SPRING TOWNSHIP, Pa. – A Ku Klux Klan robe fetched a big sum at an auction in Pennsylvania, according to WNEP.
An anonymous collector bought the KKK hood and robe for $3,000 at the Beaver Springs Auction Center in Snyder County on Saturday.
The auction center had received some negative feedback about the robe, including from a pastor in the area who called the sale “inappropriate.”
“My reasoning is it’s a historical item,” auctioneer Dawn Miller told WNEP Friday. “They’re very valuable and they’re very collectible and it is strictly historical.”
Miller said she’s been holding auctions on Route 522 in Beaver Springs for about two years, but she’s had her auctioneer’s license since 1979. This is the first time she’s ever had controversy over an auction item.
“I didn’t expect anything like this.”
Auctioneers say someone sold the KKK gear on consignment. That means the seller gets the money from the sale, excluding a percentage to the auction house.