A rare pocket watch gifted by Abraham Lincoln after a shipwreck rescue is up for auction

Zach Blass

Provenance is a huge buzzword in the watch world and refers to an object’s origin and record of ownership. The romantic side to timepieces, and a crucial element of what draws collectors to vintage timepieces, are the stories they tell and the lives they have lived. We have seen watches owned by Paul Newman, Marlon Brando and Jack Nicklaus, fetch incredible auction prices over the years. But Hess Fine Auctions is now hammering off a pocket watch that has a rich story involving the legendary US President Abraham Lincoln.

Hess Fine Auctions explains: “If things could talk, this pocket watch would have a great story! This piece shows the well-known presidential seal while on the other side, in amazing detail, a scene of a shipwreck rescue. The inscription on the inner cuvet reads from: ‘The President of the United States to Capt. Joseph Cook for the rescue of crew and passengers of the A.M. Ship, Frank A Badger’. According to Waltham this particular model was patented in 1860, made in 1862 and gifted in 1863.”

This extremely rare pocket watch was fabricated by Waltham under the name American Watch Co., presented to Joseph Cook towards the end of the American Civil War. The ship rescue that the inscription and engraving refers to are confirmed by a reference to the shipwreck in the New York Times archive and, as a result, Hess Fine Auctions guarantees the authenticity of the piece.

The pocket watch is cased in 18K gold, clocking in at 56mm in diameter and 15mm thick, and its near-mint condition suggests the watch may have never been (or was rarely) worn. It is a key-wound pocket watch with a three quarter bridgeplate manual movement, the bridgeplate engraved with the movement serial number, “American Watch Co.” and “Waltham Mass”. Lastly, its classical styled white dial with sub-seconds is described to have “no hairline cracks”, so its condition inside and out appears to be top-notch.

How to bid:

Live bidding for the pocket watch has already begun, and the lot has already accumulated 17 bids resting at $13,500 USD at the time of writing. The estimate, however, is $50,000 – $70,000 USD and the auction will close August 6th 11:00 AM EST. You can head here to register and bid now.