Columbo’s raincoat and shoes to go under the hammer!

For sale: shabby mac and ruined shoes, 1 careful owner

UPDATE: at time of writing (28 November), it appears that Columbo’s raincoat and shoes, as described below, did not sell! Word on the street is that the bidding only reached $40,000 – way below the estimated $80,000-$120,000 estimate.

We must therefore deduce that the lot failed to meet reserve. Outrageous, I know! Should it come up for auction again you’ll read about it here!

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If you’ve got a spare $100,000 burning a hole in your pocket (and who hasn’t?), you could become the proud owner of a shabby 50-year-old raincoat and beaten about 70s’ high-top leather shoes. That’s right folks, Columbo’s iconic garments are up for auction!

Yessiree, Columbo’s raincoat and shoes will go under the hammer at Bonhams in Noo Yoik on 21 November with the iconic combo set to fetch between $80,000-$120,000. A bargain, I say!

“Most fans will already know that Peter Falk supplied both the raincoat and shoes himself.”

The legendary mac is described as ‘a tan long-sleeved raincoat with 3 large buttons down the front, 2 side pockets, and cuffed sleeves, well worn, with patches, small tears, discoloration, and light staining present‘ (doubtless with chilli slop, black coffee and dog slobber).

The shoes, meanwhile, are unglamorously written up as being ‘a pair of brown leather high-top shoes with brown laces, size unknown, each with a cork shoe liner.’ It does note, however, that they were made by ‘Shoemaker to the Stars’ Di Fabrizio. Who knew when Columbo walked them into the pool in Most Crucial Game that they were in fact haute couture?

It takes effort to look this shabby, ya know…

Most fans will already know that Peter Falk supplied both the raincoat and shoes himself (and indeed the rest of Columbo’s outfit). He allegedly purchased the raincoat in New York in 1967 while caught in a rainstorm. Little could he have realised that it would go on to become one of the iconic pop culture clothing items.

Read more about the items and the auction here. And if you have the disposable income to consider bidding, PLEASE let me know. All that we fans hope is that these much-loved items go to a good home.

Incidentally, if you’re worried that the raincoat will fall to pieces, fear not. As Columbo himself put it in 1973’s Candidate for Crime: “There’s still a lot of wear in this fella.”

“What will you pay for my shoes?”