A Timex watch gifted by President George H.W. Bush to Republican Congressman Charles William (Bill) Young is for sale at University Archives latest auction, with an estimate of $5,000 - $6,000.
The watch is accompanied by a signed letter from President Bush which reads in full:
"Dear Bev
I was expecially pleased to see that the black Timex is still ticking. The Congress watch you and Bill gave me is still on time.
I am grateful to your husband for his support and to you for being my friend.
(signed) George Bush"
The letter is addressed to Beverly Young, the wife of the Florida congressman Bill Young.
Beverly Young was famously removed from President Bush's 2006 State of the Union address for wearing a t-shirt bearing a 'Support the troops' logo.
Bill Young represented Florida from 1971 until his death in 2013.
The watch and letter are being sold with certificates of authenticity from John Reznikoff and James Spence.
Owned/touched Presidential memorabilia is rare, and little from George Bush senior has ever appeared for sale at auction.
Bidding is currently at $1,600 and you can follow progress at University Archives website.
On the Presidential watch front the biggest seller at auction was the Rolex watch gifted from Marilyn Monroe to John F Kennedy which sold for $120,000 in 2005.
Marilyn had had the watch engraved 'Jack, with love as always, Marilyn' as a gift for JFK's 45th birthday.
JFK told his aide Kenneth O'Donnell to 'get rid of it' for fear their affair would be uncovered.
Plus JFK famously wore an Omega which was purchased by the Omega Museum for $350,000 in 2005.
About your Author:
Adrian Roose has over 30 years’ experience covering all aspects of the rare stamp & memorabilia industry during which he has sold over £50m of unique items, helping build collections for Royalty, household name celebrities and 1,000s of collectors around the world.
Adrian was previously a Director at Stanley Gibbons, a Board Member of Stampex, and Executive Director of Paul Fraser Collectibles, PFC Auctions and JustCollecting, prior to founding The Memorabilia Club.