How Much? £1400 for an old lemon!

A dried out 285-year-old lemon has sold for a staggering £1,400 (approx. $1769) after sparking an unlikely bidding war. 

The ancient citrus fruit was discovered in the bottom drawer of a 19th century chest salvaged during a house clearance. The vendors were sorting through their uncle's possessions and thought the cabinet may be valuable so they took it to an auctioneer.

The specialist found the decaying lemon in the back of the drawer while photographing the cabinet for the upcoming sale. They were taken aback by an inscription that had been carved into the yellow zest dating it to 1739.

It states that the citrus was 'given by Mr P Lu Franchini Nov 4 1739 to Miss E Baxter'.

Since it was so unusual, they stuck it into the auction for a bit of fun with an estimate of £40-60. "The bidding started at £40 but suddenly it ramped up to £340, then £440 and higher. "By the time we got to £700, there were two bidders battling it out with a British collector winning out.

"There was a round of applause when the hammer went down at £1,100, with auctioneers fees taking the final figure paid to £1,416 at auctioneers Brettells, of Newport, Shropshire.

The auctioneer said you are never going to see an object like this at auction again. It is completely unique.

"One dealer joked to me afterwards that he was going to buy some lemons and go home and stick them in the oven!"

Interestingly, the cabinet the lemon was found in went for a hammer price of £32 - so the lemon made 50 times that sum. 

Words from story here

~ xxx ooo xxx ~

For those readers who may prefer to eat lemons, how about this recipe 

Lemon Cream Fool Dessert

more details here

Dear reader, you will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. If you have any concerns about your health, it is always advisable to consult your doctor or health care team.

All the best Jan