The first part of the Freddie Mercury auction was entitled The Evening Sale, and included 59 lots of exceptional rarity that fetched a total price of £12.2 million. The most expensive lot in that auction was Freddie Mercury's Yamaha Grand Piano, which sold for £1.7 million. The piano was purchased by Freddie Mercury in 1975 and is arguably the most important instrument connected to the artist, as he used it to compose some of Queen's greatest songs, including Bohemian Rhapsody. Surprisingly, the piano was only one of two lots that didn't exceed its estimate (£2-3 million).
See also: Freddie Mercury's Epic Collection Heads to Auction
The headlines of the Evening Sale went to a special silver bracelet formed as a snake bangle, which was worn by Freddie Mercury in the classic music video of Bohemian Rhapsody – possibly the band's most famous song. The bracelet sold for 100 times its estimate and hammered at £698,000.
See also: Day 1 of the Epic Freddie Mercury Auction Brings in £12.2 Million
Overlooking all the lots that were sold in the 6-part auction, there are a few that stand above all others. The most talked-about lot was, indeed, the moustache comb. The small item had a somewhat low estimate of £400-600, which might have been reasonable without the Freddie Mercury provenance, but since the item is heavily connected to Freddie's physical appearance, it became a symbolic piece. Hence the selling price of £152,400, almost 250 times its high estimate. Other impressive results were £40,640 or his pair of sunglasses, and £35,560 for an old plastic Seiko watch.
See also: The Unexpected Star of Freddie Mercury's Collection
Other spectacular details about the auction were the exhibitions and the auction catalogue. The collection was exhibited in New York, Hong Kong, and lastly in London, where the auction finally took place. Notably, there were more than 140,000 visitors, a worldwide record for any auction. The sale catalogue was offered to visitors and sold online for £50. Over 20,000 copies of the catalogue were sold in one month, even making it into The Times' 'Bestsellers List'.
All in all, with a reported total price of £39.9 million, the Freddie Mercury Collection truly turned out to be greatest memorabilia auction of all time.
