Former American President Abraham Lincoln's opera glasses, which he carried on the night of his infamous assassination, will go under the hammer as part of an incredible collection of items being auctioned at Sotheby's New York next Friday, June 17.
The small black and gold framed lenses are expected to be sold for at least $700,000. Given Lincoln's iconic status as an American hero, they are the undoubted highlight of the sale.
 It is clear to see why Lincoln's glasses are expected sell for such a high price |
It goes without saying that they are an incredible piece of history, as Lincoln came to define the newly independent nation.
Anything owned by such a famous figure is likely to be worth thousands because of its symbolic nature, at a time when the world's greatest superpower was beginning to assert its authority.
There is no better way of celebrating such an important historical period than owning a genuine artefact from the time.
The opera glasses are thought to have been found by an army officer who assisted Lincoln in 1865 after he had been shot in Ford's Theatre, Washington.
They stayed in his family for years before being sold for $22,000 in 1979, and again in 2002 for $424,000.
The incredible increase in the value of the glasses shows just how rewarding investing in such a crucial piece of history can be.
The very presence of the glasses overshadows other incredible items also being auctioned, like a first edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, a first edition of Moby Dick, and a rare confederate flag from the CSS Alabama.
The flag alone, a relic from the American Civil War, is expected to sell for between $200,000-400,000. Not a bad price for a few pieces of wool stitched together.
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