Swiss seller tries to auction five-leaf clover for half a million francs
By Jan de Boer
How much would you pay for a slice of good luck? 20, 50, 1.000 francs? For one seller in Canton Vaud, a dose of good fortune appears to be worth much more, after they put their five-leaf clover up for auction with a starting bid of half a million francs.
Five-leaf clover on sale in Switzerland
According to 20 Minuten, a lucky buyer can now get their hands on a genuine five-leaf clover, after one was put up for auction on the Swiss online bidding site Ricardo. Like their better-known four-leaf cousins, a five-leaf clover is meant to give “extra good luck and financial gain” to anyone who possesses it, according to the Yorkshire Post.
Despite being on sale, it seems as though the seller won’t part with their leaf for chump change, especially seeing as though they went to the trouble of having it “dried and kept safe in a book”, according to the listing.
500.000 Swiss francs for a lucky leaf
While it may have given good luck, those wishing to ditch the rabbit’s foot had to make a whopping 500.000 Swiss-franc starting bid for the clover. Those who wanted to be certain of the sale only had to throw in an extra 100.000 to make sure the clover was theirs to keep. For just 100 francs, the anonymous seller offered to drive to your door and hand the clover to you personally, although if you hopped on the train to meet them, delivery is entirely free.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the lack of bids, and the newfound fame of making it into the Swiss media, has made the seller reconsider their asking price, with the starting auction estimate now standing at a very reasonable 100.000 Swiss francs. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that someone from Switzerland has tried to pull the stunt, with a seller from Thurgau offering a five-leaf clover for 1,2 million francs back in 2021.
To see the leaf for yourself, and to pop in a cheeky bid, check out the official listing.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more