Winston Churchill's iconic dentures fetch jaw‑dropping price at Cotswold auction
Winston Churchill's dental prosthesis was explicitly designed for him by dentist Sir Wilfred Fish and created by technician Derek Cudlipp. The Cotswold Auction Company in Cheltenham placed the partially gold-plated upper dentures up for auction. The item was expected to fetch around £8,000.
Elizabeth Poole, the auctioneer quoted by the 'Daily Mail,' admitted that Churchill's prosthesis is "one of the most extraordinary items they have ever sold." The prosthesis was crafted at the start of World War II when Winston Churchill was already 65 years old.
It is believed that three or four identical sets were made. It's speculated that one of the sets was interred with him - said Poole. Eventually, Churchill's prosthesis fetched about £18,000. The buyer paid over twice the anticipated amount.
Churchill's false teeth were bid on, not just by the British. Interest in the item was also observed from across the Atlantic.
The battle for Churchill's false teeth was intense. It wasn't just British bidders
Representatives from the auction house selling Churchill's prosthesis did not hide their surprise or pleasure at the intense interest in the auction. Telephone bids came in not only from within the UK but also from the United States.
The buyer has purchased a unique piece of our country's history - Poole remarked, clearly delighted.
In this set of dentures, Churchill uttered his well-known phrase, "We shall fight on the beaches." He aimed to unite the country. The BBC points out that the dentures were devised to maintain Churchill's natural lisp. So crucial were they to him that he always carried two sets.
