An elderly man who inherited a pair of glasses stuffed them into an envelope and put them into the letterbox of East Bristol Auctions in Bristol, England, with a note to throw them out if they were “no good.” The round glasses with sprung gold plated arms and prescription lenses had been sitting in a drawer for more than 50 years. The owner said that his uncle had received the glasses as gift from Gandhi between 1920 and 1930. Mahatma Ghandi was known for giving away his possessions.
East Bristol Auctions realized how valuable the glasses could be and researched their provenance. The history checked out. The uncle was working with British Petroleum in South Africa, where Gandhi spent years before returning to India to launch the freedom struggle. These gold-plated circular glasses were worn by Gandhi during this time. The auction company realized this could be the most important find they ever had as a company. What was the final selling price? They sold for a surprising $340,000 to an unnamed collector in the United States. The final sale price was more than 17 times the sale estimate. The sale attracted worldwide interest, including bids from the United States, India, Qatar, America, Russia and Canada.
Photo: East Bristol Auctions