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$1.8 MILLION FOR A FISH. AND YOU CAN'T EVEN TAKE IT FOR A WALK.
A FISH. $1.8 MILLION. THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE STORY.
There are expensive pets. There are very expensive collectibles. And then there is S Legend, the Japanese koi that reportedly sold for an astonishing $1.8 million at auction in Hiroshima, Japan. S Legend wasn't just any goldfish with a good agent. She was a Kohaku, the famous Japanese variety characterised by brilliant white skin and deep red markings. Kohaku are among the most prestigious koi in the collecting world, and exceptional examples can command extraordinary prices. And S Legend was exceptional. Her value came from the things serious koi collectors obsess over: bloodline, body shape, skin quality, colour intensity and the balance and symmetry of her red-and-white pattern. She had also won the All Japan Koi Show, putting her firmly into the championship elite. At this level, buyers aren't really purchasing a pond decoration. Championship koi are effectively living works of art, judged, shown and potentially bred. A champion's genetics can also make its offspring valuable, which helps explain why collectors are prepared to spend sums that sound completely deranged to the rest of us. Even so... $1,800,000. For. A. Fish. That's what earns S Legend a place in the Absolutely Monaco Ridiculousness List. Monaco has multimillion-euro watches, quarter-million-euro handbags, supercars and yachts that require their own staff. But there is something magnificently ridiculous about spending supercar money, house money and, in some places, several-house money on an animal that lives in a pond. And perhaps the most terrifying part? Once you've spent $1.8 million on a koi, you're presumably no longer looking at your pond thinking: "How beautiful." You're looking at it thinking: "IS THE FISH OKAY?" Dad says: “For $1.8 million, I want it to know its own name, answer the door and feed itself.” Harriet says: “I'd be terrified every time it stopped moving.” GG says: “Can you cuddle it?” Our verdict: Utterly ridiculous. Also strangely magnificent. RIDICULOUS… OR RIDICULOUSLY COOL?
Why it's ridiculous
Because someone paid $1.8 MILLION for a fish. Not a shark. Not a prehistoric fish. Not even a fish that can fetch your slippers. A red-and-white koi. S Legend was undoubtedly one of the finest koi in the world, but $1.8 million is still an extraordinary amount of money for something whose principal daily activities are swimming slowly around a pond and waiting to be fed. For perspective, perfectly nice koi can cost less than $100. This one cost 18,000 times that. And unlike your Ferrari, Rolex or Birkin, your $1.8 million investment is alive, needs pristine water, specialist care and can theoretically decide to stop being alive. Ridiculous? Absolutely.
Dad's verdict
99
I just don't get it at all. Not a fish fan anyway, but this just feels nuts. What if the cat gets it?
Harriet's verdict
99
Its nice colur but you have to look after it and I would spend money on other things
Ridiculous or understandable?
The five questions we both have to answer.
Dad
RidiculousBest thing about it
It has nice chat maybe?
Worst thing about it
Not sure where to start, nothing personal to the fish itself
What I'd actually pay
$0
If someone handed me the cash, would I buy it at full price?
No — I'd keep the money — Just dont understand it
Harriet
RidiculousBest thing about it
Color
Worst thing about it
You have to take care of it
What I'd actually pay
$200000
If someone handed me the cash, would I buy it at full price?
No — I'd keep the money — I would then sell it for $1m
Your verdict