The Most Expensive & Elaborate Caskets In The World

By Kirsty 1 year ago

A Chocolate Box Casket

Image source: cremationresource.org
Life is like a box of chocolates, or so Forrest Gump tells us... so why can't death be as well? People say life is a gift, but this might not be what they had in mind for life after death, too... This chocolate box casket definitely puts a more positive spin on a more sombre-looking casket, but it might put people off chocolate.

An Homage To One Of The Trustiest Phones Around: Nokia

Image source: Pinterest 
We all know how unbeatable Nokias are at phones - those were the days when you could depend on 100% battery life for a week straight whilst also playing Snake non-stop. So why wouldn't you want that dependability put into your casket? This Nokia phone casket takes quirky and elaborate to a new level.

On Brand: A Bible Coffin

Image source: cremationresource.org
One for the overly religious people out there...I mean, if there's one place a bible is going to look like nothing out of the ordinary, it's as a coffin for a religious person's funeral. So if you want to show your devotion even after you're gone, get a casket designed like a bible - it even looks like pages along the side!

Michael Jackson's Gold Promethean Casket

Image source: nme.com
Michael Jackson was buried in a very memorable solid gold casket, but it wasn't a design made specifically for him. The Promethean bronze and gold casket was already on the market, at $24,000, and this 24k gold coffin has been popular with celebrities, including James Brown as well as the late King of Pop.

This Stunning 24K Gold-Coated Masterpiece

Image source: insider.com
Something like this just has to be on display and never used, surely - you wouldn't want to bury this 6 feet underground with nobody to ever see it again. This masterpiece, coated in 24K gold, is worth around $120,000 and was on display at the Asia Funeral Expo. So you best start saving!

This Crazy Kiss-Themed Casket For Any Rock Fan

Image source: lolwot.com
If you're a fan of
Kiss
and want to go out in style, then this
Kiss
-themed coffin might hit the right notes with you. This casket costs $4,000, and for that price, you get a pretty out-there design complete with flames, the band's logo and a coffin plastered with the band member's faces, including their iconic makeup, of course.

The Original Casket For JFK After His Assassination

Image source: lolwot.com
You may be wondering why the original casket for assassinated president JFK is still around - wasn't he buried in it? John F. Kennedy wasn't actually buried in this casket, as it was only used to transport his body from Dallas to Washington following his death in 1963. The casket cost a whopping $4,000.

The Coffin Of Illinois's Tallest Man

Image source: lolwot.com
You'd expect this coffin to fetch a high price tag, seeing as it needs extra length to fit an 8 foot 11 inch-tall man in it. Robert Wadlow, also known as the Giant of Illinois, was the tallest person in history, and his coffin cost $4,500 to build. The finished coffin was over 10 foot, and took twelve pallbearers to carry!

The Paris Rose Stainless Steel Casket - With Reinforced Handles

Image source: Titan Casket
Stainless steel might sound pretty common for a casket, but this one is the most expensive stainless steel option, worth around $4,099. Its cost comes from the fact it's oversized for a start, so more roomy, and it has a lot of extra details on the design, as well as reinforced handles and a crepe interior.

This Velvet-Lined Poplar Casket

Image source: Penwell-Gabel 
Another oversized coffin here, the Estate Poplar Casket comes in around $5,995, and the most expensive from the casket brand Sky Caskets. The coffin is made from solid poplar wood with a glossy finish on the outside, while Rosetan velvet lines the inside. There's even an adjustable mattress!

Get Your Geek On With These Tech-Inspired Coffins

Image source: Pinterest 
If you've lived your best geek life and don't want that to change in the afterlife, then how about one of these customized tech or gadget-related coffins from a company called Creative Coffins? You could be buried in your favorite retro video console, your trusty cell phone or maybe one designed as your fav tech brand.

The Classic Mahogany With A High Price Tag!

Image source: Van Reenen Funeral Home 
Named the 'Royal Grace Custom', this mahogany wood casket comes in around $7,899, and it's easy to see why, with an immaculate finish on a popular choice for coffin wood. It also comes with swing bars, highly-polished details and a high-gloss finish. Decorative wood is one of the most popular choices for caskets.

The 14-Karat Gold Coffin From Malaysia At $217,000!

Image source: lolwot.com
Standing as one of the most expensive coffins in the world - an eye-watering $217,000, to be exact - this Malaysian 14-Karat Gold coffin is almost completely solid gold. It's high price tag and luxury design has even had it displayed as a guest of honor at a coffin exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

Cruise Into Your Funeral In Style

Image source: cremationresource.org
If you're a car fanatic, maybe one of these car-shaped coffins will be how you want to arrive at your funeral. People arrive at their weddings in fancy cars, so why not for burials? The coffin will even have wheels as part of the design, and a color of your choice for the bodywork. A whole new meaning to 'open top' car!

Being Eco-Friendly Can Also Be Expensive

Image source: griefandsympathy.com
We all know how higher the price tag gets when we're trying to buy eco-friendly things and avoid the chain brands, and the same can be said for coffins, too. This custom-made casket has a big price tag because it's not only made from reclaimed materials, but reclaimed antique at that! It's customizable, and any wood used will be eco-friendly.

We're Gonna Need A Bigger Coffin

Image source: cremationresource.org
If you're a fan of sharks and not at all traumatised by the movie
Jaws
, maybe this one is for you. It might be a little out of taste for the coffin of someone who died in a shark attack though.. or maybe that's just a dark sense of humor passing from beyond the grave. For whatever reason, you might want this great white shark coffin.

The Coffin That Boldly Goes Where No Man Has Gone Before

Image source: weburbanist.com
This one is for the Trekkies: a Star-Trek themed casket, complete with a futuristic-looking design, inspired by the Photon Torpedo from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. This one might be a good option for those who also want a space burial... or maybe just spent their lives dreaming of a Star Trek send off.

A Casket With A Karaoke Machine Inside

Image source: businessinsider.com
Just in case you want to end with your Swansong, this manufacturer Robert Nogoy actually designs caskets which have a karaoke machine inside. It's supposed to be a gimmick, obviously, but you can't help but think how terrified you'd be if you heard singing coming from inside during the funeral...

Just Keep Swimming

Image source: businessinsider.com
When life gets you down, just keep swimming. When life's over - swim harder. Or so this whacky coffin from Ghana would have you believe, shaped like a fish! Maybe a popular choice for fishermen, lovers of aquatic creators or just people who feel affinity with water (or sushi), this one's definitely one of the weird and wonderful ones.

For A Roaring-Good Send-Off

Image source: businessinsider.com
From the same unique coffin designers from Ghana, who specialise in weird coffin designs, comes this lion shaped coffin! Enough to have everyone feeling courage in the face of death - or hopefully that and not the cowardly lion from Wizard of Oz - this wildlife offering was weird enough to be on display at a casket exhibition: "Boxed: Fabulous Coffins from UK and Ghana".

This White Casket With Pretty Roses

Image source: griefandsympathy.com
A lot of caskets in dark, traditional wood can feel a bit grim, so it's nice to see something that's a bit more playful with this bright white design, decorated with pretty pink roses. To match, the casket is lined with pink velvet and there are even extra roses on the interior, embroidered in.

What's Cheaper: A Designer Handbag, Or A Designer Handbag Casket?

Image source: aklander.co.uk
If you spent most of your yearly wage in life on designer handbags, maybe this one will appeal to you for the afterlife. It makes sense to get a custom coffin if it's going to reflect one of your greatest passions - and that might just be luxury brands. It certainly gives an even darker meaning to the idea of 'body bag', though, doesn't it?

Elizabeth Taylor's $11,000 Casket

Image source: theguardian.com
The legendary actress was known for her high-end style and glamor, so her funeral definitely wasn't going to be any different. Her casket was made from full mahogany, and actress had a traditional Jewish design - which meant that the all-wood casket hadn't used any nails for the construction. She even had it arrive late to her funeral as a joke!

This Customizable Bronze And Copper Casket

Image source: rarest.org
Coming in at $12,000, this coffin from luxury brand in-Valhalla is made from bronze and copper, with plenty of custom options for both size and finish. The bronze and copper alloy means the casket is particularly strong against corrosion - and even stronger than stainless steel - which means it won't rust. You get what you pay for!

The Double-Lid Casket Made From Bronze

Image source: rarest.org
Coming in with a price tag of almost $28,000, this bronze casket has not one, but two lids, for a double-seal option. This casket is made from 96 ounces of solid bronze, with a total weight of over 400 pounds when it's finished! The design comes with velvet interiors and a head pillow.

 The Solid Gold Casket Sent To Zsar Zsar Gabor - Before Her Death!

Image source: operanews.com
This solid gold casket is one of the most expensive in the world, costing around $40,000 and made from 24k gold. It was actually sent as a gift to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, while she was still alive! Apparently Gabor's husband was pretty offended - and rightly so. When the actress eventually passed away, she still didn't use the casket. It takes around 200 hours to make this coffin by hand.

The Mahogany Hand-Painted Casket From Xiao En Center

Image source: rarest.org
This burial casket is fully mahogany wood, but it offers something a little different than traditional wood coffins (hence the high price tag of $36,400). This design from Xiao En Center included artistic features that have been hand-painted onto the wood, as well as an expensive velvet interior to finish. It's usually a popular choice with Chinese officials.

The Star Legacy Casket In Powder Blue

Image source: lolwot.com
For $2,700, you can get this stainless steel casket from Star Legacy, which is actually the most expensive casket they run. The interior is done in a soft white, while the outside comes in powder blue with a brush finish, given a more pastel-colored option to those who might not like mahogany (or solid gold for that matter).

Standard Copper Not Enough? Try The Copper Deluxe

Image source: lolwot.com
Anything with 'deluxe' in the name when it comes to caskets is going to run up a higher price, and the case is no different for this offering from the brand Star Legacy. The Copper Deluxe comes in at $2,900 and is made out of - you guessed it - copper! But this isn't any cheap version of copper, as the price tag proves.

Hallmark's Bronze Casket With Quilted Interior

Image source: lolwot.com
For a high price tag of $6,900, Hallmark offers this shiny bronze casket with a soft white velvet interior in a padded quilted fashion that just screams luxury (or you would think so for that price, anyway). This casket is made by the Savon Caskets and Urns company, and a great option if you don't want anything as showy as solid gold but mahogany is too predictable.

Buried As Your Favorite Chocolate Bar

image source: kanekweicarpentryworkshop.com
If you had an extreme sweet tooth in life, maybe you were warned many, many times by your doctor about eating so much chocolate it'd be a health risk - well, you don't have to worry about that after you've passed, after all, so why not celebrate it by taking your favorite chocolate snack to the afterlife with you?

An Eight-Legged Coffin

image source: tripadvisor.com
Most people would die of fright from just seeing one of these things - so it might be shocking to learn some people actually 
want
to be buried in a coffin that looks like a spider! Unless this is someone facing their fears, to the extreme - even after death...

An All-You-Can-Eat Buffet... Coffin?

image source: kanekweicarpentryworkshop.com
No, you can't actually eat the coffin - because that'd be weird - but how about a coffin shaped like a restaurant? Maybe you could even customize to have it as your favorite restaurant you always went to in life! This coffin is complete with doors and windows - though we hope not operational...

Who Lives In A Pineapple Under The Sea?

image source: 
kanekweicarpentryworkshop.com
Okay, so maybe not under the sea - unless you can actually have a sea burial with one of these caskets - but it's still cool enough to warrant a shout out to the most famous pineapple we know! Because why wouldn't you want to be buried in one of these bright fruits?

A Refreshing Twist

image source: globalnews.com
Why not take your favorite refreshing beverage along with you for the ride? Any by that we mean actually have the bottle as your ride to the afterlife! With these coffins you can choose your favorite drink - popular soda options or even bottles of beer - and have that as your casket!

How About Something Geometric?

image source: weburbanist.com
If you're a huge fan of modern design and all these quirky and/or old-fashioned caskets just aren't doing it for you, how about something modern and geometric? These coffins from a German designer are made with the modern art lover in mind - in life, and in death!

An Egg-Shaped Capsule

image source: weburbanist.com
On the surface, this might seem like a really weird idea - especially since the body has to be placed inside the 'bulb' in a fetal position, which can't be much fun - but it's actually a great eco-friendly and biodegradable alternative to huge, traditional coffins in the ground!

This Soccer-Shaped Urn

image source: businessinsider.com
Some countries in the world celebrate the huge sport of soccer - it's kind of a big deal. So much so that any soccer fan might actually want their coffin or urn to be an homage to their favorite sport - and that's where this soccer ball-shaped urn comes in! You can actually have your ashes kept inside.

Embalmed... In Your Own Vehicle?

image source: businessinsider.com
If traditional coffins and urns just don't cut it, maybe there's something in life that you loved more than anything - like this man and his taxi cab. Victor Perez Cardona was a taxi driver in life, and in death, and his dying wish was to be embalmed and seated inside his own taxi cab at his funeral!

How About Being Buried As Your Fave Superhero?

image source: businessinsider.com#
The biggest fans would have dressed up at least once as their favorite comic book superhero in life - but why not in death too? That's exactly what this man did, when he avoided an expensive casket so that he could instead be displayed dressed as the Green Lantern for his funeral!

A Sports-Themed Cemetery Plot

image source: businessinsider.com
If the sports ball-shaped urn wasn't cutting it for you, how about your very own sports-themed cemetery plot? This is possible in Hamburg, Germany, for those particular fans of the game. The plot will actually also be close to the sports club - for the pretty price of a few thousand euros!

Ride Out In Style

image source: businessinsider.com
It's not all just about the coffin, after all - it's about how you get to where your coffin needs to be. And if you're planning on investing money in going out in style rather than just focusing on your casket, you might want to be pay to be escorted on a motorcycle side car!

How About A Motorcycle Hearse?

image source: businessinsider.com
If you're a motorhead, or a motorcycle-head we should say, it makes sense why you'd also want to concentrate on your hearse vehicle for your send-off, too. So if you want something a little different, and if you were a biker in life, you could get a motorcycle hearse for your casket!

Drive-Thru Fast Food... And Funerals?

image source: businessinsider.com
If you don't want funerals to be too much of a drawn-out affair, you could go with the fast drive-thru option! It's not as frantic or strange as it sounds, though, as this drive-thru parlor is actually made for funeral attendees who might be disabled, or for those funerals with high capacity.

Play Me One Last Song

image source: businessinsider.com
Even if you're not a music lover, there's no denying a guitar-shaped coffin is pretty cool. But for those who may have been musicians, rock stars or guitar shredders in life, this one is the perfect way for your desired send off. We presume the fretboard isn't part of the main coffin body, though, surely?

Swan Lake Or Swansong?

image source: cremationresource.org
The perfect send-off casket for professional ballet dancers, or maybe people who just love the shape of this particular pink satin shoe! The squared toe certainly helps for the coffin's sturdy design, and honestly why wouldn't you want something as nice as this as your casket?

Welcome... To Jurassic Park

image source: cremationresource.org
Or, at the very least, some strange dinosaur boat looking version you might find in one of their newest attractions. Or this one could be popular with the idea of a 'Viking funeral' boat. Either way, the design is exciting and even cooler if you can customize the dinosaur mastheads!

This One-Of-A-Kind Corn Coffin

image source: cremationresource.org
Apart from looking quirky and impressive as a coffin, corn is also an important symbol of sustenance and life in some cultures - which is why it would also make the perfect casket design for those appreciating the next stage in life's journey! It's bold and bright to say the least!

Can't Decide Which Shoes To Wear?

image source: cremationresource.org
Picking the perfect funeral outfit is always going to be a struggle, especially if the person has a million different pairs of favorite shoes. So why not just have the whole casket shaped like a shoe? Complete with purple satin lining and a bold, black finish (always appropriate for a send-off!).

This One's For The Lizard Lovers

image source: cremationresource.org
If you're going to choose a wacky coffin, why not this one? We all remember that frill-necked lizard dino from Jurassic Park too, so we already know how cool they are. This one is definitely not for those who want a 'no frills' funeral - and this one comes complete with tail, too!

What To Read Next

Load More