A watch purportedly once belonging to Adolf Hitler sold for $1.1 million at auction Thursday, well below the $2 million to $4 million asking price.
The watch went to a buyer in Maryland, and it reportedly needs to be cleaned of a small dried oil spill. Part of its lizard band with an 18,000-carat gold pin buckle is frayed at one end. Its face features white and yellow gold with engravings of the first Nazi Party eagle, the initials “AH,” and the dates of Hitler’s birth, when he became Germany’s chancellor, and the day that the Nazi Party won the election in March 1933.
The artifact went for nearly $1 million below the floor of the auction house’s asking range, according to Alexander Historical Auctions.
Alexander Managing Member Bill Panagopulos compared the watch to Paul Newman’s Rolex, which sold for $17 million.
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Hitler’s watch was discovered by Sgt. Robert Mignot on May 4, 1945, who was one of about 30 French soldiers belonging to the Regiment de Marche du Tchad, a unit of the 2nd Armored Division commanded by Gen. Philippe Leclerc that stormed the Berghof, Hitler’s secondary retreat in Berchtesgaden in the mountains of Bavaria. They were able to enter Hitler’s residence and Eagle’s Nest, as both had been abandoned. Mignot gifted the watch to his cousin, who was the consignor’s grandfather. It remained in the family until this auction.
Mignot’s service record and a detailed letter of provenance from his daughter were provided as proof of the watch’s authenticity.
Hitler likely received the watch from the Bavarian government on his 44th birthday on April 20, 1993, when he became an honorary citizen of Bavaria. Former Chancellor Paul von Hindenburg was also named a citizen on the same day.
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Andreas Huber, who engraved the watch, was the official watch supplier to the Royal Court of Bavaria after 1912. Huber developed other watch brands, including Nautica and Secura.
The watch is expected to arrive at its buyer’s location in two to three weeks.
