Sex doesn't always sell... '$480,000 Monroe porn tape' fails to find bidder

Said to feature 20-year-old Monroe and a mystery male, questions surrounded the film's authenticity

A sex tape allegedly featuring Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe and an unidentified male failed to find a bidder over the weekend.

Put up for sale by Spanish memorabilia collector Mikel Barsa, the tape is said to date to Monroe's early career when the actress, born Norma Jean Baker, was still a struggling actress.

ABC news reported that the tape didn't attract any bids after appearing with a $480,000 starting price at the Buenos Aires Film Collecting Fair on August 7.

What might seem like a high asking price was actually relatively low, considering that the only other known copy of the film sold for $1.2m to a private collector several years ago.

Elsewhere, in 2008, a 15 minute silent black-and-white film from the 1950s of Monroe in a similar role brought $1.5m.

Said to be roughly six minutes long and comprising scratching black and white footage, Barsa's film has attracted much debate since it first became public knowledge in 1997.

Marilyn's modesty remains covered... at least for the time being

Many experts, including representatives for the Monroe estate, deny that the actress in the film is really Marilyn. However, this hasn't stopped Monroe estate representatives from threatening to sue Barsa if he continues to attempt to sell the film.

According to reports, Barsa may have found a collector in Denver, US who is interested in buying the film - although for only half the $480,000 asking price.

The more risqué episodes in Monroe's career have long held fascination and value among collectors, as further evidence of young Norma Jean Baker's famous ascent to stardom in the face of adversity.

Famed Monroe collector and former Paul Fraser Collectibles interviewee David Gainsborough Roberts also has early nude photographs of the actress in his collection.

Yet the failure of Barsa's Monroe tape to attract any bidders in Buenos Aires offers a warning to bother buyers and sellers of collectibles: you must always be 100% sure of a piece's authenticity and provenance.

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