USA: Tupac's prison ID goes under the hammer

C/U Tupac Shakur prison ID, Dallas *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
W/S Tupac Shakur prison ID *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
SOT, Gary Shrum, Heritage Auctions: ''One of the very unique pieces we have at the auction is a Tupac ID from when he was in prison. Not very many things come up for sale from Tupac and we're very surprised that these pieces have come up and being offered for sale. We have an incredible amount of interest in it, many many bidders have signed up to bid on it this Saturday and you can view it at ha.com and bid on it now, or bid on it now and on Saturday. So it'll be very exciting to see where this piece goes.''
C/U Tupac Shakur prison ID *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
C/U Tupac Shakur prison ID *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
SOT, Gary Shrum, Heritage Auctions: ''When you are issued a prison ID, just like you're issued a driver's license, it's to identify you and this is something you have to have on you while you are in prison the whole time so you know, you don't lose your ID and as far as we know this is the only one that was issued, it's not like something you can call up the prison and get information on something like this, because it's all confidential. But this ID went into the family's hands, and the family have given it to our consignor, who wants to remain anonymous.''
C/U Back side of Tupac Shakur prison ID *CUTAWAY* *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
SOT, Gary Shrum, Heritage Auctions: "Well I think because there's so many people following the mystique of his lyrics and his fame and his tragedy, so people get interested in it, and he was incredibly huge at that time selling CDs. I had my shop open at that time and I just couldn't keep it in, the more I bought in, the more it sold.''
M/S Poster in collection *CUTAWAY* *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
SOT, Gary Shrum, Heritage Auctions: "Something unique like this is very hard to estimate, that's why we have auctions and it wouldn't surprise me, it's already up to $20,000 almost, and that's, you know, quite a few days before the auction. Will it reach 30, 40, or more? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me because it's such a unique piece and try to find another one, this is the only one in the world.''
M/S Item in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
M/S Item in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
M/S Item in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
M/S Item in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
C/U Item in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
M/S Guitar in collection *NO SOUND AT SOURCE*
SCRIPT
A prison ID from Tupac's incarceration is up for auction in Dallas. Heritage Auctions invited Ruptly to view the "unique" piece this Tuesday.
Bidding, which opened on July 1, has already reached US$20,000 (€17,835) - far surpassing its original evaluation of US$4000- US$6000 (€3,568 - €5,352).
Gary Shrum from memorabilia company Heritage Auctions explained that the value of the piece stems from the fascination around the life and death of the legendary hip hop artist.
"I think because there's so many people following the mystique of his lyrics and his fame and his tragedy, so people got interested in it, and he was incredibly huge at that time selling CDs," adding that the uniqueness of the piece would be its main selling point.
"Try to find another one," he said. "This is the only one in the world.''
The rapper was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment in 1995 for the sexual abuse of a 19-year-old woman, but was released after serving just nine. He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in the following year at 25 years of age.