The iconic ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz have been put up for auction.
Per Heritage Auctions, the glamorous heels are currently bidding at $812,500, with the next minimum bid set at $825,000. There are currently 31 days left of bidding, with the auction continuing through Dec. 7.
The slippers being put up for auction comes nearly two decades after they were stolen from Minnesota’s Judy Garland Museum in 2005.
The sequin-adorned footwear, which were worn by Garland’s character Dorothy Gale in the 1939 movie, were bought by Michael Shaw in 1970 before they were stolen by Terry Jon Martin while on loan at the museum.
They were found in 2018, with the FBI sharing in a press release that they discovered the shoes in Minneapolis while investigating a scheme to defraud and extort the Markel Corporation, which owns the item.
Shaw’s slippers are the “cross-matched sister shoes to the pair at The Smithsonian Institution,” according to Heritage Auctions.
“The Ruby Slippers are a vintage pair of Innes Shoe Co. red silk faille heels with uppers and heels covered with hand-sequined silk georgette, lined in white leather, and the leather soles are painted red with orange felt adhered to the front foundation of each shoe,” the description of the slippers reads.
“The bows are made of hand-cut buckram cloth and are slightly different in size,” the description continues. “Rhinestones rim the bows, which are filled with bugle beads surrounding three center jewels.”
According to the Associated Press, Martin, whom the AP identified as an “aging reformed mobster,” stole the slippers after he was encouraged by an unidentified former mob associate to commit “one last score.” The associate also reportedly told him the shoes were adorned with real jewels.
Martin smashed a museum door and display case during the 2005 theft of the slippers, which are one of four known authentic pairs of shoes worn by Garland, who died in 1969.
In May 2023, Martin was indicted by the U.S. District Court in Minnesota and charged with theft of major artwork. He pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2023, per a U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of North Dakota press release issued at the time.
When Martin pleaded guilty, he said he wanted to sell rubies from the slippers,
Martin received one year of probation and an order to pay around $23,000 to Minnesota’s Judy Garland Museum.
