John Lennon's tooth sells for more than $31,000 at auction

The winning bid for John Lennon's tooth came in at $31,200, according to auction results posted online.

(CNN) -- The tooth fairy's trash became another man's treasure Saturday when a discolored molar that once belonged to John Lennon was put up for auction.
The winning bid came in at 19,500 pounds (U.S. $31,200), according to auction results posted online.
Michael Zuk, a Canadian dentist, is claiming responsibility for the winning bid. Omega Auction House, which sold the tooth, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Lennon gave the tooth to Dorothy "Dot" Jarlett when she worked as his housekeeper at his Kenwood home in Weybridge, Surrey, according to her son, Barry. Jarlett, who was employed between 1964 and 1968, developed a warm relationship with Lennon, her son said.
"She was very close with John, and one day whilst chatting in the kitchen, John gave my mother the tooth (he had been to the dentist to have it removed that day) and suggested giving it to my sister as a souvenir, as she was a huge Beatles fan," he said. "It has been in the family ever since."
With the exception of the past two years, the tooth has been in Canada for 40 years after Dot Jarlett's daughter married a Canadian.
Barry Jarlett, who said his mother is now 90 years old, said it was the right time to pass it on rather than to risk the tooth getting lost.
Karen Fairweather, the owner of Omega Auction House, told CNN last month that the tooth is too fragile for DNA testing but she has no doubt about its authenticity.
"Because it's coming directly from Dot, we don't doubt the provenance of the item," she said.
Some fans will sink their teeth into anything if they feel it's worth plunking down thousands to get closer their idols. A clump of hair believed to have been trimmed from Elvis Presley's head when he joined the Army in 1958 sold for $18,300 in 2009 at Chicago's Leslie Hindman auctioneers.
Jarlett said Lennon gave his family many gifts over the years. He plans to keep a leather wallet, and his mother still has a pearl necklace Lennon gave her when he returned from Japan.

(CNN)

»»  read more

Weird News/John Lennon's tooth expected to make £10,000 at auction

One of John Lennon's teeth is expected to make £10,000 when it is auctioned next month.

The tooth was given to the former Beatles' house keeper Dot Jarlett when she worked for him at Kenwood mansion in Surrey in the late 1960s.

He told her to give it her daughter "as a souvenir" after he had pulled it out in the kitchen of the Weybridge property.

The tooth will be auctioned in Stockport on 5 November.

(Left image:John Lennon's tooth)

Dot's son Barry Jarlett said: "He was in the kitchen and he had this tooth which he had wrapped in a piece of paper.

"He said: 'Dot will you dispose of this' and then he said: 'Or, as your daughter's a Beatles fan, you can give to her as a souvenir'.

"It is something that we felt was very personal and my mum actually gave it to my sister who has kept it safe."

It comes with an affidavit signed by Mrs Jarlett who has previously sold items including the jacket worn by John Lennon on the Rubber Soul album.

"He was very generous to my mother," Mr Jarlett said.

"He treated her like family because he didn't really have a very big family and he really looked after my mum. He used to call her Aunty Dot."

Karen Fairweather, from Omega Auctions, said: "This is the most wonderful and weird item that we have ever had for sale.

"It is a truly unique item and it is really difficult to put a value on it.

"We are expecting it to achieve at least £10,000 but it is not unknown for these items as rare as this to reach six figures."

»»  read more