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Notorious B.I.G.'s crown sells for almost $600K at Sotheby's auction

The crown worn by The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997 sold for nearly $600,000 at a Sotheby's hip-hop auction. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The crown worn by The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997 sold for nearly $600,000 at a Sotheby's hip-hop auction. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Sotheby's inaugural hip-hop auction, which featured the late Notorious B.I.G's crown, achieved $2 million in sales with 91% of all lots sold.

The auction took place Tuesday at Sotheby's New York and attracted more than 400 registered bidders from 19 countries. More than 25% of the bidders were new to Sotheby's.

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The Notorious B.I.G's crown, which he wore during his K.O.N.Y. (King of New York) photoshoot session with photographer Barron Claiborne in 1997, led all items and sold for $594,750.

A sealed, 12-inch single of Rammellzee vs. K-Rob's Beat Bop from 1983 featuring original artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, sold for $126,000. The item is considered the holy grail of hip-hop records and exceeded its estimate by more than 50 times.

An art installation featuring 32 extremely rare and vintage boomboxes from the early 1980s and 1990s sold for $113,400. Roc Nation DJ Ross One created the item which wires the boomboxes together to function as a singular sound system.

A collection of high school love letters written by the late Tupac Shakur when he was 16-years-old sold for $75,600. The collection, which includes a total 42 pages on 24 sheets of paper and one greeting card. Shakur wrote the letters for his high school sweetheart Kathy Loy.

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Sotheby's is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Queens Public Library Foundation to support their hip-hop programs and non-profit organization Building Beats which teaches tech, entrepreneurial and leadership skills to underserved youth.

Preview: Sotheby's 'The History and Impact of Hip Hop' auction

The crown worn by The Notorious B.I.G. during his K.O.N.Y. (King of New York) photo session with photographer Barron Claiborne in1997 is on display. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

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