A locket and miniature portrait of Thomas Jefferson, including hundreds of strands of his hair, sold for $23,125 on Wednesday at University Archives.
That price is barely a third of the sum paid for the same piece in 2021 … but the seller actually is turning a profit.
Here’s how.
Historic Autographs, a company that specializes in producing cards of authentic hair relics from historical figures, purchased the original piece in 2021 for $62,500. The company then used less than 50% of the hair from the locket, which includes hundreds of strands of hair, for cards, presumably for the 2022 Historic Autographs Prime set, which is currently listed for $379.99.
The hairs were used in cards such as the Rushmore card, which also featured strands from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and has sold for more than $1,600.
According to the auction house, the consignor, who is identified as the owner of Historic Autographs, profited $50,000 from the cards using Jefferson’s hair.
So, after selling the piece for $23,125 and adding in the $50,000 profit, Historic Autographs actually managed to net more than $10,000 from the project (not including the buyer’s premium, which eats into that number a bit).
The locket and portrait itself was either owned by Jefferson himself or given by him to a close family member or friend, according to University Archives.
“To our knowledge, no Jefferson hair relics have recently appeared on the market except for a small lock now in [University Archives founder John] Reznikoff's collection acquired from Dr. Miller's collection of hair locks belonging to Declaration of Independence Signers,” reads the auction description.
Whether or not historic hair is mainstream, there is no doubt there is money to be made in Founding Fathers’ locks.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.