Getting a Piece of Saddam's Booty

"Secure yourselves a piece of world history: Buy the left leg of the world renowned Saddam Hussein statue," proclaimed the German online auction house Azubo.de on Monday.

It was April 9, 2003, and all the world watched as US troops pulled down the giant statue of the deposed Iraqi leader in the center of Baghdad. Photographers zoomed in on the flag-draped monument as proud American GI's wrapped a rope around the defeated dictator and toppled him in front of cheering crowds, the Website wrote in dramatic fashion accompanied by lots of photos of the historic moment.

What the world nearly missed seeing were the severed legs of the statue. Left standing on the podium after the rest of Saddam Hussein's body fell to the ground, the legs got separated from the rest of the statue and at least one of them found its way into the hands of British soldiers on their way back home to Europe, the site said.

War booty of a different kind

A German scrap metal dealer in the state of Lower Saxony allegedly purchased the left leg of the statue as an oddity and had it delivered to his junk yard where it remained until a collector from Duisburg took notice of it and decided to buy the 600 kg. brass limb with the intention of reselling it over the Internet.

Now that leg -- complete with a newly poured concrete pedestal and an aluminum identification plaque -- has been sold off over the Internet for €9,800 ($12,650) to a 22-year-old from Bochum, Germany, who reportedly wants to give the keepsake to his father as a gift.

All would have likely gone without much public notice except that German custom authorities got wind of the Internet auction Tuesday shortly after the hammer came down and began questioning the authenticity of the 170cm-high leg.

The leg has been confiscated and will remain in official possession until the origin of the leg can be determined and customs have verified that import tax was paid on the "war booty."