Kennedy killer coffin put up for auction

The brown pine box, its rusted metal ornamentation still intact, was dug up in 1981 as part of an effort to put to rest theories that Lee Harvey Oswald was not in it.

Authorities used dental records to show the remains did indeed belong to the man who shot the president to death in 1963. The body was then reburied in Fort Worth.

"We placed Lee in a new casket, and I just brought that one back to the funeal home," said Allen Baumgardner, owner of Baumgardner Funeral Home.

"I've had it all these years."

Mr Baumgardner, 68, said he was selling the coffin, which is expected to fetch $100,000 along with the original embalming equipment and paperwork, because he felt it was time to do something with it.

An early version of Oswald's death certificate is also being auctioned and is expected to fetch up to $20,000.