Michael Jackson's moonwalk shoes up for auction

"The bidding is already well over $10,000," the auction curator told ABC News.

A piece of Michael Jackson's legacy is up for auction: the very shoes he wore the first time he moonwalked on stage.

"The bidding is already well over $10,000," Brigitte Kruse, a curator with GWS Auctions, told ABC News in a statement.

The King of Pop wore the black loafers during rehearsals for the "Motown 25" TV special in 1983, Kruse said.

"The shoes were given to choreographer and dancer Lester Wilson by Jackson after rehearsing with his brothers," Kruse added.

The shoes were kept in a private collection for many years, and GWS Auctions also had them examined by several experts to verify the authenticity, Kruse said.

The shoes are a size 9 1/2.

A preview of the auction begins May 26 at the Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, and bidding will be open online.