The 11 Most Outrageous Stuff You Can Buy From Sotheby's Right Now

International auction house Sotheby’s may be known for priceless treasures such as works of art, timepieces, vintage cars, and antiques, but it also carries slightly more mundane items coveted by serious collectors. Fashion pieces, handbags, sports paraphernalia can sometimes make their way to the lots sold online to people all over the world. 

We’ve tried to window shop and found the 10 most outrageously cool stuff with a price tag that’s equally outrageous. We rank them according to the listed price, from most affordable to the most expensive.

ALSO READ

A Patek Philippe Once Owned by China's Last Emperor Was Sold for P347 Million at Auction

A Vintage Omega Speedmaster That Sold at Auction for P190 Million Turned Out to Be Fake

1| LSD Psychedelic Board Game

$1,000 (P55 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

Yes, this is actually a board game for LSD trippers; an original first edition and complete set of a cult ‘60s “game” kit. It’s a psychedelic puzzle with no rules and no solution created by American Publishing Corporation in 1966 at the peak of the swinging ‘60s. It is said that this was a “happening” disguised as a board game. There are 20  game pieces printed with bright swirling illustrations and cut with interlocking grooves, housed in a box illustrated with a representative three-dimensional construction a player might build, created for the casual mind-expanding drug user in great need of aimless but absorbing activity kits to purchase. 

LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a hallucinogenic drug created by a Swiss scientist in the 1930s. It is said that the CIA used LSD among other drugs to conduct clandestine experiments for mind control, information gathering, and other covert purposes. The drug became a symbol of the 1960s counterculture, eventually joining other hallucinogenic and recreational drugs at rave parties.

2| Hermès Orange Polyethylene Toronto Construction Hat

$6,800 (P377,000)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This Hermès construction hat is the ultimate fashion accessory when you visit your construction jobsite, instead of wearing the usual run-of-the-mill yellow or white construction hats other construction workers are wearing. The orange color stands out for that extra margin of safety at the work site. The 2009 vintage has some minor scratches and minor wear on the Hermès logo but listed by Sotheby’s in “very good condition.” 

3| LV x Nike gold shoes

$14,595 (P808,000)

Photo by Sotheby's.

Created by the late Virgil Abloh, the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 Gold in size 9 was introduced in 2022, 40 years since the birth of the original Air Force 1. It was actually released posthumously, celebrating Abloh’s work that seamlessly connected the decades of prominence of Nike’s famed sneaker. Abloh designed 47 bespoke pairs of the Nike Air Force 1 for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 show in collaboration with Nike. To distinguish them from the original Nike Air Force 1, the sneakers were made with materials employed in Abloh’s Louis Vuitton men’s collections and styled with his signature quotation marks, echoing the written graphics Abloh used to adorn the shoes. Every pair was made by Louis Vuitton in Fiesso d’Artico, marking the first time the AF1 model was crafted outside of a Nike factory.   

In January 2022, Sotheby’s had a total of 200 pairs offered at an auction in an exclusive colorway and accompanying pilot case. A general release of nine additional pairs dropped in June 2022. This collaboration between Louis Vuitton and Nike resulted in some of the most authentic, high-end sneakers ever created. 

4| Artwork of the famous "Tongue and Lip" logo of the Rolling Stones

$25,000 (P1.4 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

Signed by British artist John Pasche,  this is a hand-drawn and hand-painted gouache and pencil on heavy weight 300 gram art paper. It also comes with a signed certificate of authenticity. Mick Jagger commissioned John Pasche in 1970 to create a logo for the Rolling Stones and the original artwork is kept at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

5| Chanel surfboard

$29,500 (P1.6 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This black and white surfboard is made of carbon fiber, polyurethane, and fiberglass and is a limited edition piece that was featured in Chanel's 2019 Spring/Summer Ready-To-Wear “Chanel by the Sea” collection in collaboration with Philippe Barland. It includes three fins and carrying case, not that you would really take this to the beach. You would want to buy an equivalent surfboard priced less than a thousand dollars to do some real surfing. 

6| Hermes boxing gloves

$30,000 (P1.6 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This pair of Hermès Rouge H, Rouge Casaque, and White Swift boxing gloves comes with a Rouge H textile lining, and includes the ribbon, care booklet, dust bag, and box. You probably can use this pair to show off in your next boxing class.

7| Louis Vuitton plane bag

$60,000 (P3.3 million) 

Photo by Sotheby's.

There’s certainly nothing plain about this bag, a Louis Vuitton Virgil Abloh ebene monogram coated canvas airplane bag with silver hardware Modeled after what looks like a Lockheed C130 Hercules cargo plane, this bag was featured on the runway “Look 50” at the LV 2021 Fall/Winter Menswear Ready-to-Wear collection.

8| Louis Vuitton Bear and Personalized Alzer Suitcase

$60,000 (P3.3 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This very huggable Pudsey Bear by Louis Vuitton is from the 2013 vintage collection and comes with a suitcase. The teddy bear wears a red jacket that looks like a nod to the ‘80s or something from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video. The original Pudsey is the official mascot of BBC’s Children in Need. She first appeared in 1985 and was created by BBC designer Joanna Ball. She took his name from her hometown in Yorkshire. Why does Pudsey wear an eye patch? No one knows for sure, but it was probably because the mascot had to be in some form of disability for it to be relatable to the children the charity is trying to help. 

9| James Bond’s Dr. No poster

$60,000 (P3.3 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This is the priciest movie poster on sale at Sotheby’s. The Dr. No movie poster is highly prized because it was the first James Bond film. A bit of trivia: the novel was chosen to be the inaugural movie for the James Bond film franchise because the plot of the source novel was the most straightforward and it had only one major location (Jamaica) and only one big special effects set piece. The set and even all of its furniture were custom sized to be smaller to make Bond, played by Sean Connery to look bigger.  

10| Yankees World Series baseball cap

$85,000 (P4.7 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

This New York Yankees 2009 World Series baseball cap is from the brand New Era and signed and game-worn by baseball star Alex Rodriguez during five games in the 2009 World Series, including the championship clinching Game 6. It was photomatched by The MeiGray Group and comes with a letter of authenticity from Alex Rodriguez. The New York Yankees are undoubtedly the most prominent and well-established franchise in Major League Baseball and is also the winningest franchise in the sport. The Yankees have produced more Hall of Famers than any other team in the MLB: Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Jeter and Rivera are all names that help tell the story of the Yankees’ first 26 World Series trophies.

But perhaps no name tells the story of championship number 27 better than Alex Rodriguez.  He wore this cap as he clinched his only World Series championship. In addition, he wore it in four of the five other World Series games that year, making it one of the finest sports artifacts from Rodriguez.

11| Lebron James' used jersey

$200,000 (P11.09 million)

Photo by Sotheby's.

LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers 2017 NBA Playoffs game-worn jersey (link here) is the most expensive sports memorabilia in this list. James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA championship. In 2010, James infamously left Cleveland for Miami in free agency and since then, the Cavaliers struggled for the next four years. Then he made his triumphant return and by 2017, James and the Cavs sought to defend the city’s first major sports championship in 52 years. The jersey is accompanied by a photomatch letter from The MeiGray Group. James and the Cavs went on to reach their third consecutive NBA Finals before falling to the Golden State Warriors.