A 1940s cigar butt from then prime minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965).
This was no ordinary discarded cigar butt however. It had come from the lips and hand of the then prime minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965).
The vendor's grandfather, Arthur Church, served as a policeman at Scotland Yard in the 1940s and while he was on duty escorting Churchill, the Prime Minister smoked a cigar.
Church picked up the discarded butt and kept it.
It was estimated at £800-1200 and sold for a hammer price of £3500 at Bellmans on May 25.
Demand for items associated with Churchill has increased. A number of items have recently surfaced.
In March auctions of his slippers, brandy glass and cigar box all made top prices.
