Half-smoked Winston Churchill cigar going under the hammer

Although a half-smoked cigar butt would generally not be of much value, one stubbed out by Sir Winston Churchill is expected to be purchased at upwards of $800 dollars when it goes up for auction.

Police Officer Bill Wood was given the cigar as a gift in the early 1950s at the then-prime minister’s Chartwell country home in Kent, England.

The butt was passed down to Wood’s son Mike and will be sold at Hansons Auctioneers in the UK in late March.

It is believed Churchill smoked around a quarter of a million cigars throughout his life, which works out to around 10 a day.

Jim Spencer of Hansons Auctioneers called the cigar butt iconic because Churchill was often pictured holding one.

The size of the cigar left also makes sense, considering Churchill was known to only smoke cigars about half way down.