From dinosaur skeletons to a fireproof book, we've rounded up some of the weird and wonderful items that have gone under the hammer in 2022.

With everything from Bob Dylan's love letters to an iconic Marilyn Monroe dress going up for sale over the last 12 months, it's certainly been a memorable year for the world's auction houses. Not least because some of the items on our list have sold for record-breaking sums...

Read on to discover the most impressive lots of the last year. All dollar amounts in US dollars, unless otherwise stated.

Just a few weeks after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, a watercolour print by the newly appointed King Charles III went up for sale via Bonhams auction house in London.

Poignantly, the painting is of Balmoral Castle, the royal residence where the Queen passed away in September at the age of 96.

Charles painted the picturesque scene in 2001, and signed and dated it in pencil. Originally expected to sell for somewhere between £400 and £600 ($475–$713), it eventually sold for £5,737.50 ($6.8k) including premium, which was more than eight times its estimate.

The Balmoral watercolour is believed to be the first print by a reigning monarch to ever sell at auction. 

A collection of memorabilia from the first successful mission to the top of Mount Everest went up for auction in November.

The collection had belonged to the late Tom Stobart, who worked as a cameraman on the headline-making 1953 expedition, and was purchased by the Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner for £12,000 ($14,144) at British auction house Hansons.

Messner reportedly intends to display the items – which include a pickaxe, two tea urns, camera equipment, and a food packet signed by explorers Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, and John Hunt – at his mountain museum in South Tyrol, Italy. 

This 19th-century vampire hunting kit prompted a bidding war when it went under the hammer at Hansons this summer. 

The oddball item was expected to sell for a modest £2,000 ($2.4k) but went on to fetch an impressive £16,900 ($20k) instead.

The wooden box was sold containing everything one might need to survive a vampire attack, including two matching pistols, a brass powder flask, Holy Water, a copy of the Bible, a wooden mallet, a stake, a brass candelabra, rosary beads, and crucifixes. It also contained historical papers from London's Metropolitan Police. 

The chilling kit once belonged to the British aristocrat Lord Hailey (1872-1969), who was a former administrator of British India. 

Vampire hunting kits were reportedly all the rage at the turn of the 19th century, thanks largely to Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The kits were typically purchased as a novelty by travellers who were headed to Eastern Europe, where vampires were most commonly believed to reside. 

In August, a collection of 600 license plates and vehicle tags from the early 1900s went up for auction at Donley Auction Services. Among them was, to quote the Chicago Sun Times, this "holy grail": the first license plate ever issued in the state of Illinois.

Made from aluminium and dating back to 1904, the plate has been classed as being in "overall VG condition retaining most original black paint". According to the auction notes, the aluminium plates weren't very sturdy so not many survive; from 1905 onwards, most plates were made from brass. 

Being such a rarity could explain why the plate performed so much better than expected when it went under the hammer. Despite being given an estimate of just $2,000 to $4,000 (£1.7k–£3.4k), the selling price of this automotive artefact was eventually driven up to $34,000 (£28.6k) during bidding. 

The Andy Warhol-inspired image of Marilyn Monroe isn't this T-shirt's only celebrity connection. In fact, its real claim to fame is that it was worn by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the music video for the band's 1989 track The Miracle.

Featuring side cut-outs and a slashed collar, the top was sold at Bonhams for £31,800 ($37.85k), including premium, as part of the auction house's Rock, Pop & Film auction on 16 November.

It was accompanied by a backstage photo of the late Mercury wearing the tee.

When the first iPhones were released back in 2007, they retailed for $599 – the equivalent of around $860 (£710) in today's money.

In October, however, one of Apple's earliest phones went up for sale at LCG Auctions and sold for almost 70 times its original price, fetching $39,339.60 (£32.4k). 

The phone had never been opened, which could explain that selling price. According to the auction listing: "Collectors and investors would be hard pressed to find a superior example. Relevance and rarity comprise a winning formula for this red hot collectible".

In an October auction held in Toulouse, France, one bidder took off with this iconic inflight bar from an Airbus A380 for €50,768 ($50k/£41.25k).

Described as "quite an item to have on display", the one-of-a-kind piece had originally been valued at around €30,460 ($30k/£24.7k). 

The Airbus A380 in question was retired from service in early 2020, following 12 years of service. The jumbo jet, which had two levels for passengers, made its first long-haul flight from Dubai to Auckland back in 2010. 

Around 500 pieces from the Emirates aircraft were auctioned off for charity, including seats, drinks trolleys, life jackets, parts of the cockpit, and even an emergency evacuation axe. All proceeds from the auction were donated to the Airbus Foundation, which funds a variety of humanitarian projects around the world. 

In December, a signed parliamentary transcript including a comment that New Zealand Prime Minister made about opposition party leader David Seymour – mistakenly thinking that nobody could hear – went up for auction. A microphone caught Ardern describing Seymour as "an arrogant prick" at a parliamentary debate, and the remark was included in the records after Seymour formally demanded an apology.

The pair might be politically divided, but they joined forces to sign the transcript and promote it as part of an auction in aid of prostate cancer. On 22 December it was revealed the transcript had sold for NZD$100,100, the equivalent of $62,953 (£52.2k).

"Can't say I expected this", Ardern wrote on Instagram. "A faux pas with the old mic in parliament has turned into $100,100 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. My thanks to David for being a good sport and to everyone who placed a bid. And to everyone, Merry Christmas!"

The bladed glove worn by Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's fantasy-romance movie Edward Scissorhands (1990) went under the hammer in June, fetching an impressive $81,250 (£67.7k). 

The glove was used in the scene where Edward uses his bladed hand to turn an ice angel into snowfall for Winona Ryder’s character Kim.

Despite showing significant wear and tear, the decidedly dangerous prop was expected to sell for between $30,000 (£25k) and $50,000 ($41.7k). The value is thought to have skyrocketed as a result of Depp's recent high-profile court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

The hoverboard prop used by Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly in 1989’s Back to the Future: Part II fetched $85,000 (£71.5k) when it hit the auction block this June, surpassing its pre-sale estimate of $80,000 (£67.3k).

While the exorbitant price might lead you to believe otherwise, the hoverboard obviously can't fly and is actually crafted from foam.

Nonetheless, the pink Mattel-branded board is still a pretty iconic piece of movie memorabilia. It featured in the infamous scene where Marty flees from Griff Tannen and his gang.

Discovered by a self-proclaimed "denim archaeologist" in an abandoned mine, this pair of Levi's jeans dates to the 1880s and has been described as "the holy grail of vintage denim collecting".

The jeans went up for auction at a New Mexico RV park in early October and were snapped up by 23-year-old vintage clothing dealer Kyle Hauper for a whopping $87,000 (£73.8k), including buyer's premium.

The 38-inch waist garment is covered in drops of wax, presumably from the candles that gold prospectors used to search for the precious metal in dark tunnels. And it also bears another, more offensive sign of the times: a racist slogan on its inside label that reads: "the only kind made by White Labor".

A representative from the company told the Wall Street Journal that Levi's used this slogan to "align with the views of consumers at the time" in the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prevented Chinese workers from entering the US. 

The bespoke purple suit worn by Jack Nicholson when he played Joker in Tim Burton’s 1989 movie Batman went under the hammer in July, fetching an impressive $125,000 (£105.3k).

The snazzy seven-piece ensemble includes a bespoke suit by Savile Row’s Tommy Nutter, a Dobbs hat, Robot boots, and a Christian Dior tie.

The value of the outfit was likely increased by the fact that the boots contain residue from the 1989 film set, while the hat's brim boasts remnants of the white make-up worn by Nicholson.

Since its publication in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has faced various bans. To raise awareness about censorship and the increased number of books being barred from US schools, Atwood and publisher Penguin Random House released a single "unburnable" copy of the controversial dystopian novel.

The one-of-a-kind fireproof book sold at Sotheby’s New York in June for $130,000 (£109.7k). All proceeds were donated to PEN America, the literacy and free expression organisation.

PEN America recently released a report stating that, in the nine-month period between July 2021 and March 2022, 1,586 books were banned in US schools. The Handmaid’s Tale was among the prohibited titles due to its content.

Thor’s Mjolnir hammer, used by Chris Hemsworth in the 2011 superhero blockbuster Thor, also sold for $130,000 (£109.7k) in June.

While it looks menacing, you don't actually need the strength of a Norse god to wield this weapon: it's crafted from lightweight rubber foam and has been painted dark grey to resemble battle-damaged steel. 

The heroic hammer went for megabucks despite showing visible signs of wear, including cracking and chipping on the hammer head and loosening of its handle.

The item first went up for sale at the officially licensed "Captain America: The First Avenger Auction" back in 2012, making it one of the few Thor stunt hammers that Marvel Studios has ever sold directly.

From a hammer to an axe: the weapon wielded by Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror hit The Shining went up for auction in April. 

Arguably one of the most iconic pieces of movie memorabilia in cinema history, the stunt axe fetched $175,000 (£148k) and far surpassed its pre-sale estimate of $60,000 (£50.8k) to $90,000 (£76.1k). 

The prop was used in the spine-chilling "Here's Johnny" scene, as well as in the scene where Nicholson's character Jack Torrance murders the hotel chef Dick Hallorann.

Made from foam and resin for on-set safety reasons, the axe was sold in a shadow box frame along with photographs from the film. It was snapped up at auction by an unnamed businessman, who is presumably a big fan of the creepy classic. 

A medal given to a dog for bravery during World War Two went up for sale at auction in October.

Rob the collie-retriever cross was awarded the Dickin Medal for Gallantry, often described as the Victoria Cross for animals, to recognise his "gallantry and outstanding service" during the Second World War.

Between 1943 and 1945, Rob completed 20 parachute jumps, kept watch over soldiers in enemy territory, and took part in operations with a Special Air Force unit in Italy, "most of which were of an unpleasant nature" according to London auction house Noonans. 

In October, Rob's medal and collar went up for auction, alongside a selection of photos and memorabilia that commemorated his life. Proving every dog really does have his day, the collection sold for a staggering £140,000 ($168,500), more than £100,000 ($120,400) over its estimate. 

A full-sized light-up replica of the DeLorean Time Machine from the Back to the Future movie trilogy sold for $200,000 (£169k) in June. 

The car was commissioned by Universal Studios to appear at promotional events for the film franchise after the original DeLorean was significantly damaged during the production of the sci-fi movies.

The intricately detailed 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 replica was constructed in the late 1990s by DeLorean service manager Danny Botkin, who also helped to restore the screen-used DeLorean from Back to the Future.

While it can't quite travel through time, this funky set of wheels is reported to be fully operational. In fact, it's registered and insured, with just 22,532 miles under its belt, meaning the lucky new owner can take it out for a spin. 

Thor’s mighty hammer isn’t the only piece of Marvel movie memorabilia that's raked in the big bucks at auction this year.

In July, a shield used by Chris Evans’ Captain America character sold at Julien’s Auctions for a cool $200,000 (£169k). 

The prop was used in the 2012 superhero blockbuster The Avengers. Made from aluminium that has been anodised red and blue, and featuring genuine leather hand straps, the high quality of the shield indicates that it was used in close-up shots, with only minor signs of wear visible.

Apple founder Steve Jobs was known for his simple uniform of black turtlenecks and Birkenstocks – and in November, a pair of his used shoes sold for $218,000 (£182.8k) at Julien's Auctions.

The auction house had originally expected the shoes to sell for up to $80,000 (£67.1k). That's significantly above their previous sale price of $2,000 (£1.7k) in 2016 but still less than half the highest bid this time around.

According to the listing, "the cork and jute footbed retains the imprint of Steve Jobs’ feet, which had been shaped after years of use". 

Jobs reportedly wore the sandals during "many pivotal moments of Apple's history", including during the company's formative years in LA back in the 70s. 

A dazzling dress worn by Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe in the 1954 movie There’s No Business Like Show Business fetched $218,750 (£184.9k) at Julien’s Auctions this summer. The final figure was more than double the original pre-sale estimate of $100,000 (£84.5k). 

The figure-hugging gown, which is adorned with silver and pearl beads, was created by William Travilla. The legendary costume designer crafted outfits for the screen starlet in eight of her movies, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Seven Year Itch.

Monroe donned another now-iconic sheer gown when she sang Happy Birthday, Mr. President to JFK in 1962, and Kim Kardashian hit headlines in 2022 when she chose to wear that very same dress to the Met Gala in May.

Kardashian's wearing of the gown is believed to have contributed to the hefty price tag for the dress that went up for auction.

A prototype of Atari's landmark Home Pong gaming console fetched a staggering $270,910 (£229.5k) when it went under the hammer in March.

The original hand-carved wooden mock-up of the Pong gaming system was built in 1975 and is one of just two prototypes built by Atari. The model features paddle controls, a red "start game" button, and a finished Pong chip on a prototype circuit board.

The model originally belonged to pioneering computer scientist Allan Alcorn, who created the world-famous arcade-style game.

It's not just Freddie Mercury's T-shirt that went under the hammer this year. In November, the legendary Queen singer's 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow also sold at auction.

Mercury owned the car from 1979 until his death in 1991, although he reportedly never had a full driving license and was more likely to be chauffeured. After his passing, the motor was given to his sister Kashmira, before going up for auction for the first time in 2013. It was purchased by a Russian businessman for £74,600, which equates to around £95,500 ($112k) in today's money. 

In 2022, the car went up for sale again and smashed its modest estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 ($23.6k to $35.4k). It sold for £286,250 ($337.7k), with all proceeds donated to a charity providing aid to war-torn Ukraine. 

Believed by Sotheby's to be the oldest whisky that's ever gone up for auction, this limited-edition bottle of The Macallan Scottish single malt "is encased in a mouth-blown decanter and cradled on a bronze sculpture of three hands", according to Sotheby's auction notes.

The 81-year-old tipple, named The Reach, was sold in a distinctive wooden cabinet that was constructed from a fallen elm tree that's thought to have been on The Macallan Estate in 1940. That was also the year when the whisky was distilled.

The accompanying three-handed sculpture was made by Saskia Robinson to represent "characters in The Macallan's history".

The spirit was originally given an estimate of £110,000 to £200,000 ($119k–$238k) but its final sale price was £300,000 ($358k). For this sum, the winning bidder also received a private distillery experience, including a tasting of The Reach and "a bespoke small bronze sculpture created for them".

A rare 1999 Pokémon Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard card sold for a staggering $420,000 (£355.5k) in March, setting an all-time record for that type of card.

While 3,000 copies of the card exist, this shiny specimen is one of just 121 to have been awarded a perfect PSA 10 Gem Mint grading.

Earlier that same month, another first edition 1999 Pokémon Charizard No.4 card, also boasting a PSA 10 Gem Mint grading, sold for a hefty $336,000 (£284.4k).

It just goes to show how much collectors are willing to pay to "catch ‘em all"...

The 1936 Berlin Olympics would later become infamous in light of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. But this silver Olympic medal, which sold at auction for $488,435 (£402.8k) in October, represents a moment of hope amid the backdrop of a looming World War II.

Long jumper Luz Long took home the silver medal to Jesse Owen's gold, after reportedly offering his American competitor some friendly advice before the jumps. The two Olympians then lapped the stadium together arm-in-arm, in what many considered a shocking act of bravery in front of the watching Adolf Hitler. 

Owens would later reportedly say: "It took a lot of courage for [Long] to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment".

This remarkable medal symbolises "the essence of sportsmanship in every sense of the word" and is arguably "one of the most important, if not the most inspiring, Olympic artifacts ever offered", according to SCP Auctions in California. 

In November, a Portuguese bookshop paid almost $670,000 (£567k) for a collection of 42 love letters written by a young Bob Dylan.

Then an aspiring musician called Bob Zimmerman, Dylan wrote the notes to his high school girlfriend, Barbara Ann Hewitt.

The collection, which spans from 1957 to the end of 1959, includes 150 handwritten pages, and contains references to Dylan's plans to change his name, as well as his dream to sell one million records. The letters remained in Hewitt's possession until her death in 2020, when they were rediscovered by her family. 

The Livraria Lello store in Porto has said it wants to make the letters available for Dylan fans and scholars to study.

A prototype Apple-1 computer that belonged to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs fetched $677,196 (£575.9k) at auction in August.

The computer was hand-built by Steve Wozniak. It was used by Jobs in 1976 to demonstrate the Apple-1 to Paul Terrell, who owned the California-based The Byte Shop, which was one of the world's first personal computer stores.

The historic computer, which was groundbreaking upon its release, features 8KB of RAM, an interface cassette system, and read/write capabilities.

A helmet belonging to Amelia Earhart – who made history as the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic – fetched $825,000 (£698.9k) in March. That's more than 10 times the $80,000 (£67.8k) that experts anticipated it would sell for. 

The leather cap was worn by Earhart in 1928 during yet another milestone journey that saw her become the first female passenger to fly across the Atlantic.

The ill-fated adventuress vanished without a trace in 1937 during a bid to become the first woman to fly around the world. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain a mystery to this day.

A gold wristwatch believed to have belonged to Adolf Hitler sold for $1.1 million (£931.6k) at Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland back in July.

It’s thought that Hitler was given the watch as a present on his 44th birthday. The timepiece bears the letters "AH", a swastika, and the Nazi eagle emblem, as well as two dates: 20 April 1889 (Hitler’s birthday) and 30 January 1933, the date he became chancellor of Germany. A French soldier swiped the watch from Hitler's Bavarian home in May 1945.

Several other Nazi-related items were sold at the auction, including a golden eagle that belonged to the dictator, several of his sketches and paintings, and a dress that belonged to his wife, Eva Braun. 

However, the controversial auction sparked fury among Jewish leaders, who declared the sale to be "an abhorrence" in an open letter.

This baseball glove was worn by Babe Ruth while he played for the New York Yankees in 1927. 

Ruth reportedly gave the glove to Jimmy Austin of the St. Louis Browns. It remained in his family until November 2022, when the decision was made to sell it.

In November 2022, the glove, which Hunt Auctions described as "truly [one] of the most historic pieces of its medium," became the most expensive sports glove to ever sell at auction. It reached a final sale price of $1.527 million (£1.3m).

During the 1986 World Cup, footballer Diego Maradona made history when he scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal during the quarter-final match between England and Argentina.

Fast forward to November 2022 and soccer fans with cash to splash had the chance to get their own hands on the ball from the legendary match when it went up for auction in London.

The Adidas football was put up for sale by Ali Bin Nasser, the referee who controversially allowed Maradona's goal. He said that he believed it was the right time to sell it, adding that he hoped that whoever bought it would make it accessible for the public. 

A one-of-a-kind LeBron James trading card fetched a stunning $2.4 million (£2m) in June. The card, a 2020/2021 Lebron James Flawless Triple Logoman Panini sticker, features the NBA logo patch from three of James' jerseys.

Rapper and NBA fan Drake famously spent $200,000 (£169.5k) in his bid to find this specific LeBron James card, which is evidently highly desirable among fans.

Despite the card's multi-million sale price, it still fell short of estimations, with some experts anticipating that it would secure the highest sports card price in history. That record is currently held by a Mickey Mantle card, which sold for $12.6 million (£10.7m) in August 2022.

A copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book, which retailed for a mere 10 cents back in 1938, fetched a whopping $2.4 million (£2m) at auction in March.

The ultra-rare comic features the first appearances of various iconic Marvel superheroes, including Submariner, Masked Raider, and the Human Torch. It was sold to an anonymous collector.

In almost immaculate condition, the comic features handwritten payment records to Marvel artists by publisher Lloyd Jacquet.

An X-Wing fighter spacecraft that featured in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) sold for almost $2.4 million (£2m) when it went under the hammer in June.

The miniature model was used on-screen in the fan-favourite movie. There were four hero models, six high-quality pyro models, and several low-quality pyro models of the jet made for the flick, with the four hero models believed to be in the possession of director George Lucas.

The model that went under the hammer in June is the only pyro creation that survived filming. The rest were destroyed by pyrotechnics in the infamous scenes where they battled the formidable Death Star.

A jacket worn by astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin during the historic Apollo 11 moon mission sold for $2.7 million (£2.3m) in July. 

The astonishing sale price makes it the most expensive jacket ever sold at auction, as well as the most valuable US space artefact to go under the hammer.

The in-flight jacket features the iconic Apollo 11 mission emblem, as well as Aldrin's name. It’s made from a fireproof silica fibre called beta cloth, which was also used in the production of Apollo spaceflight suits.

In 1969, Aldrin made history as the second man to ever set foot on the moon.

Another out-of-this-world auction sale centred around this dazzling black diamond, which is believed to have originally hailed from outer space. Dubbed "the Enigma", the 555.55-carat stone was snapped up by an anonymous buyer for almost $4.3 million (£3.6m) in February.

The Enigma, which is around the size of a racquetball, is the largest cut diamond in the world. Its 55-facet shape was inspired by the Middle Eastern Hamsa symbol, which is a mark of protection.

Carbonado diamonds (so-called due to their burnt appearance) such as the Enigma were formed in a mysterious event that happened sometime between 3.8 billion to 2.6 billion years ago. These ultra-rare gemstones have only been found in Brazil and the Central African Republic, and are famed for growing to gargantuan sizes. 

In fact, the 3,167-carat Brazilian carbonado "Sergio" is the largest diamond that has ever been found.

The guitar used by late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in the legendary Smells Like Teen Spirit music video fetched $4.5 million (£3.8m) at auction in May.

Finished in blue, the left-handed 1969 Fender Mustang Competition Lake Placid electric guitar was Cobain’s favourite. 

Speaking about the instrument in his final interview with Guitar World, Cobain revealed: "I’m left-handed, and it’s not very easy to find reasonably priced high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favourite".

The iconic piece of music memorabilia was expected to sell for $600,000 (£509.3k) but Indianapolis Colts CEO Jim Irsay paid top dollar for the guitar.

A portion of the proceeds were donated to Irsay's mental health organisation Kicking The Stigma. Cobain, who battled mental illness, died by suicide in 1994.

An ultra-rare Ferrari F50 hit the auction block in August, fetching an impressive $4.6 million (£3.9m) in the process.

Produced between 1995 and 1997, only 349 Ferrari F50s ever hit the road, with just 55 built-to-spec for the US market.

The swish motor retailed for $475,000 (£403.5k) at the time, and the lucky buyers were handpicked by the Ferrari team.

The model that went under the hammer in 2022 previously belonged to boxing legend Mike Tyson.

A set of Tiger Woods' golf clubs sold at auction for a hefty $5.1 million (£4.3m) in April. 

Woods used the clubs in four successive historic victories, known collectively as the “Tiger Slam”: the 2000 US Open, Open Championship, PGA Championship, and the 2001 Masters.

The clubs were last sold in 2010 to private equity investor Todd Brock, who paid a more modest $57,242 (£48.7k) for the iconic pieces of golfing history. Tiger Woods is pictured here at the 2001 Masters. 

An ancient Gorgosaurus dinosaur skeleton fetched just over $6 million (£5m) when it went under the hammer at the New York branch of Sotheby’s in July.

The Gorgosaurus, which roamed the earth some 77 million years ago and was a relative of the T-rex, was uncovered in 2018. 

The skeleton was snapped up by an anonymous buyer and was the second-ever fossilised dinosaur skeleton to be auctioned by Sotheby’s. The first, a T-rex nicknamed "Sue", sold in 1997 for $8.4 million (£7.1m). 

The recently sold Gorgosaurus was expected to command a similar price in 2022 but fell short on the day.

Muhammad Ali's championship belt from the historic "Rumble in the Jungle" fight sold for almost $6.2 million (£5.2m) in July. The winning bidder was Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who, as already mentioned, also snapped up Kurt Cobain's guitar.

Ali won the WBC heavyweight title belt in 1974 when he defeated George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), using his now infamous "rope-a-dope" strategy for the first time to secure victory.

The fight marked the sporting icon's return to the ring after he lost his boxing licence and his World Boxing Association title seven years previously due to refusing to fight in Vietnam.

It wasn't just Maradona's "Hand of God" ball that sold for millions of dollars this year. The shirt that the legendary footballer wore against England at the 1986 World Cup also went up for auction, selling for $9.3 million (£7.9m) earlier this year. 

The shirt held the record for the most expensive game-worn piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction, until the previously mentioned Michael Jordan jersey knocked it from the top spot.

According to Sotheby’s, the previous auction record for a sporting item was the original autograph manuscript of the Olympic Manifesto from 1892, which fetched $8.8 million (£7.5m) in 2019.

A Deinonychus antirrhopus dinosaur skeleton fetched an impressive $12.4 million (£10.5m) when it went under the hammer at Christie’s in May. 

Deinonychus antirrhopus translates to "terrible claw" in Ancient Greek, and the prehistoric species inspired the ferocious velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movies.

The fossil, nicknamed Hector, is the most complete skeleton of a Deinonychus antirrhopus ever discovered. It was unearthed in Montana in 2013, is between 108 and 115 million years old, and is described as being in a "remarkable state of preservation".

Nine-foot-long Hector is one of just three complete Deinonychus skeletons that have been found, and has been privately owned since its discovery.

A Chicago Bulls jersey worn by Michael Jordan during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold for a staggering $10.1 million (£8.9m) at Sotheby’s auction house in September. The record-breaking sale price makes the red basketball jersey the most expensive game-worn sporting memorabilia to ever sell at auction, not to mention the most expensive Michael Jordan item. 

Jordan’s 1997–98 season with the Chicago Bulls is widely regarded as his "magnum opus" as an athlete and is today dubbed The Last Dance. Surprisingly, though, the NBA legend wore the record-breaking jersey during a defeat. The Chicago Bulls famously lost Game 1 of the NBA finals to the Utah Jazz.

Despite their initial defeat, however, the Chicago Bulls would ultimately go on to win the 1997–98 season and Jordan would gain his sixth NBA winner's ring.

Originally estimated to sell for between $3 million (£2.6m) and $5 million (£4.4m), the value of the jersey likely soared as a result of the recent ESPN The Last Dance docuseries, which chronicles Jordan's legendary season. 

Nicknamed "The Rock", the largest white diamond ever sold at auction fell short of expectations this May when it fetched $21.9 million (£18.6m) at Christie’s in Geneva. The auction house had estimated that the diamond would sell for $30.2 million (£25.7m). 

Mined in South Africa, the opulent 228.31-carat pear-shaped stone is about the size of a golf ball. The previous owner wore it as part of an extravagant Cartier necklace.

Speaking at the time of the sale, Max Fawcett, head of Christie's jewellery department, told Reuters: "Often with these largest stones, they sacrifice some of the shape in order to keep the weight. This is a perfectly symmetrical pear-shape form and one of the rarest gems ever to be sold at auction".

The Fortune Pink diamond sold for a massive $28.57 million (£23.9m) at Christie's in November.

At 18.18 carats, it's the largest pear-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond that's ever gone up for auction. Its name derives from its size: 18.18 is considered a lucky number in Asia, signifying "definite prosperity" and inspiring the Fortune Pink's name.

The stone was mined in Brazil, one of the few places where pink diamonds can be found. According to Christie's, fewer than 10% of pink diamonds weigh more than one-fifth of a carat, making this example incredibly rare. 

The De Beers Cullinan Blue became the largest blue diamond to ever be auctioned when it fetched a breathtaking $57.5 million (£48.8m) in April.

The selling price of the 15.10-carat step-cut dazzler far exceeded experts' initial estimates, which sat at $48 million (£40.8m).

The rock is named after the Cullinan mine in South Africa, where it was discovered in 2021.

The rare stone has been categorised by the Gemological Institute of America as "fancy vivid blue", which is the top colour grading and has only been awarded to around 1% of the blue diamonds that have been submitted to the organisation.

A painting by Pablo Picasso that depicts his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter as a sea creature fetched $67.5 million (£57.3m) at auction in May, surpassing original estimates of $60 million (£50.9m)

Picasso painted Femme nue couchée in 1932. The artwork is one of many illustrating Walter, who was the mother of Picasso's daughter Maya. The couple met when Walter was just 17; Picasso was 45 and married to the dancer Olga Khokhlova

Picasso’s portraits of Walter are highly sought after by collectors. His 1932 piece Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) fetched $103.4 million (£87.8m) at auction in 2021, while Nude, Green Leaves and Bust commanded a record-breaking $106.5 million (£90.4m) in 2010.

Mercedes-Benz sold a rare supercar for $142 million (£120.7m) in May, with the model instantly becoming the most expensive automobile to ever sell at auction. 

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR Coupé, which was part of the luxury carmaker's private collection, was sold to an anonymous bidder. The money made from the sale was used to found the company's Mercedes-Benz Foundation.

The swanky sports car, which can reportedly reach a top speed of 186mph, is one of just two 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé prototypes in existence. 

The pair of cars were named after Rudolf Uhlenhaut, who was Mercedes' chief engineer at the time of their creation. While one set records at auction, the other Uhlenhaut Coupé will remain in Mercedes' private collection.

Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn sold for $195 million (£166m) when it went under the hammer at Christie’s New York in May. The incredible price instantly set a new record for the most expensive piece of 20th century artwork to ever sell at auction.

The enviable title was previously held by Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O), which sold at Christie’s for $179.4 million (£152.7m) in 2015.

Though famed pop artist Warhol never actually met Monroe, he painted dozens of images of her after she died in 1962. This 40-square-inch painting from 1964 is one of his most iconic images of the tragic Hollywood star – and even inspired the portrait on Freddie Mercury's t-shirt. 

Now take a look at the world's most valuable paintings.