Someone bought Truman Capote's ashes, once owned by Johnny Carson's ex-wife, for $45,000

Someone is paying a mint for curios left behind by deceased celebrities.

The ashes of iconic U.S. author Truman Capote, best known for the book "In Cold Blood", were sold on Saturday to an unknown bidder for $45,000, while locks of Marilyn Monroe's hair fetched a whopping $70,000.

Capote's remains were originally expected to bring in $4,000, according to Julien's Auctions, the establishment that sold the ashes. A spokesperson for Julien's declined to comment to CNBC on the buyer, saying the auction house has a policy of never revealing its bidders.

The writer, who died in Los Angeles in 1984, was a friend and fellow-traveler of Harper Lee. Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," which vaulted her into the pantheon of post-war writers.

Capote's ashes were once in the possession of Joanne Carson, the former-wife of late televison icon Johnny Carson. According to a statement from Julien's, Joanne Carson was given "great comfort" by Capote's remains.

Before Joanne Carson passed away in 2015, she and Capote were known as close friends, and the author had in fact worked on an unfinished memoir for her before passing away.

In addition to Monroe's hair and Capote's ashes, two designer watches that once belonged to late Apple CEO Steve Jobs was sold for more than $30,000. That's not all: A bidder also purchased a leather jacket worn by Jobs for $22,000 and a Levi & Strauss blue jeans outfit for $3,125, the auction house said.

Other items that fetched a pretty penny included a Walt Disney-signed Mickey Mouse drawing which sold for $25,000; a Keanu Reeves Matrix Revolution script that went for $5,700; and a Dennis Hopper 2006 Nightrod Harley-Davidson motorcycle that pulled in $19,200, among others.

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