Really Old Glory

American flags may not be safe from burning, but this one, at least, is finally safe from the British. Last week, after more than two centuries in British hands, it was purchased at Sotheby's by an anonymous telephone bidder for $12.3 million. Auctioneer David Redden wouldn't confirm that the flag below (and three others that sold with it for an additional $5.1 million) had been bought by an American, but before the auction he said, "I'll eat my hat if they don't remain in the country." After the bidding, he said only that "I won't have to eat my hat."

The four Revolutionary War-era flags were the last in British hands, and the only ones still privately owned. Their seller, Christopher Tarleton Fagan, a 70-year-old former British army captain, is the great-great-great-great-nephew of Lt. Col. Banastre "The Butcher" Tarleton, who captured the hand-painted silk flag at a bloody battle. It's the oldest surviving American flag to feature 13 red and white stripes, though it's missing stars, not required on U.S. flags made before 1777. However, it was likely made in the U.S.A., a name coined sometime before July 4, 1776.— Swati Pandey