We speculated on our blog that there might be a surge of memorabilia from Colonel Gaddafi and Libya's regime coming onto the markets after their fall. Now the first really notable and potentially valuable couple of items have been offered - from Gaddafi's final moments.
The macabre items for sale are Gaddafi's silver wedding ring and the bloodied shirt he was wearing when he met his end in October 2011.
| A bloodied Colonel Gaddafi is captured Caution: Graphic Images |
The items are being offered by Libyan national Ahmed Warfali, who has put a demanding price tag of $2m on them. He married his wife Safia, on September 10, 1970 - the date is apparently marked on the ring.
How Warfali came by the ring is not specified. A number of people have questioned whether the ring and shirt are his to sell, or whether they count as the property of Libya.
Regular readers will be reminded of the similar question raised by 'Saddam's bronze buttock' which an ex-SAS member has been trying to sell. A dealer acting on his behalf was arrested as a result in recent weeks.
Perhaps Warfali will make the same argument that has been made with the 'buttock' - that just because something is of historical significance doesn't make it part of a country's heritage.
Still, there is a well-established history of the macabre attracting big prices. Cuban Revolutionary Che Guevara's hair is unsurprisingly valuable, (a lock sold for $119,000 in 2009) and there's nothing necessarily unpleasant about that.
But many would be startled to hear that hair was cut from his head immediately following his death to sell…
Collectors intrigued by the macabre might be interested in the Pierrepoint collection which is in our stock. Albert Pierrepoint was the most famous and prolific hangman in the UK, and kept extensive records.
