Napoleon's sword to be sold at auction in Paris

Paris: A sword that belonged to Napoleon and was specially ordered for the personal use of the French emperor is to be auctioned in Paris next month,...

Paris: A sword that belonged to Napoleon and was specially ordered for the personal use of the French emperor is to be auctioned in Paris next month, the auction house said.

Napoleon ordered the sabre in 1802 and kept it throughout his reign.

The Giquello auction firm said on Friday it expected the sword to reach 700,000 to one million euros ($800,000 to $1.1 million) when it goes under the hammer in Paris on May 22.

Napoleon passed the sabre on to his close ally Emmanuel de Grouchy, who the French emperor named his last marshal of the empire.

The sword has been in Grouchy's family since 1815, the year of Napoleon's last defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.