Would you spend $35,000 for a gold-plated coffin?

Eric Pfeiffer
·Reporter

You can't take it with you. Well, unless you buy a gold-plated coffin. SmartMoney looks at a pair of luxury coffin options for the person who wants to be first class, six feet under.

For $24,000 you can get Batesville Casket's Promethean bronze coffin with gold plating. That model reportedly has a little history, as it was the same model used in the funeral of singer Michael Jackson.

But if you want to outspend the King of Pop, you can opt for a $34,500 Golden Casket model that is "gilded with 24-karat gold" and required "hundreds of hours of handcraftsmanship" to produce.

"If it's something you're going to spend eternity in, it seems like you might want a real luxury option," says Edward Balfour, president of Golden Casket.

As SmartMoney notes, it's a big departure from the average coffin's relatively minor cost of $2,300.

So are there other options for the dramatically deceased? Of course there are. The band Kiss is still touring. But if the aging rockers outlive you, they have thoughtfully offered a Kiss Kasket $3,299. Although their band's merchandising website is quick to note that shipping costs will vary.

And the company Eternal Image even offers Star Trek-themed coffins (available in United Federation of Planets, Star Fleet Delta and even Klingon Empire).

There are also Major League Baseball-themed coffins for the diehard sports fan. This seems like a natural fit for fans of the Angels, no?

So while it may be impossible to count the myriad ways one can die, there's also an ever-increasing number of ways to choose your final resting place.

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