Rights to Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren images up for auction

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The rights to a collection of images of pop culture icons like Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and Bob Dylan are up for auction.

Investors are now able to bid for 50 percent of royalty income earned from the use of the images, as well as the rights of eight previously unreleased celebrity photos, according to a release from Royalty Exchange.

The online marketplace is hosting the auction, which ends April 27. Bidding starts at $45,000 for the rights, with the highest bidder winning half of the future income stream.

The images include a beach shot of Elizabeth Taylor in 1955, a photo of Sophia Loren pouring champagne in 1963 and a previously unreleased photo of Jimi Hendrix in 1968.

Andy Warhol, Led Zeppelin and Elvis are also featured in the collection.

The current owners of the royalties predict a higher payout than the last year's $9,000 income from the photos, according to Royalty Exchange. "There is enormous room for revenue growth from partnerships with major retailers, other sources of media licensing and more," the site said.