Pair of ruby slippers from Oz to be sold

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland during the filming of "The Wizard of Oz" could fetch as much as $3 million, a Los Angeles-area auction house says.

Profiles in History in Calabasas, Calif., says a pair used in a screen test was sold for $612,000 in June. The set scheduled to be auctioned Dec. 16 is one of four pairs known to exist from the actual filming of the 1939 classic.

The auction house said in a release the pre-sale estimated price is $2 million to $3 million.

The other three pairs from the actual film include one in the Smithsonian in Washington, which is so popular with visitors the carpet in front of the case has had to be replaced many times, another belonging to a private collector and unlikely to go on the market any time soon and a third reported stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., the auction house said.

Profiles in History said the slippers will be auctioned during a three-day sale of movie memorabilia Dec. 15-17. The auction house has not said where the sale will be held or identified the seller of the slippers.

The pair are marked Judy Garland No. 7.

While they are in almost perfect condition, experts at Profiles in History said they have scuffs suggesting they were the ones Garland wore in a memorable close-up when she clicked her heels three times to get back to Kansas. The shoes are also believed to have been used for a shot showing the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East sticking out from under Dorothy's house.