On June 6, an auction in Belfast will offer a silver-slated pencil that is rumored to have belonged to former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The pencil is expected to sell for between £50,000 (about $ 61,843) and £80,000 (roughly $ 98,968), according to a report by The Guardian published early on Monday, May 29. A unique handwritten pardon from Queen Victoria for Irish rebels found guilty of treason dating to 1869 will also be offered at the Bloomfield Auctions in east Belfast.
The silver-slated pencil is thought to have been a birthday present for Hitler from his longtime companion Eva Braun
The silver-slated pencil is thought to have been a birthday present for Hitler from his longtime companion Eva Braun on April 20, 1941, when he turned 52. The word “Eva” in German and the letters “AH” are written on the pencil. According to the article, it was initially purchased by a collector at an auction in 2000. The pencil, according to Karl Bennett, managing director of Bloomfield Auctions, reveals a “hidden piece of history,” providing a singular perspective into the relationships that Hitler assiduously kept hidden from the public.
“Much of Hitler’s personal appeal during his dictatorship derived from his carefully constructed identity as the father of the German nation, who rejected personal connection in favor of loyalty to his country,” Bennett said. “This love token of a personalized pencil from Eva on his birthday helps reveal the deception behind Hitler’s public facade,” he added.
Bennett added that he was confident in what he was claiming to be selling because of meticulous study and conversations he had with the item dealer on how the item (the pencil) was acquired. The managing director of the auction emphasized that there might be a reluctance to buy and sell objects associated with Hitler. “But for me, as a high-end collector of militaria items, they preserve a piece of our past and should be treated as historical objects, no matter if the history they refer to was one of the darkest and most controversial in recorded history,” Bennett added.