Churchill’s false teeth fetch 15,200 pounds

LONDON - A set of gold-plated false teeth worn by British wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill were sold for 15,200 pounds ($23,740) at an auction in Britain Thursday.

The dentures, sold by Keys Salerooms in Aylsham, Norfolk had been expected to fetch a maximum of 5,000 pounds. The unnamed bidder from Gloucestershire, who acquired the teeth, already owns the microphone Churchill used to announce the end of World War II, the Daily Mail reported.

The teeth were so crucial to Churchill that he carried a spare set at all times, the report said.

“There was a tremendous amount of interest in the auction room and there were at least nine telephone bidders. The teeth sold very quickly,” said a spokesman for Keys Salerooms.

The spare set of upper dentures were put up for sale by Nigel Cudlipp, whose dental technician father Derek made them at around the start of the war when Churchill would have been about 65.

“Churchill suffered from terrible teeth and gums and needed complicated dentistry from childhood. His upper dentures, which had a guide price of 4,500-5,000 pounds, were deliberately designed to be loose-fitting so that Churchill could keep the lisp which made him instantly recognisable during his radio broadcasts,” Keys’ valuer Andrew Bullock said.

The delicacy and special design of the teeth were widely credited with helping Churchill speak clearly and effectively, said Bullock.

Churchill died in 1965, aged 90 and it is thought one of his four sets of dentures were buried with him.