Collectors looking for a piece of Cold War can get their change when spy relics from the period go goes under the hammer at an auction in California.
The auction claim to feature the world's largest collection of KGB-specific spy equipment and authentic KGB artifacts from the Cold War. According to the Julien Auction’s website highlights of the event would include a gun which is designed to look like a tube of lipstick, a secret hotel-room listening device or "bug" from 1964, a replica of the deadly syringe umbrella believed to have been used to assassinate Bulgarian author Georgie Markov, a purse with a hidden camera and shutter apparatus, a German WWII phone tap device, and a unique portable wire recording machine, among others.
The announcement on the website further mentions the other items that would also be on sale would include a fake tooth containing deadly cyanide. Apart from the gadgets, the auction might also prove to be Pandora’s box for spy enthusiasts as they would have an opportunity to acquire Cold War relics such as letters signed by Cuba’s communist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
Darren Julien, president and chief executive officer of Julien's Auctions, as mentioned on the website, said, "From the entire KGB Espionage Museum collection to obscure US and Soviet space-race artifacts to never-before-seen items from Cuba and their revolution, these stunning objects offer a fascinating look at the geopolitical, economic, and cultural upheaval of that time, whose impact resonates more than ever in this election year.”
The auction house's press release further mentioned that the collection of these items will be offered for the first time to the public at auction and was procured by historian, collector, and museum curator, Julius Urbaitis, who worked as the consultant for the 2019 Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning HBO series, Chernobyl.
