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Glass vial holding a sample of President Ronald Reagan's blood, which was drawn after an assassination attempt in 1981. The vial will now become part of the archive at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Image courtesy of PFC Auctions.

Controversial auction of Reagan’s blood ends with gift to foundation

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Glass vial holding a sample of President Ronald Reagan's blood, which was drawn after an assassination attempt in 1981. The vial will now become part of the archive at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Image courtesy of PFC Auctions.
Glass vial holding a sample of President Ronald Reagan’s blood, which was drawn after an assassination attempt in 1981. The vial will now become part of the archive at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Image courtesy of PFC Auctions.

GUERNSEY, Channel Islands – PFC Auctions, whose May 24, 2012 online auction made worldwide headlines after an uproar over a laboratory vial of President Ronald Reagan’s blood, has ended amicably. A spokesperson for the auction house has announced that the controversial lot entered in the sale has been withdrawn and will be donated to The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.

“What has not been widely reported is that the auction consignor purchased the item at a public auction in the USA in February 2012 for $3,550,” a PFC Auctions statement says. “Bidding on the PFC Auctions website currently stands at $30,086, and we have negotiated with the consignor to arrange for the item to be withdrawn from the auction and donated to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, a considerable financial gesture from the consignor.”

The consignor, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I realized what an important artifact this was when bidding in the US auction. I am a serious collector of Presidential memorabilia, and have donated to museums before, and thought from the provenance supplied at the auction where I purchased [it], that the Reagan Foundation had no interest in the item. I have dealt with the team at PFC Auctions for over 10 years so they were naturally my first choice when I chose to re-auction the item. The publicity generated by PFC Auctions for their current auction has clearly highlighted the importance of this historical artifact, and I would personally be delighted to see [it] put on public display by the Foundation. This now concludes matters to the benefit of The Ronald Reagan Foundation, and protects the legacy of Ronald Reagan as a President of the United States.”

John Heubusch, the executive director for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, said: “We are very pleased with this outcome and wish to thank the consignor and PFC Auctions for their assistance in this matter. While we contend that the removal of the vial from the hospital laboratory and the US auction sale in February 2012 were not legal acts in our opinion, we are grateful to the current custodian of the vial for this generous donation to the Foundation Ensuring President Reagan’s blood remains out of public hands.”

PFC’s auction, which contains such iconic and quirky pop culture items as the serape jacket worn by Bob Dylan on the cover of The Basement Tapes LP, a slice of cake from the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, and even snips of hair from Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber and Marilyn Monroe, will close for bidding later today.

Visit PFC Auctions online at www.pfcauctions.com.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Glass vial holding a sample of President Ronald Reagan's blood, which was drawn after an assassination attempt in 1981. The vial will now become part of the archive at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Image courtesy of PFC Auctions.
Glass vial holding a sample of President Ronald Reagan’s blood, which was drawn after an assassination attempt in 1981. The vial will now become part of the archive at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Image courtesy of PFC Auctions.