How much is a Bob Marley dreadlock worth?

A dreadlock of approximately 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) belonging to Bob Marley was put up for auction in the United Kingdom, and is estimated to fetch a price of 25,000 pounds (around 33,120 dollars, almost 29,000 euros).

According to auction house JC Auctions, the dreadlock is the first “authentic example” of the reggae pioneer’s hair to appear at auction in 20 years. According to the origin story, a then-teenage fan named Andrea he requested the lock of hair from Marley during his appearance on the BBC live performance program Top of the Pops, on 22 June 1978, when he and the Wailers performed “Satisfy My Soul”.

At the time it was allowed to go on stage at Top of the Pops with the bands. After Bob Marley finished singing, a friend and I went up to the stage where he was performing. He chuckled and I asked him if I could take a piece of his hair. He kept smiling and nodding, seeming amused by it, so I twisted away a lock of his dreadlock. Of course he also gave me his autograph. I’ve kept it in my autograph album ever since.

In addition to thepersonalized autographthe winner of the auction will receive the promotional flyer of Top of the Pops that belonged to Andrea, on the back of which she herself wrote a note with the wrong date: “Andrea and Melanie went to Top of the Pops on 2/6/78, we saw Kid Jensen (the presenter), Black Sabbath, Showaddywaddy, Heatwave, Bob Marley, Thin Lizzy and unfortunately Legs + Co”.

The online auction will close on Thursday 9 April.