A clump of Elvis Presley's hair, given to Gary Pepper as president of the Tankers Fan Club to give to Elvis fans, is one of over 200 items in The Gary Pepper Collection of Elvis Presley Memorabilia at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers (Image © M. Spencer Green/AP/Press Association Images)

Two separate auctions are offering people the chance to bid for locks of hair belonging to the greatest male pop stars of the 20th century: Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

Presley's hair is being auctioned in Chicago, while 12 strands of Michael Jackson's locks are going under the hammer in London.

The clump of Presley's hair is one of around 200 items of memorabilia being sold at the Leslie Hindman auctioneers on Sunday. All hail from the collection of Gary Pepper, an Elvis superfan. The hair is expected to fetch as much as $100,000 (£63,000).

The strands from Jackson's head, meanwhile, date from the singer's freak accident in 1984 when his hair caught fire during the filming of a TV advertisement for Pepsi. The dozen follicles were retrieved by Ralph Cohen, the advert's executive producer, who took off his coat to put out the flames.

Richard Davie, of International Autograph Auctions, is selling the hair and other artefacts at the Radisson Edwardian hotel at Heathrow Airport in London this weekend.

He said: "This memorabilia has doubled in price since Michael Jackson died. Jackson has huge global appeal with collectors all around the world.

"Of all the things he has done, including dangling his baby from the window and sleeping in an oxygen tent, the hair-burning incident stands out. There will be lots of people who will want to buy these items as souvenirs and those who would like them as investments."

Click through the images below for 10 other unusual items recently put up for auction.