The museum, which housed Roosevelt's last residence, donated the silver watch to an exhibition in Buffalo, New York, in honor of the 26th president of the United States, about 50 years ago. It was stolen from there in 1987 under circumstances that have not yet been clarified. As the American Federal Police (FBI) has now announced, the pocket watch appeared in a Florida auction house a few months ago.
In an attempt to verify the authenticity of the engraved collectible, auctioneer Edwin Bailey discovered the history of the pocket watch. He accompanied Roosevelt, who became president in 1901, not only during the Spanish-American War, but also on hunting trips to Africa and research trips in the Amazon. The FBI and Bailey left it unclear who offered the watch to Blackwell's auction house a few months ago.