Napoleon’s Historic Sword From 1802 Set for Auction in Paris

An auction house has announced that a sword personally commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte for his own exclusive use will go under the hammer in Paris next month.

In 1802, Napoleon had the saber commissioned, and he retained it during his entire rule.

The Giquello auction firm said on Friday it expected the sword to reach $800,000 to $1.1 million when it goes under the hammer in Paris on May 22.

Napoleon handed over the sword to his trusted comrade Emmanuel de Grouchy, who was appointed as the final marshal of the empire by the French ruler.

The sword has belonged to Grouchy's family since 1815, the year of Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo. Battle of Waterloo .

Another duplicate of this piece, equally commissioned by Napoleon, is housed at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Napoleon-related items frequently go under the hammer at auctions in France as part of a thriving business characterized by strong collector demand.

The two handguns he originally planned to use for suicide were auctioned off in France last July for 1.7 million euros, along with one of his signature items. "bicorne" hats established a record price for his belongings when it fetched an unprecedented $2.1 million in November 2023. The French auction house Osenat had anticipated the hat might sell for as much as $875,328, yet it significantly exceeded this estimate. It is known that Napoleon possessed around 120 bicorne hats; however, merely approximately 16 of these now survive, mostly held within private collections.

The sole surviving copy of his will sold at auction in 2013 for $483,000 - more than twice the expected price. The will, dated April 16, 1821, detailed insights into Napoleon's final moments before his death 19 days later at 51 years old. Napoleon wrote he wanted his ashes spread over Paris' Seine River, instead, they were transferred to Paris' Invalides monument nearly two decades later.

A strand of hair from the ex-French emperor bought for $13,000 in 2010 At an auction in New Zealand.

A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 is to go under the hammer this weekend outside Paris and is expected to reach 12,000 to 15,000 euros.