An ivory and gold toothpick once owned by Charles Dickens is being auctioned in New York City.
It's being offered by heirs to the Barnes & Noble family and is up for sale Tuesday at Bonhams New York. The pre-sale estimate is $3,000 to $5,000.
The toothpick is engraved with the author's initials and has a retracting mechanism.
An authentication letter from sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth says the British writer of "A Christmas Carol" and "Oliver Twist" used the toothpick "when travelling and on his last visit to America."
Dickens died in 1870.
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On the Net:
Bonhams New York: http://www.bonhams.com/newyork
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