The ‘Declaration Pound’ went under the hammer at Duke’s of Dorchester in a collectors’ sale that saw an eclectic mix of items offered.
The auction saw 88 per cent of lots sold and achieved total sales touching half a million pounds.
Buyers around the world were bidding online and over the phone against a saleroom full of collectors and dealers.
A few strands of Napoleon Bonaparte’s hair were purchased for £1,220, and hair from a horse that was at The Battle of Waterloo went for £610.
Two Russian commemorative medals that each had an estimate of £3,000-6,000 went for £85,400 and £97,600.
And a remarkable World War One lot that included a bullet wedged in a cigarette case that saved the life of the private who had it about his person sold for £1,905.
Timothy Medhurst from the auction rooms, said: “We were particularly pleased with the price for the Declaration Pound.
“It came from a local family and was made from solid silver and had been kept in very good condition. It was struck in 1643 in Oxford, a newly-forged seat of power for Charles I after he withdrew from London.
“There was a great deal of interest in the lots connected with Napoleon and Waterloo because it is the 200thanniversary of the battle in June and both went above estimate.
“We had lots of international interest in the Russian commemorative medals that were consigned by a local family – and sold for a total of more than £180,000.
“These solid gold medals date from the mid-18thcentury and commemorate the establishment of the Moscow Foundling House and the transportation of the granite monolith for the monument for Peter I.”
Duke’s will be holding a series of coin, militaria and collectable sales alongside its packed schedule of fine art, Asian art and other specialist auctions.
Figures used include the hammer price and buyers’ premiums.
