Online Casino and publicity nuts Golden Palace are in the news again. They’re auctioning off a 1999 Volkswagen Golf on auction site eBay. What makes this car special is that it was once owned by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, more famously known today as Pope Benedict XVI. 

A young man from Germany, Benjamin Halbe, bought the VW from a used car lot and when he realized that the previous owner of the car was in fact Josef Ratzinger, the newly appointed Pope, Halbe placed the vehicle on eBay Germany in 2005.  The event caught the attention of the media around the world and in turn broke eBay records, receiving over 8.5 million visitors to the particular auction.   

It was the online casino, Golden Palace who is known for buying strange oddities, that won the auction.  They bought the car from Halbe for just under €190, 000 and have used it over the past couple of years for promotional activities.  But they have decided that it’s time to give someone else a chance to own the “Holy” VW Golf.  On Saturday March 31st Golden Palace placed the Popes car back on eBay with a starting bid of £0.99. 

The 1999 grey sedan boasts 5 door manual transmission, anti-lock brakes, passenger and side airbags, power windows, air conditioning, cassette player and has only 75,000 km on it.  It has not been driven since Golden Palace acquired it in 2005. 

The proceeds of the auction will help benefit Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, one of many charity organizations supported by Golden Palace. 

Other strange items recently bought up by Golden Palace from eBay auctions include, a tickle me Elmo doll signed by Elmo muppeteer Kevin Clash, A half eaten egg salad sandwich of Britney Spears, the remains of a ‘scary’ sea monster that washed ashore in Tampa Florida and of course the famous grilled cheese sandwich that bore an image of the Virgin Mary.