Instruments used to embalm Elvis Presley have been withdrawn from a scheduled Aug. 12 auction because their ownership is being disputed, according to Chicago auctioneer Leslie Hindman.

The authenticity of tools supposedly used in Elvis Presley’s autopsy and embalming also is being questioned, according to a report in a Memphis newspaper today.

There is no way to tell whether the items are authentic, funeral home president E.C. Daves told The Commercial Appeal. Daves said that, despite claims by a retired embalmer that he took the items after Presley’s embalming Aug. 16, 1977, another employee told him the equipment was sterilized and used again.

The items included rubber gloves, forceps, a comb, a toe tag and eye liner. They were to be auction in two sets valued at $8,000 and $6,000.

The retired embalmer and his son have decided to turn over the property to the Memphis Funderal Home and its parent company, Service Corporation International, according to the Chicago auction house.

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