October DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsSlow PC?RecommendedPC slow today? Run a repair scan before it gets worseResolve common Windows issues and optimize system performance.Scan NowOctober DealsAmazon USDeal season is back - check today's better picksAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.See Picks×
Skip to content
The Finance Base
The Money Desk · Blog
Re:

Jim Irsay Auction of Cultural Memorabilia: Final Results and Standout Lots

The completed Jim Irsay Collection auction series brought in $105,266,766 across five Christie’s sales, spanning music, literature, sports, pop culture and history.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

The Jim Irsay Collection’s five Christie’s auctions concluded in July 2026 with $105,266,766 in reported sales across 404 lots. The collection ranged from guitars and Beatles memorabilia to literary manuscripts, sports artifacts, film objects and documents tied to American history. The final total includes the July Icons of History sale; it is not the same figure as the $94,484,903 Christie’s reported for the four March auctions.

What was the final total for the Irsay auction?

Christie’s reported that the complete five-sale series brought in $105,266,766 from 404 lots. The auction house described it as the largest sale total in memorabilia history. That is Christie’s characterization of its result, not a broader market valuation or a prediction of what other memorabilia may sell for. Christie’s final results

The timing and scope explain the two totals often associated with the auction. Christie’s reported $94,484,903 for the four sales held in March 2026. It held the fifth sale, Icons of History, on 1 July and announced the completed series total on 6 July. The March amount is an interim subtotal; the July figure covers all five auctions. Christie’s March results Christie’s final results

How the five sales were divided

The March group comprised four sales. Christie’s reported the following results:

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Sale Reported result
Hall of Fame $84,091,350; 100 percent sold by lot
Icons of Pop Culture $6,472,301
Icons of Music $3,181,604
Online $739,064
Icons of History, held 1 July Included in the final five-sale total of $105,266,766; a standalone result is not stated in the cited final release

The Hall of Fame sale accounted for most of the reported March total. Its result describes this particular auction, not the likely selling price of other sports collectibles or memorabilia. Christie’s March results Christie’s final results

Notable objects and reported prices

The collection was not simply a guitar sale. Its objects linked music, literature, popular culture, sports and national history to people and events recognizable beyond the collecting world.

Literature and music

  • Jack Kerouac’s original typescript scroll for On the Road: Christie’s reported a result of $12,135,000 and said it set a record for a literary manuscript. This figure is the auction result for that original scroll, not a value for other copies or editions of the novel.
  • John Lennon’s Broadwood piano: $3,247,000.
  • Ringo Starr’s Beatles Drop T drum head: $2,881,000.
  • Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “The Times They Are a-Changin’”: $2,515,000.

These prices are results Christie’s reported for the specific lots in its March 2026 release. Christie’s March results

Film, sports and pop culture

Christie’s also identified an annotated Scarface script, a Jackie Robinson game-used bat, a Steve Jobs letter and a Wayne Gretzky jersey among the collection’s highlights. Those examples show its breadth; the cited highlights release does not state prices for these objects. Christie’s collection highlights

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

American history and the final sale

The 1 July Icons of History auction brought together manuscripts, books and cultural artifacts. Christie’s named William J. Stone’s 1823 engraving of the Declaration of Independence; George Washington’s 1787 letter sending a copy of the Constitution to Thomas Jefferson; tickets from the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre; a 1941 Atlantic Charter broadside signed by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill; and a Kennedy rocking chair. Christie’s Icons of History highlights

The final lot was the original working manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, which Christie’s described as the Big Book. It sold for $2,393,000. Christie’s said all proceeds from that manuscript would go to philanthropic causes supported by Irsay. In announcing the lot, his daughters said their father, when asked which single item he would save, always named the Big Book. Christie’s final results Christie’s Big Book announcement

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

What the auction results do—and do not—tell buyers

The headline total and individual lot prices are useful records of what buyers paid at these specific auctions. They are not a general price guide for memorabilia. A sale result for one original manuscript, instrument or game-used object does not establish the value of another example; the cited sources do not provide a market-wide valuation study.

Christie’s reported a portion of the collection-sale proceeds would go to philanthropy and announced plans for free public exhibitions in New York in 2025. Those were details from the sale announcement, rather than a measure of the final auction outcome. Associated Press, 30 October 2025

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More post from the Money Desk

  1. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 267 minMortgage Escrow FAQs: Taxes, Insurance, Shortages, and Refunds
  2. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow Mortgage Escrow Accounts Work and What Homeowners Pay For
  3. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase09 OCT 265 minHow to Read a Stock Chart, Volume and Market-Cap Data
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?Free driver scan

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.