The dress sword used by Napoleon Bonaparte when he attempted a coup in 1799 will be auctioned off this weekend, along with five other weapons owned by the French emperor, according to US auctioneers.
The lot is valued between $1.5 million to $3.5 million and will be auctioned off by the Illinois-based Rock Island Auction Company from December 3 to 5.
The sword, together with its scabbard, is the collection’s “crown gem,” according to the auctioneers, who will hold the auction both in person and online.
Nicolas-Noel Boutet, the head of the state arms plant in Versailles, designed the weapon.
Napoleon is said to have given the sword to general Jean-Andoche Junot after he was declared emperor, but the general’s wife was compelled to sell it to pay off debts.
A London museum eventually found it and reclaimed it. According to the auction company, the former owner was a US collector who died lately.
The bicentennial of Napoleon’s death was commemorated throughout France in May.
The famous Corsican is one of the most contentious individuals in French history, with his enormous contribution to the modern state pitted against his imperialism and war-mongering.
