Call them the king of all divorce papers.
Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley's 1972 settlement documents were sold by Heritage Auctions Tuesday for $8,963 to an undisclosed buyer. The auction, which took place both in Dallas and online, placed the initial starting bid at $7,500.
The 12-page agreement, dated Aug.15, 1972, and signed by both Elvis and Pricilla, granted Priscilla ownership of a 1971 Mercedes Benz, a '69 Cadillac El Dorado and a '71 Harley-Davidson motorcycle in addition to $100,000 in cash and half the income from the sale of their three houses in California.
Why would someone pay so much for the disso docs?
"They give us an insight into their divorce," said Margaret Barrett, Heritage Auction's director of music and entertainment departments. "They were a very famous married couple; he was the biggest rock and roll star ever at the time and probably still is, and you can see what was happening as their marriage was coming to an end. What Priscilla wanted, what she got, the money she was asking for which now seems like nothing for our standards today. But at the time she was really asking for a lot of money. He was a wealthy man."
The famed couple called it quits in 1972 after six years of marriage, though their divorce was not finalized until October 1973. It's been reported that Priscillareceived $1.7 million in the final settlement -- much more money than these documents indicate she was awarded.
"I think she did get more. She got a lot of property, she got a lot of the cars," Barrett said. "She kind of took him to the cleaners. But that happens with these big Hollywood divorces, they are always a bit contentious."
Priscilla's 1986 memoir "Elvis And Me" details both Elvis' and her own affairs during their marriage, which ultimately led to the split. The divorce documents offer a more simplistic explanation for the marriage's demise:
"Unfortunate circumstances and unhappy differences have arisen between the parties by reason of which they have lived separate and apart since February 23, 1972, and by reason of which they intend to dissolve their marriage."
Check out the divorce documents below and weigh in: Would you shell out for Elvis' divorce memorabilia?
