More than 100 of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's personal items, including two of her signature collars that are being made available to the public for the first time, are being offered in an upcoming online charity auction.
The sale, being held through Bonhams, begins on Sept. 7 and runs through Sept. 16, which is also both Constitution Day and the second anniversary of her death, reports Barron's.
The proceeds of the sale will benefit SOS Children's Villages, an international humanitarian organization based in Austria to help launch The RBG Endowment Fund. She also donated part of her $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy & Culture to the project in 2019.
The fund has plans to distribute 5.5% of the endowment each year to programs in the SOS Children’s Villages portfolio. Ginsburg’s daughter-in-law, Patrice Michaels, a musical composer, is on the SOS Children’s Villages USA advisory board.
Most of Ginsburg's trademark collars that she wore with her judicial robes have already been donated to major museums and institutions, such as the Smithsonian and the Newberry Library, while others have been gifted to family and friends, according to Bonhams.
Each of the collars is expected to sell for between $3,000 and $5,000. One is a layered white collar that her clerks gave her in 2018. It is embroidered on the inside with a quote from her late husband, Marty Ginsburg, saying "It's not sacrifice, it's family."
The other collar is a beaded gilt item that features round gilt glass beads in a woven design.
In 2009, Ruth Bader Ginsburg told The Washington Post that she and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the court, "thought it would be appropriate if we included as part of our robe something typical of a woman," according to Bonhams.
O'Connor often wore a lace jabot, which Ginsburg started wearing when she joined the court in 1993. Later, though, she started wearing collars and tended to wear a beaded one when she read majority opinions and a plain one for dissents.
Ginsburg's fashion choices weren't always popular ones, James Ginsburg, her son, said in a statement through Bonhams.
"My mother made The New York Times Style section and People’s ‘Worst Dressed’ list in the same year, the latter accusing her of 'a crime of fashion,'" he said. "While her sartorial choices may have caused controversy in some circles, it’s wonderful to see the broad reach of her ideals and reasoning and how much she is loved and appreciated."
The sale will also feature a wooden gavel from the last justice's chambers. It was most recently used at a 2nd Circuit Court conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, and is expected to bring between $1,500 and $2,500.
Other items being auctioned include Ginsburg's shawls, lace gloves, photos, posters, books, and other items.
Bonhams earlier this year held an auction of Ginsburg's personal library, drawing a record number of bidders for the auction house and selling more than 1,000 books for a total of $2.35 million.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.