The hat Napoleon dropped at Waterloo, picked up for a small fortune (News)

That hat, which came from a collection belonging to Monaco’s royal family, was in much better shape than the one sold on Monday, which is faded, torn and cracked in some places, said Etienne de Baecque, an auctioneer at De Baecque and Associates, which organised the Lyon sale.

But even damaged goods attract deep-pocketed buyers when associated with Napoleon.

“There is a lot of interest,” de Baecque said in a telephone interview, adding that Napoleon’s meteoric rise to power and military conquests still captivate people. “He is one of those rare figures who are known in the whole world and who fascinate almost everybody on the planet.”

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In November, a single gold leaf taken from the laurel crown Napoleon wore at his coronation fetched over $US725,000 at an auction in Paris.

Nicolas Dugoujon, an expert in military and historical memorabilia who presented the hat at the auction, said it was difficult to predict the pricing of rare historical objects but that anything tied to Napoleon and his First French Empire was highly popular.

“I’ve sold imperial guard sabers to people in Puerto Rico, in New York,” he said. “At the sale there were young people in their 20s who came to ask me if they could touch the hat, who were moved.”

Although it is difficult to establish the provenance of such historical artifacts with absolute certainty, de Baecque said that the history of the hat sold Monday had been well-documented and that there were strong guarantees it had once belonged to Napoleon.

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The hat is said to have been picked up as a war trophy by a Dutch dragoon captain after the Battle of Waterloo, where a coalition of European armies defeated the French on June 18, 1815. Records show it then switched hands multiple times, and it was even showcased at a 1897 world’s fair in Brussels.

The hat itself also bears clues. It is Napoleon’s size and has several modifications that the emperor was known to request, such as the removal of a band of sheepskin lining and reinforcements that make it easier to grab.

“It’s a very simple hat, not at all a ceremonial one, it was meant to be worn in everyday life,” de Baecque said.

He pointed out that the auction house had scheduled the sale on the 203rd anniversary of the battle of Waterloo and joked that a high selling price was a form of revenge for France.

“Selling it at a very expensive price to an Englishman would be perfect,” he quipped.

New York Times