What is the most jaw-dropping auction sale in history?

Paintings, gold coins, racing cars and two dinosaur skeletons whose hammer prices made the evening news.

1. 1
   Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé

   One of two 1955 racing coupés, sold by Mercedes at a secret RM Sotheby's auction in 2022.
   1000pts

   BE
2. 2
   Salvator Mundi

   The Leonardo da Vinci painting of Christ that became the most expensive artwork ever sold, at Christie's in 2017.
   873pts
3. 3
   Ferrari 250 GTO

   The 1960s Ferrari racer that set car auction records at RM Sotheby's.
   753pts
4. 4
   Codex Leicester

   Leonardo da Vinci's scientific notebook, bought by Bill Gates at Christie's in 1994.
   668pts
5. 5
   Stan the T. rex

   A Tyrannosaurus skeleton from South Dakota that Christie's sold for $31.8 million in October 2020.
   565pts
6. 6
   SUE the T. rex

   The Tyrannosaurus rex Chicago's Field Museum won at Sotheby's in 1997.
   565pts
7. 7
   1933 Double Eagle

   The only privately ownable example of the $20 gold coin the US Mint melted down, sold at Sotheby's in 2021.
   439pts
8. 8
   Honus Wagner T206 card

   The rare 1909–11 baseball card of the Pirates shortstop, long the holy grail of collectors.
   439pts
9. 9
   Shakespeare First Folio

   The 1623 first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, sold at Christie's in 2020.
   439pts
10. 10
    Dorothy's ruby slippers

    A pair of Judy Garland's slippers from The Wizard of Oz, stolen in 2005 and auctioned by Heritage in 2024.
    0pts
11. 11
    Magna Carta (1297)

    One of the few surviving 13th-century copies of the charter, sold at Sotheby's New York in 2007.
    0pts
12. 12
    Portrait of Dr. Gachet

    Van Gogh's portrait of his doctor, a record-breaker at Christie's in 1990.
    0pts
13. 13
    British Guiana 1c magenta

    The world's only known copy of an 1856 stamp, sold at Sotheby's in 2021.
    0pts

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