Bids have reached close to $200,000 in an auction for one of the famous collars of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
As of Wednesday around 7 p.m., the highest bid reached $195,000 with around 14 hours left in the auction for Ginsburg’s collar, dubbed The Pegasus.
The Potomack Company, an auction house based in Alexandria, Va., announced in July they would auction off The Pegasus, which Ginsburg’s family once described as one of her favorites.
“The Pegasus limited edition silver metallic bib by Stella & Dot was one of [Ginsburg’s] favorite collars evoking power and strength with the imagery of battle armor in its layered metal pointed feathers,” the auction house said in a statement.
Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87 in 2020 due to complications from pancreatic cancer. She served on the Supreme Court for 27 years.
The Pegasus collar could be spotted on Ginsburg in the official 2018 photo of all nine justices after Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court. The photo was also taken on her first day back at the Supreme Court after she fell and fractured her ribs.
The auction house said the collar “sent the unspoken – but very clear – message that the justice was back in action and ready for duty.’
The Pegasus piece — which “is considered one of her important collars” and will be included in a forthcoming book “The Collars of RBG: A Portrait of Justice” — is expected to go for between $200,000 and $400,000, a Potomack Company representative previously told ITK.
The auction house said it plans to donate a percentage of the commission to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Endowed Fund for Research in Civil Rights and Gender Equality of the American Bar Foundation, for which Ginsburg served many years as an officer and board member.
Some of Ginsburg’s collars were donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History last year, as well as her Maison Blanc black robe, a black leather briefcase and a dozen briefs for cases she argued before serving on the Supreme Court.