Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced in a news release Monday that online bidding has begun and will continue through Dec. 7.

The auction company acquired the sequin-and-bead-bejeweled slippers from memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who originally owned the shoes at the center of the beloved 1939 musical. Shaw loaned the shoes to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005.

That summer, someone broke into the display case and stole the slippers. His whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered him in 2018.

Now the museum is among those competing for the slippers, which were one of several pairs worn by Garland during filming. Only four are left.

Grand Rapids raises funds for slippers at its annual Judy Garland celebration. The money will supplement $100,000 set aside by Minnesota lawmakers this year to purchase slippers.

The man who stole the slippers, Terry John Martin, was 76 when he was sentenced in January to time served due to poor health. He admitted to using a hammer to break the museum doors and glass display cases, while his lawyer said a former mob associate had told him that the shoes were decorated as a way to settle “one last score”. Was an attempt. With real jewelry to justify its $1 million insured value.

The movie memorabilia auction also includes other items from “The Wizard of Oz,” such as the hat worn by Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West and the screen door of Dorothy’s Kansas home.

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