It's questionable why anyone would pay $200 for used underwear, but the definition of "collector's item" sank even to that level yesterday as the contents of Bernie Madoff's Palm Beach mansion went on the auction block. “It’s history! It’s the big thing! It’s the biggest thing of the century!” said one bidder who lost Madoff’s honorary diploma from Yeshiva University. When the dust settled, the US Marshals' auction collected more than $400,000 for Madoff's duped investors—who are out $65 billion.
“It went about as expected,” the auctioneer tells the Miami Herald. “When we sold the stuff from his house in New York, it brought in millions, but that included boats and cars and jewelry. This one was mostly household goods." Click through the gallery to see some of what was sold. (More Bernard Madoff stories.)