Infuriating Fans, 'Reagan's Blood' to Be Auctioned

It may sound creepy to you, but to the head of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, it's "craven": A UK-based auctioneer has put a vial purported to hold Reagan's blood up on the block. PFC Auctions says a lab technician spirited the blood out of the hospital where Reagan was treated following the failed 1981 assassination attempt against him, reports the BBC. "If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase," announced the director, who has received assurances from the hospital in question that it will look into "how something like this could possibly happen."

The latest bid clocks in at just under $12,000, and the auction closes on Friday. The bidders were apparently wooed by the auctioneer's compelling description of the "dried blood residue" that can be "clearly" seen in the five-inch vial. Should the Reagan foundation not prevail, the eventual winner will also walk away with a letter of provenance from the child of the lab tech, who professes that "these articles have actually been in my family's possession since ... the day that President Reagan was shot in Washington, DC." (More auction stories.)