Certainly Napoleon Bonaparte had more than one of those hats with an unmistakable shape, but never before has the Emperor's DNA, which this year marks the 200th anniversary of his death, had been found on one of the hats in circulation attributed to him.
The object - for this very precious - landed almost by chance at the Bonhams auction house, which put it on display in its Hong Kong headquarters, before it was transferred to Paris and then to London where it will be auctioned on the next 27 October, according to reports from some international media.
The current owner found it in a small German auction house, unaware at first that it might have belonged to Napoleon.
Then some details intrigued him and he began to investigate, until the object was subjected to the most specific and accurate tests available.
"Five hairs were discovered. Two of them were thoroughly checked and found to belong to Napoleon," explained Simon Cottle, managing director of Bonhams Europe.
And then there is the uniqueness of the road that traveled this object, different from the origin of the other Napoleon hats in circulation, donated by noble families linked to the emperor or by soldiers who had collected them on the battlefield. At the moment it is estimated that it is worth between 100,000 and 150,000 pounds, but it is a deliberately contained estimate, due to the fact that the attribution is very recent. Other hats also sold for £ 1 million.