Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman received most of the Beatles-type attention as the NBA’s Chicago Bulls breezed to the franchise’s second set of three-peats in 1996, 97 and 98. But it was guards like Randy Brown who played the role of Ringo perfectly assisting the big three.

Now it’s Brown who needs an assist.

As part of a bankruptcy filing, a judge has ordered the auction of Brown’s three championship rings he won with the Bulls. Being offered online through West Auctions on May 19, the starting bid is $19,000 for all three.

Daniel West, a partner in the Woodland Calif.-based auction house, took the rings to a California jewelry appraiser who told him the value of the set was more than $40,000. The 12.5-sized ring from the 1998 championship alone was valued at more than $20,000.

"From a collector's standpoint, [the final bid] could easily triple that -- I hope," said West.

Bidding will be anonymous, but because this is a public sale conducted on behalf of the bankruptcy court, the name of the final bidder will be part of public record. 
 

The coin world is abuzz over the auction of a rare silver dollar, one of the most valuable in the world and one of only 15 known to exist from a never-circulated group made for the likes of the King of Siam and the Sultan of Muscat.

The 1804 Adams-Carter silver dollar fetched more than $2 million in a private sale two years ago and is expected to top that again this week. The coin has been owned by a Boston banker, a Texas publishing mogul and by a collector who sold everything to help build a church school in Ohio.

The auction is a major happening for collectors — even ones who can't afford the expected price tag — partly because it will be a rare opportunity to see the coin. It's the highlight of the Central States Numismatic Society Convention that runs Wednesday through Saturday in Cincinnati. Anyone registered to bid on any item in the auction may view the coin, and that could number in the thousands, said Todd Imhof of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

Joe Barrett, co-owner of three Rare Coin Gallery shops in the Cincinnati area, compared the convention to a movie buff's visit to a film museum, with Kevin Costner as tour guide.

"For coin people, it doesn't get any better than this," Barrett said. "For young collectors, this is an opportunity to see things they wouldn't get a chance to see otherwise."

Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine, suggested the valuable coin may not be seen in public for another 50 years.

"It's a rare coin that has a great story," she said.

Coin Values magazine rates the 1804 Adams-Carter silver dollar as the seventh most valuable coin in the world. The most valuable is a 1933 $20 double eagle that sold for $7.6 million in 2002.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's glove is not going once, going twice - or going anywhere.

A scheduled auction of the pop singer's possessions was called off Tuesday after Jackson and Julien's Auction House reached a settlement to their dispute over whether 2,000 items from Neverland Ranch were ever intended for sale.

Specific terms were not disclosed. But in short, Jackson keeps his things, while Julien's keeps its exhibition, which was open to the public and originally meant to promote next week's sale.

"There was so much interest from so many of Jackson's fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr. Tohme and Julien's Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson's fans for many years to come," read a joint statement from Jackson spokesman Dr. Tohme R. Tohme and auction organizer Darren Julien.

Jackson's production company, MJJ Productions, sued Julien in early March, seeking to halt the sale by arguing that Jackson hadn't authorized it. Julien maintained that the auction house was contracted by Jackson's production company to take all of the items from Neverland with the intention of selling them all beginning April 22.

A judge blocked one effort by MJJ Productions to cancel it earlier this month, and another was scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday for an injunction.

"I believe both sides are pleased with the resolution," Julien said Tuesday by telephone.

Julien has said he spent $2 million organizing the sale, which another auctioneer estimated could have fetched $12 million. The exhibition in Beverly Hills costs $20 to attend, and auction catalogues - a $50 single volume and $200, five-volume boxed set - were still selling, Julien said.

The statement also said MJJ Productions and Julien's Auction House would be making a "substantial" donation to MusiCares to benefit artists in need.
 

Wax statues are a lot like a Barry Manilow concert.

There’s the cool aspect ... like seeing one of the all-time great singer-songwriters crooning through hits like “I Write the Songs,” “Mandy” and “Weekend in New England” with an energy that belies his 65 years and one or two cosmetic procedures. At the same time, there’s something also very icky about watching soccer moms catfight ladies in moo-moos while “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling.”  

And while Manilow fans will have to remain content waiting to see him on Oprah or at the Las Vegas Hilton, wax fans have the chance to take a little weirdness home with them.

The Hollywood Wax Museum is letting go of nearly 200 representations including Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch, Marilyn Monroe, cast of M.A.S.H., Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice and Batman, President Bill Clinton and even St. Louis Cardinals slugger/juicer Mark McGwire. The first auction in the museum’s 44-year history is set for May 1, 2009. A portion of the profits will support efforts to preserve Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

And while some of the statues are showing their age, what guy is going to let a little chipping on Catwoman’s gloves keep him from wanting to take a body suit wearing Michelle Pfeiffer home?


 

Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, unveiled a mural of clouds in the sky that will be auctioned in 67 puzzle pieces to raise funds and to mark the second annual World Autism Awareness Day.

The 76-year-old Japanese artist and musician created the seven-foot tall "Promise" mural from acrylic materials. Each of the 67 pieces of art will be auctioned with starting bids of $1,000 at charitybuzz.com/yoko.

"When I was first approached to create an artwork for autism awareness I was shocked by the worldwide prevalence of this serious situation, especially among our children," Ono said at the auction launch at the United Nations. "My work, 'Promises,' symbolizes that we all hold a piece of this puzzle and we must work to raise awareness, funds for research and advocate for families who experience autism."

The 67 pieces represent the 67 million people who have autism around the world.

A rare two-seat version of the Spitfire fighter, the plane that earned a nation's gratitude in the Battle of Britain, may fetch a record price in an auction this month.

This Spitfire is unique — a one-seat World War II-era fighter that became a two-seat trainer in the 21st century. Bonhams, which is offering the meticulously restored plane at a sale on April 20, estimates it will sell for 1.5 million pounds ($2.2 million). Retrieved from a junkyard in South Africa 30 years ago, the plane is now certified to fly.

Bonhams' Austria unit, Bonhams & Goodman, sold a 1945 Spitfire Mark XVI for NZ$3.2million ($1.8 million) in September, reportedly the record auction price for a Spitfire. That plane had been on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio until 1997. The one now for sale is a Mark IX model delivered on Oct. 23, 1944, one of 23,000 Spitfires built through the war.

As the Dead prepare for their first tour since 2004, they're determined that an auction of prime seats will raise money for charities as well as put those tickets in the hands of fans, not scalpers.

"We want to keep away from all of that," percussionist Mickey Hart told Billboard.com. "You always keep your fingers crossed that the bad guys don't get in there and turn profits for themselves." Tickets have been turning up on secondary sale sites such as Tickets Now and StubHub, but the Dead has decided not to offer Platinum Tickets through Ticketmaster.

Guitarist Bob Weir (above) said he has long felt that any type of scalping "should be illegal. Nobody benefits but a few people. The band doesn't get any of that money. The people have to pay more money for what they should rightfully be getting for way less. It's immensely frustrating."

Under the auction plan, which is being operated through Charity Folks (charityfolks.com), the Dead is auctioning off the first five rows center for its shows to high bidders. Memorabilia and meet-and-greet opportunities are also up for grabs. The group hopes the auctions will raise $250,000 for the Rex Foundation, an arts charity the group established in 1983, as well as for the Further Foundation, the Unbroken Chain Foundation and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.