Willie Haughey has splashed out £58,000 for a nine carat gold, 26cm high replica of the European Cup gifted to Bob Kelly.
The unique item was put under the hammer by McTears Auctineers with Haughey delighted to add it to his incredible memorabilia collection.
“This is an extremely important part of Celtic’s history and right up there with any other piece of memorabilia associated with the Club,” the former club director said. “It is too important a piece to be lost to Celtic and as such I have now given it to the Club so that it can bring enjoyment to fans for many years to come.”
Standing 26cm high, the nine carat commemorative Coupe Des Clubs Champions Europeens was one the star lots in McTear’s Works of Art auction on 31st May. The replica cup was commissioned by the Club in 1967 and presented to chairman Kelly.
It has an engraved gold band inscribed with the names of the 15 players who after beating Inter Milan 2-1, were immortalised as the Lisbon Lions.
The auction also raised £1,500 for a Scottish Cup medal won by Joe Dodds when Celtic beat Hamilton in the 2011 final with the medal bought by the club for display at Celtic Park.
The medal was presented by Joe to a local nurse as a way of thanks for helping his brother, Private James Dodds, after he was injured in the Quintinshill Rail Disaster in 1915. The tragedy in Dumfriesshire claimed over 200 lives, most of them Scottish soldiers heading to Gallipoli.
Dodds’ career was interrupted by World War I while he served on the front line in France, but he still played 378 games in two spells for the Celtic, winning seven league titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup.
