If there's a budding knight in shining armor out there — one who's in need of said armor — has the city got a deal for you.
While Tucson regularly auctions off surplus equipment, the offerings seldom include the likes of the 5-foot-tall suit of armor that is now on the block.
No, it wasn't the suit of armor worn by Mayor Bob Walkup when he met with neighbors around El Con Mall over a big-box proposal a few years back, nor was it used by council members defending their decision to hike the garbage fee.
Instead it was either confiscated by the Police Department as part of a crime or was left as unclaimed at the Police Department, said City Procurement Director Mark Neihart.
The armor — sans knight — can be viewed and bid on at the city's internet auction site, http://www.citysurplus.org.
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The auction is scheduled to last until July 5. As of early Friday evening, there were 14 bids, with the high bid being $102.50.
And while you're there, you can look over a cache of other, more routine, items currently available, such as clothes, cameras, television and stereo equipment, jewelry and a wheelchair.
Neihart said the strangest and most compelling items for auctions often come from the Police Department, either from items confiscated because of a criminal action or unclaimed items that people who have been robbed don't claim.
While the all-electronic on-line auction usually brings in about $1 million a year, last year the haul was $1.5 million, aided by the sale of a $421,000 helicopter from the Tucson Police Department that had too many hours of flying time under its belt.
Neihart said there's no telling what someone might find, like an 18-carat-gold, diamond-studded Rolex Presidential that went for $11,000 — except the winning bidder defaulted on the purchase, so Neihart said the Rolex will soon be up on the site again for auction.
