Hi all
Thought this was interesting. I bet this 21-yo is one happy chappy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1361109.htm
'Popemobile' sells after bidding frenzy
A car once belonging to Pope Benedict has gone under the hammer at eBay. AFP
Pope Benedict XVI's former car has sold for more than $310,000 in an Internet auction that saw bids rocket in the space of a few hours.
On close of bidding, the highest offer for the 1999 metallic-grey Volkswagen Golf was just under 189,000 euros ($313,000).
Organisers eBay Germany said the sale had been validated.
The new owner is an online casino that has paid high prices for novelty auctions in the past.
The winning price is about 20 times what 21-year-old Benjamin Halbe paid in January when he bought it from a used-car dealer before realising its previous owner was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Mr Halbe put the car on the market after Cardinal Ratzinger, who is German, was elected pope last month.
It is likely that the Pope never drove it. According to Catholic church sources, he does not have a driving licence.
His private secretary bought it for him in southern Germany and it was taken to the then cardinal's residence in Rome and registered in his name.
The price passed the 100,000 euro mark on Thursday and then quickly shot up by nearly 90,000 euros as the deadline neared.
The auction site eBay Germany said the number of hits on the sale page was more than 7.4 million, a record for the company in Germany.
-AFP
Cheers
Thought this was interesting. I bet this 21-yo is one happy chappy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1361109.htm
'Popemobile' sells after bidding frenzy
A car once belonging to Pope Benedict has gone under the hammer at eBay. AFP
Pope Benedict XVI's former car has sold for more than $310,000 in an Internet auction that saw bids rocket in the space of a few hours.
On close of bidding, the highest offer for the 1999 metallic-grey Volkswagen Golf was just under 189,000 euros ($313,000).
Organisers eBay Germany said the sale had been validated.
The new owner is an online casino that has paid high prices for novelty auctions in the past.
The winning price is about 20 times what 21-year-old Benjamin Halbe paid in January when he bought it from a used-car dealer before realising its previous owner was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Mr Halbe put the car on the market after Cardinal Ratzinger, who is German, was elected pope last month.
It is likely that the Pope never drove it. According to Catholic church sources, he does not have a driving licence.
His private secretary bought it for him in southern Germany and it was taken to the then cardinal's residence in Rome and registered in his name.
The price passed the 100,000 euro mark on Thursday and then quickly shot up by nearly 90,000 euros as the deadline neared.
The auction site eBay Germany said the number of hits on the sale page was more than 7.4 million, a record for the company in Germany.
-AFP
Cheers
