Bullet-Dented Medallion: Tupac's Estate at Temple University

A gold medallion with a bullet dent: Tupac was wearing it in 1994 when he was shot five times (1994 shooting). In November 2018, the piece went to Temple University in Philadelphia. The New Jersey auction house Goldin Auctions donated about a dozen items from Tupac’s estate to the university, as Billboard and Vibe reported.

From the Album Cover to the Archive

The pieces are on display on the main campus in the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, which holds around 500,000 items on the “global black experience.” Alongside the medallion, these include handwritten lyrics to “It Ain’t Easy” and “I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” handwritten tracklists for unreleased albums, and the diamond earring from the cover of All Eyez On Me.

The Collection Focuses on Hip-Hop

Professor Aaron Smith, who teaches a seminar on Tupac at Temple University, called it a dream come true for “hip-hop heads.” Curator Diane Turner announced that the collection would focus more heavily on hip-hop.