A box of cigars signed by the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, was sold to the highest bidder in Boston, the United States, for 26,950 dollars, the U.S. RR Auction reported.
The box, which the auction house affirmed to have formed part of the Cuban leader’s personal collection (1926-2016), measures 21 x 11 x 7.5 centimeters, contains 24 cigars of the Fundadores type of the Trinidad brand and still has the seal of guarantee of where the Cuban hand-rolled cigars and tobacco came from.
Fidel Castro’s signature, in blue ink, can be seen on the wooden box. In March 2002 he handed over the box to U.S. activist and philanthropist of Hungarian origin Eva Haller.
In a letter, Haller explains that Fidel gave her the box of cigars after she had told him, as a joke, that if he signed the box she would sell it and get a lot of money for it, which Castro considered “funny.”
This box of hand-rolled cigars, accompanied by a photo of the precise moment in which Castro signed it accompanied by Haller, at that time cost 2,500 dollars.
Fidel’s cigars were the ones sold at the highest price within the collection “Autographs and exceptional items.”
This collection, whose auction was held last December 15 and last Wednesday, also included documents signed by U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, as well as a photo taken of Princess Diana of Wales or a record autographed by musician John Lennon, among others.
Trinidad started producing cigars in 1969 and for years they were used in Cuba as State gifts for foreign heads of state, although in 1998 they also started being sold outside the island.
According to RR Auction, ever since the early 1980s the Trinidad Fundadores vitola cigars were exclusively produced for Fidel.
Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction, said that the cigars were an integral component of Castro’s image, and as such, this signed box is a truly notable historic item.
EFE / OnCuba
