Cobb gave a lengthy, detailed and convoluted account of how he wanted to buy it from a Philippine Dayak tribal chief when he first heard of it in 1934, but the chief, a Muslim, did not want to sell because he considered the pearl sacred, in part because of its resemblance to the turbaned head of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
Cobb then tells of how he saved the life of the chief's son, who was stricken with malaria, in 1936 and was given the pearl as a token of gratitude.
[2] Three decades later, Cobb embellished the provenance with a new account in the February 1969 Mensa Bulletin, promoting the pearl as an artifact of Chinese legend.
It is not on display to the public and as of 2008[update] was being held as part of the Manatee County Probate[3] inventory of Victor M. Barbish.
The pearl is owned in three equal shares by the heirs of Joe Bonicelli, Peter Hoffman and Victor Barbish.
The Palawan Princess, a five-pound non-nacreous pearl then considered the second largest, was offered at auction by Bonhams and Butterfields of Los Angeles on December 6, 2009.