A powder horn said to have belonged to Alexander Hamilton sold for $115,620 Monday at an auction.
CLOSTER -- A powder horn said to have belonged to Alexander Hamilton sold for $115,620 Monday at an auction.
The buyer did not wish to be identified, Stephen D'Atri, owner of Closter auction house Sterling Associates, said.
The hammer price was $94,000 and the selling price was $115,620 with a buyer's premium, D'Atri said. The buyer won the bidding over telephone.
It's not clear what his plans are for the horn.
"He sounded like an enthusiastic collector but I couldn't tell you," D'Atri said.
Sixteen different bidders were angling for the horn, D'Atri said. Bidding started at $10,000.
"We're pleased but not surprised," D'Atri said. "It really is a one-of-a-kind item."
Warren Richman, a Clifton dentist, had owned the horn since 1990, when he bought it from a patient. He commissioned a Hamilton descendant, an appraiser and a handwriting expert to verify that the horn belonged to Hamilton.
He also researched the symbols on the horn--a unicorn, a fenced-in estate, a roundel of sticks tied with rope and another roundel with cinquefoils--and believed each symbolized aspects of Hamilton's family history and aspirations. The cow horn is also engraved with Hamilton's name, the year 1773 and the words ""First when when [sic] came to Ohio."
Hamilton would have carried a powder horn everywhere, though it's not clear if this was the powder horn he had when he was killed in a duel with Aarron Burr in 1804.
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.