If you're on the lookout for a great collectible buy, Paul Fraser Collectibles always hesitates to recommend eBay, the ever-popular auction website, as a good place to begin your hunt.
While eBay does list genuine sellers and authentic memorabilia items - some endorsed by the celebrities themselves - it also lists many probable fakes of questionable provenance.
That said, eBay has thrown up a number of weird and wonderful collectible items throughout 2011. Oddities currently up for sale include a nude sketch of Lady Gaga, drawn and signed by the legendary crooner Tony Bennett...
Here are some of our other previously sold favourites...
#6 Shoes thrown at the former Aussie Prime Minister - $3,650
In September 2011, a pair of shoes once thrown at former Australian Prime Minister John Howard were reportedly sold for $3,650 via eBay.
The shoes were pelted at Howard during a live political discussion on Australia's ABC channel, according to the Sun Herald. "This is for the Iraqi dead!" exclaimed the shoes' thrower, Peter Gray, at the time.
Mr Gray has since passed away following a battle with cancer, but requested that the (in)famous shoes be sold for a charitable cause. The sale's $3,650 proceeds were reportedly donated to charity, as per Mr Gray's wishes.
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#5 The Beatles 'Ed Sullivan Show rehearsal ticket' - $7,279
This ticket was allegedly from the Fab Four's afternoon run-through prior to one of their landmark 1964 Ed Sullivan show appearances. According to the seller, it was distributed by CBS for a Beatles rehearsal before the group's second appearance on Sullivan's show during their first visit to America.The Beatles' rehearsal took place in Miami, Florida, at the Deauville Hotel on 16 February 1964. Said the eBay listing: "This ticket is for their afternoon rehearsal show at 2:30pm. There were only a few hundred fans (and tickets) for this show."
The Beatles' name isn't actually mentioned anywhere on the ticket itself. Just the location, date, and the ticket's specific use for "rehearsal only". It brought $7,279 earlier this month.
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#4 TV show Big Brother's spooky 'predicting' robot - $7,600
If television of the 2000s is remembered for one thing, it will be Big Brother. The reality show featuring strangers living together in a CCTV-laden house captivated audiences worldwide - resulting in an impressive eBay sale in September of this year."Bob Righter" - an anagram of Big Brother - was a 'clairvoyant' robot which appeared in the UK version of the show. Bids pushed the robot from a £500 initial bid all the way up to £4,700 (then approximately $7,600).
Proceeds benefitted the Red Cross, and it is rumoured that ex-contestants Nick Bateman, from Big Brother's first UK series, and Mario Mugan, from the 2010 edition, were the budding collectors behind the winning bid.
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#3 Sex Pistols rare 'God Save the Queen' record - $17,179
A rare Sex Pistols promotional record sold for $17,179 on eBay, back in October. The vinyl record featured the controversial song "God Save the Queen" by the English punk rock band, released on the A&M Records label in 1977.Only a small number of copies were pressed before the group left A&M and signed with Virgin Records. The records are considered by collectors to be among the most valuable in the UK.
Earlier this year, another rare record of God Save the Queen was named the most valuable vinyl disc of all time. According to the experts, its estimated value is £8,000 (nearly $13,178).
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#2 'Mint' copy of The Beatles' debut Please Please Me record - $18,355
This vintage vinyl record, originally released by music label Parlophone on March 22, 1963, appeared for sale on eBay on September 9.The record is none other than Please Please Me, The Beatles' debut LP, which changed history and heralded the birth of Beatlemania in the 1960s. The 1963 gold and black labelled original stereo pressing attracted 45 bids while listed on the popular auction website.
Its condition was described as "Oh My God!!!" by the seller - otherwise known as 'mint condition'.
In the end, "probably the most sought after album on the planet" sold for $18,355.
#1 Rare five cent U.S. Nickel coin - $23,850
Our top eBay sale isn't a rare record or even a piece of scarce memorabilia. Instead, this rare five cent coin with a minting error brought a winning bid of $23,850 in a seven day auction on eBay, back in September.
The coin, a very rare five cent U.S. Nickel (NGC AU50), was minted in 1916 with an error that resulted in the year (1916) appearing to have been stamped twice and slightly overlapped on its surface.
This is also known in the collecting world as a 'Double Die Obverse'. "Doubled die" is the numismatic term used to refer to doubling in the design elements of a coin. This is evident when the coin's legends, dates or other design aspects appear twice in an overlapping fashion.
