Napoleon’s sword sold at auction for 4.7m euros

A sword that belonged to Napoleon and was specially ordered for the personal use of the French emperor fetched almost 4.7 million euros at auction in Paris, many times the asking price and coming close to a new record price for a Napoleonic artefact, the auction house said.

The piece, which Napoleon ordered in 1802 and kept throughout his reign, was sold for 4.66 million euros late Thursday, said the Drouot auctioneers, on whose premises the auction organised by the Giquello auction firm took place.

The sword had been estimated to reach 700,000 to one million euros when it came under the hammer in Paris.

The final price nearly broke the auction record for a Napoleonic artefact, set in 2007 when a sword used by Napoleon at the 1800 Battle of Marengo sold for 4.8 million euros. "It joins the very select group of the most valuable Napoleonic artifacts ever sold at auction," the Drouot auction house said.