Elvis Presley Autopsy Tools No Longer for Sale

Diehard Elvis Presley memorabilia collectors will disappointed to hear that the medical instruments used to prepare the King's body are no longer up for auction after questions arose about their authenticity.

Last week, Leslie Hindman Auctionneers announced that rubber gloves, lip brushes, a comb, eyeliner, forceps, needle injectors and even Presley's toe tag would be on the auction block starting on Aug. 12. An anonymous, retired embalmer from the Memphis Funeral Home had saved the tools and set the sale price up to $14,000, Billboard reports.

"Due to questions of ownership, the retired embalmer and his son have decided to turn over the property to the Memphis Funeral Home and its parent company, Service Corporation International, with the intention of donation," auction house spokesperson Mary Williams said in a statement.

Memphis Funeral Home President E.C. Daves told Tennessee's Commercial Appeal that there's no way to guarantee the tools on sale were authentic. Daves also revealed that the retired embalmer took the equipment after Presley was embalmed but was told that the tools were already sterilized and reused. The funeral home will not press any charges if the instruments are returned, Daves said.

While it seems odd for anyone to want the stuff that prepared the King's dead body, his memorabilia is still a hot commodity. A lock of his hair sold for $18,300 at an auction in 2009 and makes him still one of the top earning dead celebrities, according to Forbes.com.

Still, many Presley devotees will be happy to hear that a new album of his music, produced by the people who created the Cirque Du Soleil production, 'Viva Elvis,' is due out in November. The release will reportedly recreate his songs as if he were still alive and performing them today.