Rare Marilyn Monroe photos set to hit the auction block

A series of rare photos of American icon Marilyn Monroe are set to hit the auction block soon and they're expected to fetch a pretty penny.

Six photos taken by photographer and friend George Barris are the last known pictures of Monroe. The shots were taken in July of 1962 a few weeks before her death. Each photo that is set to be auctioned by Heritage New York is authentic and signed. According to Barris the photo on the beach showing a kissy faced Monroe was the last shot ever taken of the bombshell.Monroe was found dead in her home on August 5th 1962 of a drug overdose -- the coroner's report listed her death as 'probable suicide' but over the years several conspiracy theorists suggested that the actress was murdered. She was just 36 years old. The photographer says he was so distraught over Monroe's passing that he didn't publish the images for several years.

Another set of Marilyn moments are scheduled to be auctioned alongside Barris's. Photographer Bert Stern shot Monroe for Vogue in June of 1962. These images would become known as The Last Sitting even though Barris photographed her a few weeks later.

Rachel Peart, director of photographs at Heritage New York tells the Huffington Post that some of the photographs are vintage - they were printed within 5 years of the negative - while others were printed years later.

The starting price for the photos begin around a thousand dollars for some and continue upwards to nearly 10 thousand for others. The auction runs from March 10th to the 15th.

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