5,900,000 Pennies for Her Thoughts

In the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith's death, the nation has become fascinated with her life and lifestyle. Smith's shocking death came just months after the sudden death of her son, Daniel Smith, while he was visiting Anna Nicole and newborn daughter Dannielynn.

Smith, a former Playboy Playmate and Guess? Jeans model who died February 8, 2007 from a fatal combination of drugs, has been the subject of many tabloid and gossip magazine articles for a long time. However, her fame reached new heights following her death when at least three different men claimed to be the father of her baby girl. The highly publicized custody and paternity battle for Dannielynn climaxed two weeks ago in the Bahamas when Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead announced that the paternity test revealed that he, not Smith's partner, attorney Howard Stern, is the father of Dannielynn.

As former boyfriends, lovers, and even Smith's family found themselves granting interviews to the media, the custody and paternity battles over Dannielynn brought much of Smith's private affairs to the attention of the public. Her private thoughts, however, remained private. This may not be so for long, though.

Two diaries, written by Anna Nicole Smith in the early 90's, have been purchased by an unnamed recording company executive from Dallas. The diaries were purchased for a price of $59,750, more than a penny for each thought probably.

The diaries are said to have been written in 1992 and 1994, and cover a range of topics, including her love for deceased oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, who was nearly 90 years old when he married 26-year old Anna Nicole in 1994. The highly controversial marriage lasted just over a year until Marshall died in August of 1995. Smith spent the remainder of her own life battling her step son in court over her inheritance.

Back to these diaries. The diaries were auctioned after the German businessman who purchased them, along with other items, on eBay, secured the publishing rights. There is no news currently on if or when the diaries will actually be published.

Smith's boyfriend Howard K. Stern maintains that the diaries were stolen and should be returned back to Smith's estate. However, Doug Norwine, director of music and entertainment memorabilia at the Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas has reported that he believes that the diaries were obtained legitimately by a celebrity memorabilia dealer in Los Angeles.