A collection of personal items belonging to Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders fetched thousands of dollars during a public auction held on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
Presided over by the Louisville-based auction platform The Menish Group, the sale featured Sanders' signature black bow tie, an original cash register, personal records, and pressure cookers preserved by the Settle family since 1974.
The highest bid of the evening reached $30,000 for Sanders' personal 1964 planner, which contained a handwritten list of herbs and spices that previously triggered an early 2000s lawsuit by KFC Corp.
before the company determined the recipe was likely for stuffing.
An honorary 1955 Kentucky Colonel certificate awarded to Sanders was purchased for $23,000, while a clip-on black ribbon bow tie worn by the KFC founder sold early in the event for $8,000.
Other Items and Auction Highlights
Other items sold during the auction included Sanders' cutlery set, a bust sculpted by his daughter, personal watches, a commercial gas range, and a 1966 patent for pressure frying chicken.
Auctioneers emphasized the global reach and historical significance of the sale, noting Sanders' deliberate effort to construct his iconic public persona.
"Colonel Sanders was the original celebrity chef," said Bill Menish, whose firm, The Menish Group, conducted the auction.
"The feedback has been worldwide, so we needed to have an auction that would cater to that worldwide audience."
Menish praised Sanders' promotional skills during the bidding process, noting that Sanders adopted his famous image specifically to build his restaurant enterprise.
"He didn't dress like that before he was starting to build Kentucky Fried Chicken," Menish said.
"He adopted the colonel: the clothes, the bow tie, the glasses, the goatee."
Auctioneer Jonathan Klunk highlighted the unique history behind the collection, which was preserved at Sanders' former headquarters, Blackwood Hall.
"Not a lot of people know; he did wear clip-ons," Klunk said.
Klunk emphasized that the single chain of ownership enhanced the collection's value.
"While Colonel Sanders is synonymous with Kentucky Fried Chicken, this collection reaches well beyond restaurant memorabilia," Klunk said.
"It sits at the intersection of Americana, entrepreneurship, advertising, Kentucky history, hospitality, and 20th-century business culture."
Sealed bids for Sanders' former 5,000-square-foot residence and the adjacent Claudia Sanders Dinner House remain open through Friday.
