News createt: 13-07-2012 10:00:00
Elvis bag worth more than $500,000
A PENSIONER who bought a bag from a charity shop for £20 has been told it could be worth £350,000 (approx. $540,000).
John Richard, 73, picked up the bag — covered with images of Elvis Presley by artist Andy Warhol — at the Oxfam store.
He later discovered it was the work of Irish designer Philip Treacy, one of ten ever made.
Mr Richard, of Hampstead, North London, said: “I bought it but only looked at it again a few months later. I took it to a Philip Treacy shop and they confirmed it was one of theirs.”
Gee Brunet, manager of Philip Treacy London, said: “It is definitely one of our originals. I was surprised he found it in a charity shop. It could reach £350,000 — it’s a piece of art, not a bag.”
Mr Richard has already had two offers for it — for £250,000 and £350,000 — from buyers in China.
Fee Gilfeather, of Oxfam, said: “We were stunned. It’s highly unusual for an item of such extreme value to go unnoticed.”
Source: The Sun
