A pair of gold-plated glasses worn by Mahatma Gandhi has sold in Britain for £260,000 (about 288,000 euros, $340,000) during an auction.

A pair of gold-plated spectacles believed to have been worn by Mahatma Gandhi and presented as a gift to a man in the 1900s have emerged on the UK auction circuit, was estimated to fetch between 10,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds, reported PTI earlier. 

“We found them just four weeks ago in our letterbox, left there by a gentleman whose uncle had been given them by Gandhi himself,” East Bristol Auctions wrote on Instagram after the sale late Friday.

“An incredible result for an incredible item! Thanks to all those who bid,” it added. Mahatma Gandhi was known for giving out old or unwanted pairs to those in need or those who had helped him.

He reportedly gave the glasses to the vendor’s uncle while he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa during the 1920s or 30s, said the auction house. The sale price smashed the original estimate of around £15,000.

Auctioneer Andrew Stowe told Sky News earlier this month that the vendor had told him: “If they’re no good, just throw them away.” When he suggested they might be worth £15,000, “I think he nearly fell off his chair.”