Baroness Thatcher handbag could fetch £6,000 at auction

Auctioneers Halls believes the bag was reserved for a formal evening occasion

A handbag once owned by Margaret Thatcher is expected to fetch up to £6,000 when it is sold at auction.

Auctioneers Halls in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, said the sale included a box with the words "Grey dress bag" in the ex-prime minister's handwriting.

Made of simulated ray skin, the bag has a gold clasp with sapphire and a gold strap.

The seller won it in a Daily Mail competition in 2016 and it is due to go under the hammer on 22 March.

The auctioneers said the newspaper paid about £50,000 for eight lots from an auction of Mrs Thatcher memorabilia in December 2015.

The items included five handbags and three head scarves and the newspaper then gave the items away in a series of reader competitions.

The inscription in black ink on the side of the maker's box which reads Grey 'Dress' bag

The auctioneers will put the handbag up for sale in an auction of fine art, antiques and jewellery.

Halls said it had dark grey leather trim and interior and the the clasp and chain were made of 18ct gold.

It comes in the original maker's azure leather-bound case.

The handbag has a 18ct gold clasp with a sapphire

Halls also said the inscription in black ink on the side of the maker's box compares with handwriting on record and the words "grey dress bag" suggest it was reserved for a formal evening occasion.

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