Frank Sinatra’s First Driver’s License Fetches $15K At Auction

Frank Sinatra’s first New Jersey driver’s license has sold for and astonishing $15,757 at auction. According to the Washington Post, the text-only and slightly yellowed 1934 license was issued, typo and all, to Francis Sintra, 841 Garden Street, Hoboken, New Jersey. The license, obvious by the glaring typo in Sinatra’s last name, was signed before Sinatra broke into the music industry. Frank was just 19 years old when he signed the license.

They did get one thing correct about “Old Blue Eyes” — his eye color. The license notes Sinatra is 5 foot 8 inches tall, 130 pounds, brown haired and, of course, blue-eyed.

Sinatra’s driver’s license was auctioning as a lot. The lot included the driver’s license as well as a 1940 letter to the state Commissioner of Motor Vehicles from the lawyer of a man who had been involved in a car crash with Sinatra. In the letter, the man asked that Sinatra have his driving privileges revoked until he paid for all damages. At the time of the letter, Sinatra had paid the driver $7.50, but he was requesting more.

NJ.com notes that the minimum bid for the lot was just $500. Boston-based RR Auction was in charge of the special auction.

RR Auction says Sinatra is “a name that conjures up respect in the minds of admirers of both music and movies. As a capable actor, Sinatra walked away with an Academy Award in 1953 for his supporting role in ‘From Here to Eternity.’ As a vocalist he has earned the adoration of millions of fans and become one of the most well-loved entertainers of this century.” The company notes that legal documents and contracts signed by Sinatra are rare.

“As a man of many talents, Sinatra has signed many contracts and legal agreements, and while his contracts are not common on the autograph market, they do occasionally turn up.”

This makes the driver’s license an especially exciting find for Sinatra fans and collectors.

With a price tag at $15,757, Sinatra’s driver’s license is hardly the highest priced Sinatra item to present itself at auction. The New York Times reported that in 1995 a huge collection of Sinatra items when up for auction at Christie’s, the Park Avenue auction house. At the auction, Frank Sinatra’s car sold for $79,500 to a phone bidder.

Frank Sinatra is still making headlines even in his death. Mia Farrow revealed to Vanity Fair just last year that Frank Sinatra “may be the father of my son.”

What do you think of the auction price?