Iwo Jima statue up for auction in New York
The 20-foot statue of the flag raising by Marines at Iwo Jima will be auctioned by a American war artifact collector Rodney Hilton later this month.
A statue of the famous photograph of five marines and a Navy officer raising the flag in Iwo Jima will be auctioned off later this month.
The 20-foot statue, created in 1945, will be auctioned by American war artifact collector Rodney Hilton.
Hilton took possession of the statue from its creator, Felix de Weldon, while working on his biography.
The statue was traded for a violin, a sword and an undisclosed sum, reported ABC News.
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When ABC asked why he would give up such an important piece of his collection he said:
“I’m 70 years-old. I don’t have an aircraft carrier. It doesn’t fit in my living room, and it’s time to pass the torch to a younger generation."
The monument is made of cast stone over a steel skeleton and is finished in bronze.
The statue is said to weigh about 10,000 lbs.
The Associated Press said the piece was expected to get up to $1.8 million later this month at a New York auction house.