It was almost inevitable, but I'm actually surprised it took as long as it did to shut down the proposed auction of a vial of blood allegedly extracted from President Ronald Reagan while he was hospitalized after a 1981 assassination attempt.
A British auction house (based on the Guernsey island dependency) was handling the sale, along with documentation from George Washington Hospital, where the president was taken after being shot by John Hinckley. I wrote about the sale just a day or so, and in that time, the price had shot from around $4,000 to more than $30,000.
The Reagan Foundation was strongly objecting, however, after the person behind the sale, apparently the son of a former lab worker connected with the hospital, tried to sell the vial directly to the family, which instead requested that the vial be donated instead. Given the many, and many influential, friends of the late president, it's not surprising that the online auction would eventually be pulled down.
From the sound of it, perhaps an accommodation was made between the foundation and the consignor, who released a statement that he would "personally be delighted to see this important artifact put on display by foundation," perhaps at the Reagan museum and library in Simi Valley. Perhaps this was just a way to publicly strong-arm the foundation and family into putting up some money?
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