A cigar half-smoked by Winston Churchill realised £1,700 ($2,200) in a sale at Halls yesterday.
The stogie is a remarkable 70 years old.
Special arrangements were made to keep Churchill supplied with Cuban cigars during WW2
Churchill put it out at Le Bouget airport in Paris on May 11, 1947. A photo of him puffing on it before he got on his plane was included in the lot.
Auctioneer Andrew Beeston explained to the Shropshire Star: “He stubbed out the cigar in an ashtray after boarding the plane and it was taken into protective custody by Corporal William Alan Turner, Air Quartermaster with 24 Squadron Transport Command, who was a member of the cabin crew that flew Churchill and his wife from RAF Northolt to Paris and home again.
“The cigar remained in late Corporal Turner’s possession and must have been a topic of conversation for many years.
“Had it not been half smoked by the great man, the value would have been much less and the photograph supports the provenance.”
Churchill was an inveterate cigar smoker and was rarely seen in public without one.
As they are such a part of his image, collectors are keen to acquire them.
While he often gave out unsmoked cigars as gifts, it’s the ones he smoked that attract the biggest prices at auction.
We have a truly exceptional piece of Winston Churchill memorabilia for sale.
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