Nelson purse and brooch to be sold

A blood-stained silk purse carried by Horatio Nelson at his death at Trafalgar is to be auctioned later this year.

The simple purse, with its pear-shaped splotch of blood, is among treasures relating to Britain's greatest naval hero found in an attic at the home of descendants of Alexander Davison, Nelson's confidant and prize agent. It still contains the 21 gold coins Nelson placed in it on the day of his death, 21 October 1805.

The collection came to light a year ago when Martyn Downer, jewellery director for Sotheby's, was called in to examine a diamond brooch bearing the initials HN in a Sotheby's branch on the Continent. The purse is likely to fetch up to £80,000 at a sale on Trafalgar Day, 21 October, in which the brooch carries an estimate of £150,000.