MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The people at eBay were no believers in this cheesy miracle: half of a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich whose owner claimed it bore the image of the Virgin Mary.

Diana Duyser put the sandwich up for sale last week, drawing bids as high as $22,000 before eBay pulled the item Sunday night. The page was viewed nearly 100,000 times before being taken down.

An e-mail Duyser received from eBay said the sandwich broke its policy, which "does not allow listings that are intended as jokes."

But, Duyser, a jewelry designer who has bought and sold items on eBay for two years, insisted this was not a laughing matter.

"How could eBay do this to me?" Duyser said Monday, hours before the online auction was supposed to have ended.

On Tuesday, the Web site allowed bidding to resume, with the top offer reaching over $16,000. Bidding is scheduled to end Monday.

Company spokesman Hani Durzy said the listing was mistakenly removed because officials doubted whether Duyser could deliver the product.

"After looking at it a second time, there's nothing to indicate that the seller isn't willing to give up this cheese sandwich to the highest bidder," he said. "We're going to allow it to stay up."

In mocking response, two similar items were posted later -- grilled cheese sandwiches bearing the images of the Virgin Mary's used chewing gum and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Duyser thought eBay would be the best place to show off the sandwich, made on plain white bread with American cheese. It was cooked with no oil or butter.

Duyser, 52, said she took a bite after making it 10 years ago and saw a face staring back at her from the bread. She put the sandwich in a clear plastic box with cotton balls and kept it on her night stand.

At first, she was scared by the image, "but now that I realize how unique it is, I wanted to share it with the world," Duyser said.

The sandwich, she added, has never sprouted a spore of mold.

GoldenPalace.com won the bid for $28,000....... they called it "Pop Culture"....ok

EBAY's Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Page

[Edited on Nov 23, 2004 by ThrowDownTheMic]

turin

Denver, CO

October 2003

NOV 23, 2004 07:29 PM

I wish I had too much money. I bet I wouldn't spend it on a grilled cheese sandwich, either.

twigtech

Atlanta, GA

September 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:30 PM

cheesus christ on a cracker

pass the sacramental wine please

VivaDeath

Jacksonville, FL

October 2003

NOV 23, 2004 07:33 PM

I always thought it looked like Charo.

lostarchitect

Brooklyn, NY

January 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:33 PM

$28,000.

awesome.

Capt_Sparrow

Prescott, AZ

January 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:38 PM

dude if i bot it i would soooooo eat with a nice bottle of dom

[Edited on Nov 23, 2004 by Mavis]

turin

Denver, CO

October 2003

NOV 23, 2004 07:39 PM

Mavis said:
dude if i bot it i would soooooo eat with a nice bottle of dom

[Edited on Nov 23, 2004 by Mavis]

ten years old man, it's ten years old.

InfernoMDM

Hilton Head Island, SC

July 2003

NOV 23, 2004 07:45 PM

Shit Id eat it 10 years old or not. You should see the shit my friend and I will eat. Fuzzy catapilers in the desert, droping crap on the ground and eating right nearly anything but crap. I dont know whats wrong but he has to lick everything as well. I usually do as well but man hes a freak.

wheezy_e

Boulder City, NV

April 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:48 PM

Sure, put a hundred monkeys in a kitchen for a hundred years and I'm sure they'd eventually... Ah screw it, IT'S THE VIRGIN MARY EVERYBODY!!!!

NotoriousCAT

Atlanta, GA

January 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:50 PM

MIAMI (Reuters) - An online casino won the eBay bidding for a decade-old cheese sandwich bearing what some people consider a likeness of the Virgin Mary and immediately began hawking Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese T-shirts.

GoldenPalace.com's bid of $28,000 was the highest offer for the sandwich when bidding closed late on Monday, the Internet casino's Web site said.

The seller, Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Diana Duyser, says she made the cheese sandwich 10 years ago and after taking a bite, saw "the Virgin Mary staring back at me."

In her eBay ad, Duyser said the sandwich has been kept in a plastic case for a decade and has developed no mold or bacteria. "It is like a miracle," she said.

"I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother Of God," the ad said. "That is my solemn belief, but you are free to believe that she is whomever you like, I am not scamming anyone."

GoldenPalace.com said on its Web site that the "sacred sandwich" had received more than 1.7 million hits since being posted on eBay. The company's chief executive, Richard Rowe, said the sandwich would be used to raise money for charity.

The T-shirts, in various styles bearing a picture of the sandwich and a GoldenPalace.com logo, sell for $19.99.

"We believe that everyone should be able to see it and learn of its mystical power for themselves," Rowe said.

battlin_albright

Dayton, OH

June 2004

NOV 23, 2004 07:55 PM

I think it looks more like Marilyn Monroe.

Still worth the money though, right?

...

Right?

ThrowDownTheMic

Buffalo, NY

August 2004

NOV 23, 2004 08:03 PM

Annee said:
I think it looks more like Marilyn Monroe.

I thought so too...

imagoldfish

Chicago, IL

April 2003

NOV 23, 2004 08:23 PM

Wow, that's way cooler looking than I imagined.

In her eBay ad, Duyser said the sandwich has been kept in a plastic case for a decade and has developed no mold or bacteria. "It is like a miracle," she said.

The miracle of... TUPPERWARE! Fuck the sandwich dude, how much for the box she's been keeping it in?