The hat that Michael Jackson wore just before performing his signature moonwalk dance for the first time sold at an auction for €77,640 ($82,170) on Tuesday.
Gatekeepers News reports that the black fedora had been estimated at 60,000 to 100,000 euros by the Hotel Drouot auction house in Paris.
Although it was the highlight among the close to 200 items of rock memorabilia, the top price went to a guitar owned by the legendary bluesman T-Bone Walker, at 129,400 euros.
Jackson whipped off the hat while breaking into his hit “Billie Jean” during a televised Motown concert in 1983, at the height of his fame.
Moments later, he showed off what would become his trademark move — the moonwalk, a seemingly effortless backwards glide while appearing to walk forwards.
This month, a series of auctions for items belonging to Freddie Mercury — including the piano on which he composed “Bohemian Rhapsody” — brought in a total of 46.5 million euros for Sotheby’s, attracting bidders from 76 countries.
