They auctioned off the key to the prison where Napol died …

The key to the room where Napoleon died while being held captive by the British on the island of Saint Helena it was auctioned this Thursday for 81,900 pounds ($ 112,000), as reported by UK auction house Sotheby’s.

Eleven bidders participated in the auction for the 13 cm long metal object, but ultimately it was awarded for a sum 16 times greater than the initial estimate, which was between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds.

The collector’s item was found “in an envelope, in a Scottish house trunk,” said David MacDonald, British furniture specialist at Sotheby’s, in a statement ahead of the auction.

“The family who had her always knew she was there somewhere, but she had been hidden,” he added.

A named soldier Charles Richard Fox, who was on the island of Saint Helena after the death of the French Emperor in 1821, removed the key from the lock and took it to Scotland to give to his mother, that she was a “great admirer” of the statesman and consul of the French Republic, so much so that she had sent him sweets and books during her captivity. His descendants eventually found the key and decided to auction it off.

“We often see objects associated with Napoleon, important paintings or furniture from one of his incredible homes,” MacDonald said, but stressed that “there is something quite powerful about this key, especially since it comes from the place where he was imprisoned and the room in which he died “.”It was an object as strong and powerful as it is today, ”he believes.

In addition to the key, a note from Cox, written on September 6, 1922, was auctioned off, explaining how he obtained the object.