September 19, 2022
The Personal Collection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg online sale concluded on Friday, September 16, in spectacular fashion …
Auction House Bonhams on the sale of personal items from the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The sale raised more than half a million dollars for charity.
Why It Matters: Proceeds from the online sale will help start The RBG Endowment Fund, a program of a charity the late Justice Ginsburg previously supported: SOS Children’s Villages, which is “the world’s largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the care of orphaned and abandoned children.”
- Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, where her service spanned 27 years. She passed away two years ago this past Sunday at age 87.
- There were more than 75 personal items of Ginsburg’s sold, with total sales from the auction reaching nearly $517,000 and each item “selling well above their estimates,” Bonhams explained.
- Two of her judicial collars — which she styled over her judicial robes — were sold, marking the first time her collars were available for private ownership as others have been donated to museums such as the Smithsonian. Her gold beaded collar was the highest selling item in the auction, selling for $176,775.
- A wooden gavel of Ginsburg’s sold for $20,400. Other items sold included lace gloves, a handbag and a pair of jewelry boxes.
RBG White Glove Sale Raises Nearly Half a Million for SOS Children’s Villages (Bonhams)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg auction brings in nearly $517K (The Washington Post)
Portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Favorite Collars and the Stories Behind Them (TIME)
by Jenna Lee,
