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 Christie's auctioneers said on Friday that more than 1,200
bidders from all over the world registered for the two-day sale
of items from the private collection of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
The 25 inch (63 cm) long, graffiti-covered fragment of the
Berlin Wall, signed by Reagan, sold for $277,500 to an
undisclosed buyer. It had been expected to fetch up to $20,000.
The wall fragment was considered to have particular significance
because of Reagan's 1987 speech in West Berlin, in which he
famously urged then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear
down this wall."
Nancy Reagan died in March of congestive heart failure at the
age of 94, 12 years after Ronald Reagan, one of the most popular
U.S. presidents, succumbed to Alzheimer's disease.
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Their personal items were sold by the family trust to benefit the
Ronald Reagan Presidential foundation and library in California.
Reagan's cowboy boots, a gift from Western movie actor Rex Allen,
sold for $199,500 compared to a pre-sale estimate of $20,000, while
at $319,500, the top lot was a Bulgari diamond, sapphire and ruby
ring inspired by the Stars and Stripes national flag that Nancy
Reagan wore on July 4, 1986.
"The market’s response to this landmark collection sale has been
remarkable, with the overall results far exceeding pre-sale
expectations," said Brook Hazelton, president of Christie's America.
The auction continues online through Sept. 28.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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