A set of solid gold false teeth used by British wartime
leader Winston Churchill during some of his most famous speeches
sold for 16,000 pounds (19,100 euros, 25,500 dollars) at auction on
Wednesday.
Churchill had problems with his teeth and speech from an early
age and the dentures were designed to compensate for the then-prime
minister's distinctive lisp when speaking in public, London
auctioneers Bonham's said.
The premier's most famous speeches "could have been made over
the top of these teeth. I think that's a rather spooky feeling,"
Bonham's specialist Lionel Willis told AFP.
"These particular dentures were designed especially by his
dentist to be a loose fix because Churchill had had trouble with
his teeth, ever since a child," he said.
"He always has a sort of speech impediment, which gave him a
slight lisp, when he was public speaking, and this denture was
designed to compensate."
Another set of Churchill's false teeth fetched 18,000 pounds
when they went under the hammer in July last year.
Churchill was said to have also used his false teeth to vent his
frustration when the 1939-45 conflict was not going well by
dramatically flicking them out of his mouth.