Plastic Crown Worn By Notorious B.I.G. Garners $594K At Auction

QUEENS, NY – A $6 plastic crown, once worn by the late hip hop star Christopher Wallace —known better as Biggie Smalls or The Notorious B.I.G — fetched nearly $600,000 on Wednesday night as part of a Sotheby's auction that garnered $2 million.

The crown, which was signed by Wallace after he wore it for a 1997 promotional King of New York photograph, was the main attraction in the hip hop-centric auction, which benefitted two Queens organizations. The infamous headgear was the top-selling item at $594,750 as five bidders battled for nearly seven minutes for an auction piece that came in with an estimated value of $200,000, Sotheby's officials announced in a news release Thursday.

The crown was offered up by photographer Barron Claiborne, who had the crown in his possession since the photo shoot, which took place three days before Wallace was shot and killed. The crown was signed by both Knight and Claiborne and was inscribed with the words, “Crown from Biggie KONY Shot NYC 3-6-97”

Claiborne told The New York Post that the crown was purchased as a novelty item for $6, but he said that he always saw "Biggie" As a king.

A portion of proceeds from Wednesday’s auction went to theQueens Public Library Foundation and its hip hop programs as well as Building Beats, a not-for-profit community organization that teaches tech, entrepreneurial and leadership skills to underserved young people through DJ and music programs.

Auction organizers said they were thrilled with the results, which came from 400 registered bidders from 19 countries. All told, the auction included 120 items, 91 percent of which sold Wednesday, from hip hop legends including Tupac Shakur, who authored 22 love letters as a teenager that were included in the auction.

“We’re proud to have been able to showcase the works of so many talented artists, rappers, designers, and photographers, among others, many of whom consigned their work directly to the auction,” Cassandra Hatton, vice president and senior specialist in Sotheby’s books and manuscript department said in a news release. To give back to the culture and share a portion of Sotheby’s proceeds to support two critical organizations in educating the next generation about Hip Hop and preserving its legacy is emblematic of the supportive community that defines Hip Hop."

In addition to the crown, other top-selling items included an original sealed 12-inch single, Rammellzee vs. K-Rob “Beat Bop”, which drew a winning bid of $126,000 while a Wall of Boom art installation featuring 32 rare boomboxes created by DJ Ross One, fetched $113,400.