Bidding war for Jesus rock ends at $2,550

Steven Wolfe believes rubbing the rock can help to cure cancer.
SEBRING -- A rock said to bear the image of Jesus sold on eBay for $2,550 Thursday.
A last-minute bidding war erupted over the palm-size weeping Jesus rock that Steven Wolfe said he found in an 8-ton load of limestone more than two years ago.
"I'm so excited," Wolfe said, choking up with emotion minutes after the auction ended at 6:03 p.m. "I'm going to miss it. I had it all this time."
The winner of the auction was GoldenPalace.com, the online gambling company that paid $28,000 last year for a grilled cheese sandwich supposedly featuring an image of the Virgin Mary, and $65,000 this month for a walking cane described as haunted.
Wolfe, 45, said the auction was never about money but a way to pass on a rock he believes possesses supernatural powers.
"It will be under a lock and key for the whole world to see," Wolfe said. "More people will get to see this sign from God."
Wolfe believes the rock can heal and bring good luck. He credits the stone with helping his mother and brother win battles with cancer.
And his mom and sister won $600 playing bingo after rubbing the rock, he said. Wolfe immediately saw the face of Jesus with a tear when he first spotted the rock, he said.
"You can see the eyeballs of this guy staring at you," he said. "It gives you the creeps."
The rock is the latest oddity to sell for big bucks on the Web. A bowl that a Michigan resident claimed could spell the future in alphabet soup fetched $5,700 last weekend.
Wolfe, a stay-at-home father of two, said the rock strengthened his Christian beliefs. A member of the Sebring United Methodist Church, Wolfe said he plans to spend some of the $2,550 on helping the church to buy an air-conditioning system.
He also wants to "relax a little and take the family out to eat and just say, 'Wow, this is so cool,'" he said.
With whatever is left, he intends to save in a college fund for his children.
Five minutes before closing, the 10-day auction's high bid was $365, held by an auctioneer.
That's when GoldenPalace.com raised the stakes to $405 before competing with a bidder who goes by jtdoubleu on eBay. Less than two minutes before closing, jtdoubleu entered a last bid of $2,500.