The legendary ruby slippers that made Judy Garland click her heels in The Wizard of Oz are ready to find a new home.
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According to Heritage Auctions, the iconic footwear is currently up for bid at $812,500, with the next minimum bid set at $825,000. Bidding will remain open for 31 more days, closing on December 7.
The slippers being auctioned off come nearly two decades after they were stolen from Minnesota’s Judy Garland Museum in 2005. Michael Shaw purchased the slippers in 1970. However, they were later stolen by Terry Jon Martin while on loan at the museum.
In 2018, the FBI announced in a press release that they had recovered the iconic ruby slippers in Minneapolis. This discovery was part of an investigation into a scheme aimed at extorting the Markel Corporation, the rightful owner of the shoes.
Of course, Heritage Auctions painstakingly made sure that the ruby slippers they were selling off were the real deal.
Shaw’s slippers are the “cross-matched sister shoes to the pair at The Smithsonian Institution,” they insist per the listing.
“The Ruby Slippers are a vintage pair of Innes Shoe Co. red silk faille heels with uppers and heels covered with hand-sequined silk georgette. [They are] lined in white leather, and the leather soles are painted red with orange felt adhered to the front foundation of each shoe,” the description further details.
“The bows are made of hand-cut buckram cloth and are slightly different in size,” the listing adds. “Rhinestones rim the bows, which are filled with bugle beads surrounding three center jewels.”
The Man Who Swiped the Slipper Thought They Were Adorned with Real Rubies…
According to the Associated Press, Martin, described by the AP as an “aging reformed mobster,” stole the iconic ruby slippers after being urged by an unidentified former mob associate to pull off “one last score.”
However, Martin didn’t think he was just swiping a movie prop. This associate also allegedly informed him that the shoes were embellished with genuine jewels.
Martin broke a museum door and display case during the 2005 theft of the slippers. The prop is one of four known authentic pairs worn by Garland.
In May 2023, Martin was indicted by the U.S. District Court in Minnesota on charges of stealing significant artwork. He pleaded guilty to these charges in October 2023, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota.
When Martin pleaded guilty, he claimed he wanted to sell rubies from the slippers. He received one year of probation and an order to pay about $23,000 to Minnesota’s Judy Garland Museum.