NEW YORK: United States investment banks Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch may be about to disappear from the Wall Street landscape, but their memorabilia commanded a premium on Monday.

Coffee mugs from Lehman and golf balls emblazoned with Merrill's bull logo were among several dozen items up for sale on eBay's online auction site, after Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill agreed to a US$50-billion (S$72-billion) takeover by Bank of America.

A classic black-and-white Merrill T-shirt was getting bids of US$20, while a gold-toned blazer button with the company's bull logo was offered for US$13.

Lehman coffee mugs fetched as much as US$40 per cup, with 22 bids in, while the firm's minimalist green-and-white duffel bag was on offer for US$150.

A green baseball cap had already received US$33 in bids.

Enterprising merchants have even bought rights to related Internet domain names, such as lehmanbankruptcy.com, and offered to sell them for as much as US$5,000.

There should be plenty more souvenirs to come after Lehman employees showed up at dawn on Monday at the New York headquarters, toting duffel bags, suitcases or boxes to pack up their desks.

Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection after frantic efforts to find a white-knight buyer failed. Rival Merrill agreed to a buyout from Bank of America amid fears it could be the next victim of exposure to bad real-estate assets and the credit crisis.

Meanwhile, items from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase appeared to be less in demand on eBay, with polo shirts a comparative steal at US$14 and golf balls commanding less than US$2. -Reuters