Napoleon’s pistols, with which he tried to commit suicide, sell for €1.69 million

Two pistols owned by the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, with which he once intended to kill himself, have been sold at auction for €1.69 million, the BBC writes.

They were sold at the Osenat auction house on Sunday, next to the Fontainebleau palace.

France’s culture ministry recently classified the pistols—inlaid with gold and silver, and bearing an engraved image of Napoleon in profile—as national treasures and banned their export.

This means the French government now has 30 months to make a purchase offer to the new owner, who has not been named.

Napoleon was said to have wanted to use them to kill himself on the night of 12 April, 1814 after the defeat of his army by foreign forces meant he had to give up power.