Some like a hot investment

In November 1962, a U.S. collector shelled out a measly $250 for an Andy Warhol paint and ink and portrait of Marilyn Monroe. "Lemon Marilyn" was one of a series of 13 paintings Warhol created in the immediate wake of Monroe's August 1962 death. Auctioneers with London's Christie's (LSE: CTG) said Monday that the unnamed collector is now looking to cash in this investment at 60,000 times its original value just 45 years later, as the painting is expected to fetch $15 million or more. Such a price tag is certainly not out of the question -- the "Orange Marilyn" painting was sold for $16.3 million last year.

Reportedly, the 1962 transaction occurred at the gallery in New York where Warhol held a one-man show that featured eight of his Marilyn paintings. If you'd like to view before you buy, "Lemon Marilyn" will be on public display at Christie's until tomorrow, and will go on sale at auction May 16 in New York.

While art collectors are profiting from Marilyn decades after her death, the blond bombshell herself remains a bankable commodity. On Forbes' 2006 list of top-earning deceased celebrities, Ms. Monroe ranks ninth, with her estate banking $8 million during the year. Ironically, she did not achieve millionaire status until after her death.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.