The Cowardly Lion costume worn by Bert Lahr in "The Wizard of Oz" sold for $2.6 million—topping its $2 million estimate.
The costume, famed for its dynamic tail and regal mane, was part of a sale of Hollywood items by Bonhams on Monday.
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The ultimate cat costume was made from actual lion hide and was worn in more than a dozen scenes in the 1939 film, according to Bonhams. Because it was so hot under all that fur, the costume had to be placed in an industrial drying bin overnight so that the perspiration could be dried before the next production day.
The costume was discovered carefully bundled up in an old building on the MGM lot. It has a hidden zipper in the front and an attached tail in the back.
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A secondary costume, also used in the film, was sold at auction in recent years for close to $1 million.
Among the other items in the auction, the piano from the movie "Casablanca" sold for $2.9 million.