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Rs 2 crore: That's what Pope's Harley is worth

A Harley-Davidson owned by Pope Francis has been sold in auction

After a bidding war lasting six minutes, the auctioneer Bonhams said the 1,585cc bike -- given to Pope Francis by Harley-Davidson last June and signed by the Argentinian pontiff -- was sold to a private buyer in Europe for €241,500 (little over Rs 2 crore).

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Rs 2 crore: That's what Pope's Harley is worth

A black jacket, also signed by Francis, went to an anonymous "overseas buyer" for Euro 57,500 (Rs 48 lakh), Bonhams said.

The money will go towards the renovation of a hostel and soup kitchen in Rome run by the charity Caritas.

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Rs 2 crore: That's what Pope's Harley is worth

Ben Walker, head of motorcycles at Bonhams, said: "I am thrilled with the result achieved and am very pleased for the charity. It has to be a world record for a 21st-century Harley-Davidson and certainly for a Harley-Davidson leather jacket."

The reserve price for the Dyna Super Glide had been just Euro 12,000, but Walker had acknowledged that it was unknown how much the identity of its previous owner would affect the sale price.

"In my whole career I've never had more interest in one motorcycle than this one and it's gone viral. I've had inquiries from across the globe," he told the BBC before the auction.

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Rs 2 crore: That's what Pope's Harley is worth

The 1,585cc Dyna Super Glide was signed, but apparently never ridden, by the pontiff.

It was given to him in June, to mark Harley-Davidson's 110th anniversary.

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