Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘King of New York’ Crown Sells for Nearly $600,000
Written by SOURCE on September 16, 2020
A plastic prop worn by the Notorious B.I.G. has sold for nearly half a million dollars.
On Tuesday, Sotheby’s conducted its first-ever auction dedicated to coveted hip-hop items. The most anticipated lot of the night was the crown Biggie wore in the 1997 “King of New York” photograph shot by Barron Claiborne. The piece was predicted to fetch around $300,000, but ultimately sold for $594,750. The portrait session was conducted for Rap Pages magazine just several days prior to Biggie’s murder.
The item was signed by both Biggie and Claiborne and is inscribed with the photo shoot date.
“Probably the top lot is the crown,” Sotheby’s senior specialist Cassandra Hatton told Reuters last week. “I think that crown is one of the most recognizable symbols of hip hop, 20th century culture. Everybody around the world recognizes this crown. You see it on T-shirts. You see it on coffee cups and prayer candles. It’s huge.”
Other items sold at the auction included a Supreme x Louis Vuitton hoodie, which went for $4,800; a pair of Salt-N-Pepa “Push It” jackets that sold for $19,000; Slick Rick’s diamond eye patch ($20,000); Fab 5 Freddy’s gold and diamond MTV ring ($28,000); a complete run of Source magazine ($26,000); and 22 unpublished letters from 2Pac to his high school sweetheart ($60,000).
You can watch the rest of the auction here.
