The bidding for Lee Harvey Oswald’s original coffin was quite brisk at the end. Thirty-six people were in the bidding, and the price leapt from $23,000 this morning to $37,000 two hours before closing to the final hammer price of $73,000.

The deadline for bidding was originally set to be 7:00 PM, but the auction house extended the sale until 10:00 to allow the last three competitors to duke it out. The rest of the $87,000 is the 20% buyer’s premium that goes to the auction house.

The buyer has chosen to remain anonymous thus far, although there were rumblings that he might make a statement today.

Auction house officials declined Friday to release the name of the bidder who successfully purchased Lee Harvey Oswald’s wooden coffin, saying the purchaser would make an announcement in the coming weeks.

“It’s something he wants to do himself,” said Laura Yntema, manager of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Yntema declined to offer information about the winning bidder, other than it was an individual collector rather than a museum.

The other JFK assassination memorabilia at the auction also sold extremely well. The piece of blood-stained leather from JFK’s limo sold for $19,036. The first draft of Oswald’s death certificate with Jack Ruby’s name crossed out sold for $49,374.

On a more whimsical note, check out this both insane and awesome blog post from Booktryst’s Stephen J. Gertz who actually got to clamber inside and take a quick nap inside the coffin.