Oldest existing English FA Cup to be sold at auction

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2005

LONDON (AFP) — The oldest existing example of the English FA Cup trophy is to be sold, with auctioneers tipping what they describe as one of the most important items of football memorabilia ever sold to fetch more than half a million dollars.

The cup, presented to winning teams between 1896 and 1910, is expected to make between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds (285,000 to 430,000 euros, 375,000 to 560,000 dollars) at auction in May.

It replaced the original trophy which was stolen in 1895 from a shop window where it was on display and never recovered.

That trophy had served since 1872, when the FA Cup -- the world's oldest football tournament -- first began.

The trophy being sold was itself retired in 1911 and presented to the then-president of the English...