A vital weapon in Winston Churchill’s fight against Nazism was sold today - his dentures.
The set of false teeth worn by the British wartime premier for his rousing speeches fetched £15,200 at auction.
Churchill’s dentures were so crucial to him that he ensured a spare set was to hand at all times.
A collector clearly held them in equally high regard, bidding more than three times the guide price at this afternoon’s sale in Norfolk.
Auctioneers said the teeth were bought by an unnamed collector from Gloucestershire who already owns the microphone Churchill used to announce the end of the second World War.
“There was a tremendous amount of interest in the auction room and there were at least nine telephone bidders,” said a spokesman for the auction at Keys’ Salerooms, Aylsham. “The teeth sold very quickly.”
Churchill is often praised for raising Britain’s wartime spirit - but his oratories may not have been so powerful without his gold-plated dentures.
The son of dental technician Derek Cudlipp, who made dentures for the former prime minister, decided to sell part of the spare set.
Keys’ valuer Andrew Bullock said: “It is so quirky - one of those things which is so unusual that it could make a huge amount of money.
“The teeth are set in dentist’s gold - but I think it is safe to say they won’t be sold for their scrap value.”
Mr Bullock said the false teeth, which had a guide price of £4,500 to £5,000, were specially constructed to disguise Churchill’s natural lisp.
He said Churchill suffered from terrible teeth and gums and needed complicated dentistry from childhood.
Churchill valued so highly the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, that he nominated him for a knighthood.
The delicacy and special design of the teeth were widely credited with helping Churchill speak clearly and effectively, said Mr Bullock.
PA