WASHINGTON (AFP) - A leather bomber jacket that belonged to slain US president John F. Kennedy has been sold at auction for US$665,500 (S$823,994), far exceeding the initial estimate, a Massachusetts auction house said on Monday.

The brown Air Force One jacket was one of 700 lots put on the auction block on Sunday after the family of Mr David Powers, a special assistant to Mr Kennedy, discovered a treasure trove of JFK memorabilia in the Powers family home.

The jacket was initially estimated at US$20,000 to US$40,000.

Among the other JFK items up for sale, nearly 50 years after his assassination, were photographs, campaign posters, letters and books belonging to the former president.

The John McInnis auction house said on its Facebook page that the jacket was sold for US$570,000. With the premium, the total was US$665,500. The sale lasted more than six hours, the house said.