(July 30) -- When Winston Churchill told the British Parliament he had "nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat," he was talking about the prospects of war, but he could have just as easily been referring to his dental work.
Seems Churchill had serious dental problems since childhood and needed dentures to maintain his characteristically slurred diction -- a deliberate affectation designed to overcome a childhood lisp.
In fact, he was so worried he would lose his dentures that he had several sets made, and British newspaper The Guardian reports that he valued so highly the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, that he nominated him for a knighthood.
Reuters reports the Churchill choppers were sold by Derek Cudlipp, the son of the technician who was commissioned to make them.
A duplicate is on display at the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and a third set was buried with Churchill in 1965.
Documents written by the college of surgeons say that Churchill "lived in fear of losing his false teeth, and hence, his speaking voice, and insisted that spare dentures always be on hand."
Churchill artifacts seem to be in demand lately.
Earlier this year, one of his half-smoked cigars was sold for $6,800. In addition, a broken Victorian cigar box with Churchill's initials on the lid, two sets of playing cards made for Churchill with a copy of his signature on the back and an usher's armband worn at his funeral will be sold at the auction.
