A Ring Worn By Tupac Days Before His Passing Sells At Auction For A Whopping $1.02M

According to Insider, the gold, diamond, and ruby ring worn by late rapper Tupac Shakur just days before his passing has officially been sold at auction.

The price tag for the piece of history was a whopping $1.02 million.

Per the report, as a result of the sale, the crown-shaped ring is now the most valuable Hip-Hop artifact ever to be sold through auction.

The sale, held by Sotheby’s in New York, included various other industry treasures from the “All Eyez On Me” emcee. Other items included autographed letters by Tupac and a demo tape for his “Trapped” single. 

As the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop quickly approaches, the auction house was looking to celebrate by featuring memorabilia from some of the biggest names in the genre, including Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, Mos Def, and more.

Tupac’s ring surpassed those amounts big time and is said to have been custom designed by 2Pac and assembled by jewelers in New York City, not long after his short stint behind bars in 1995. This was prior to signing to Marion “Suge” Knight’s music label, Death Row Records, per Shakur’s godmother, Yaasmyn Fula.

A press release stated, “Reflecting on his recent affinity for Niccolo Machiavelli’s political manifesto ‘The Prince’ (Tupac would start going by ‘Makaveli’ after reading ‘The Prince’ while incarcerated), Tupac modeled his design after the crowns of the medieval kings of Europe in ‘an act of self-coronation,’ according to Fula, a celebration of survival through a tumultuous year in an oft tumultuous life.”

The ring, which is 14-karat gold, is encrusted with diamonds and rubies and also has an inscription on the side that reads “Pac & Dada 1996,” a nod to his engagement to actress Kidada Jones prior to his death.

What’s more, Tupac also wore the ring during his last public appearance prior to his untimely death, the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. He was shot just three days later in Las Vegas, NV, and died six days after that.