MEMPHIS, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The seller of a gold-and-diamond cameo ring once belonging to Elvis Presley said the proceeds would pay for his daughter's college tuition.
The ring sold for $32,500 at a sale dubbed the "Ultimate Elvis Auction," the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported Sunday.
However, not every item at Saturday's auction sold. Elvis' grand piano failed to get a minimum starting bid of $500,000; neither did a love letter from Elvis to onetime girlfriend Anita Wood ($37,500), or Elvis' 1955 contract with RCA, which failed to get the minimum starting bid of $75,000.
"That will be my daughter's tuition," said Hill, who expected his ring to sell for close to the minimum bid of $10,000.
Blair got the ring from his grandmother, who received it from Presley. Blair said his late grandmother, Janelle McComb, was a close friend of the Presley family.
The auction was held by Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries at The Peabody, a luxury hotel in downtown Memphis. In addition to about 100 people at the hotel, some people made their bids by telephone, others via the Internet.
"Everyone wants a piece of Elvis," said Arkansas collector John Heath. "If he wore something, especially if it is in a photograph and if he wore it onstage, it will be more valuable."
Among the most unusual items sold was an empty prescription bottle for antibiotics prescribed by Elvis' physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos. It brought a bid of more than $3,200.
