Elvis Scores Another Hit

By Michele Orecklin

It seems no relic associated with ELVIS PRESLEY is too trivial to fetch a bundle. A North Carolina man last week collected $455 by auctioning three tablespoons of water he claims once occupied a cup from which Elvis drank while performing. Wade Jones says that after an Elvis concert he attended in 1977, he was given the cup by a security guard. For decades he preserved the liquid in a sealed glass vial, but after seeing a grilled cheese sandwich ostensibly bearing an image of the Virgin Mary garner $28,000 on eBay, he decided to part with the holy Elvis water. Jones was so pleased with the financial results that he has put the actual chalice--which takes the form of a plastic-foam cup--on offer. Top bidders will not get to own the cup, merely earn the privilege to visit and admire it in person.