Crazy Money! The Lewis Chessmen

It’s Crazy Money Day! 

The most famous chess pieces from history are the Lewis Chessmen. They were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. They offer a glimpse into life during the medieval era. Of the original 93 pieces, 82 are displayed at the British Museum in London, and 11 are in the National Museum of Scotland. Five were missing until recently.

In 1964, an antiques dealer in Edinburgh purchased an old rook from another dealer. He didn’t know its origin or historical significance. He simply identified it as an “Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman.” The little man, depicted with helmet, shield, and sword, was purchased for an equivalent of $160 today. His daughter inherited the piece and tucked it away in a drawer for 55 years. In 2019, the family took it to Sotheby’s auction house in London. The man who examined it said his “jaw dropped” when he realized what it was. They took it to auction, where the starting bid for the three-and-a-half-inch “weather-beaten, weary warrior” was over half a million dollars. It ended up selling for $900,000. That’s crazy!

It’s easy to imagine how we’d use that much money, but we must not lose sight of the most valuable thing that we’ll ever have: our relationship with Christ. I pray that you know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

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