Personal items that belonged to legendary British racing driver Stirling Moss, including a unique gold watch band that he wore for 38 years and in more than 200 races, will be auctioned online by Silverstone Auctions in a no reserve sale.
The collection is part of Silverstone’s final sale of 2020, the NEC Classic Live Online Auction, that includes collector cars and automobilia offered by a live-streamed auctioneer, with the bidding done online. The Moss items will be offered on the second day of the sale, which runs from November 13 to 14.
The 50-piece Moss collection “features a number of significant, personal items which are offered from a close personal friend of the motorsport legend, and amazingly, are all offered without reserve,” the auction said in its announcement.
Among those items are the watch band as well as the trophy from his 1951 Silverstone racing victory, one of just four helmets that Moss wore in competition, and a racing suit he wore on the day he retired from motorsports.
“The solid-gold, twin-bar watch band that Stirling personally designed and had made in 1954 is perhaps one of the most recognizable items in the collection,” according to the Silverstone news release. “Engraved with his initials S.M, it was designed to be interchangeable with different watches and to be easily cleaned after each race.
“Worn constantly over a 38-year period, it was on Stirling’s wrist for so many memorable moments including three victories in the Monaco Grand Prix and his victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia. The watch that was fitted to the band at the time of gifting to the vendor is a 1956 Gold Jaeger LeCoultre alarm watch and is simply a wonderful piece of Sir Stirling Moss history.”
The auction offers a rare opportunity to acquire significant pieces of Moss’s personal history, Nick Whale, Silverstone’s managing director, noted.
“It is an honor to offer such a unique and remarkable selection of items that were part of the late, great Sir Stirling Moss’s life,” Whale said. “He was a true racing icon, having participated in over 500 races, these personal items represent a significant piece of his history.
“Accompanying the personal articles are a number of limited-edition and signed memorabilia items which complement the collection, with there being 50 Lots overall.”
The Silverstone cup was a rare find among the Moss items, according to Silverstone Auctions.
“In the 1970s, Stirling parted with most of his trophies to an American collector,” the release says. “However, in 2010 the vendor of this collection discovered one of them at Pebble Beach, the 1951 Daily Express Tourist Trophy, which Stirling had won at Silverstone, and as such brought it home.
“The trophy has been hand-signed by Stirling and included as part of the sale is a photo of him doing so, as is a race program from the day he won it.”
The simple racing helmet was made for Moss by Patey Helmets circa 1958 and is one of just four helmets that he wore in his competition career. He not only wore it in period but occasionally in track appearances through 2007, totaling 49 years of ownership.
The racing suit comes from the very end of Moss’s career, worn in 2011 at Le Mans while driving his newly restored Porsche, when he announced his retirement from 60 years of motorsports.
For more information about the NEC live-online auction and the Stirling Moss collection, visit the Silverstone website.