and reflects its surroundings.
Koons described the work as a “reflective drama,” suggesting that the rabbit’s polished exterior incorporates viewers into its ever‑shifting visual narrative. The piece’s playful appearance belies its astronomical price tag, underscoring how the ultra‑wealthy can turn even a shiny bunny into a status symbol.
While the auction didn’t spark moral controversy, it highlighted the power of billionaire collectors to drive record‑breaking sales, reshaping the art market’s landscape and setting new benchmarks for living artists.
3 A Painting That Self‑Destructed
British street‑artist Banksy, famed for his anonymity and anti‑commercial stance, surprised the world in 2018 when a painting sold at Sotheby’s for $1.4 million only to shred itself moments after the gavel fell. The work, depicting a little girl reaching for a red balloon, was displayed in a frame that concealed a hidden shredder.
The auction concluded without any indication that the piece would self‑destruct. As the final bid was recorded, the canvas slipped into the built‑in mechanism, tearing itself into strips that fell from the frame, leaving spectators in stunned silence.
Banksy later claimed responsibility, explaining that “to destroy is also a creative urge.” The unexpected act not only shocked the buyer and Sotheby’s but also increased the artwork’s notoriety, ultimately boosting its cultural value by about 50 percent.
2 Whale Meat
Japan’s 2019 decision to resume commercial whaling ignited global outrage, especially when two minke whales were auctioned for their meat, with some lots reaching a high of 15,000 yen (about $140). The International Whaling Commission had banned commercial whaling in 1986 to protect endangered species, but Japan withdrew, arguing that the practice was essential for cultural and scientific purposes.
Despite the official stance, most of the 333 whales killed in 2018 were sold to restaurants, and the 2019 auction highlighted the lucrative market for whale meat. Conservationists warned that the move could further endanger already vulnerable populations.
Compounding the controversy, a 2015 Environmental Investigation Agency study found that every dolphin and whale sample tested contained unsafe mercury levels, raising health concerns for consumers and adding another layer of ethical debate.
1 A Girl
In a harrowing 2018 incident, a Facebook post advertised the sale of a 17‑year‑old girl from South Sudan as if she were a commodity. Five men entered a bidding war, ultimately securing her as a ninth wife for a man in his forties, paying with luxury cars, 500 cattle, $10,000, bikes, phones, and a boat.
The practice reflects a deeply entrenched tradition of child bride transactions in South Sudan, where families receive dowries in exchange for marrying off their daughters. The auction was widely condemned by human‑rights lawyers, anti‑human‑trafficking groups, and the broader international community.
Facebook took days to respond to complaints, eventually removing the post, but other similar listings remained for a time. The episode underscored the challenges of policing online marketplaces for egregious human‑rights violations.