The most expensive flag sold at auction is the Royal Standard rescued by Sir Ernest Shackleton from his doomed ship, the Endurance which went to an anonymous buyer in 26 September 2002 for £116,000 ($180,600) at Christie’s, London, UK.

The flag was presented to Shackleton in 1914 by the dowager Queen Alexandra before he set off on his historic voyage to the Antarctic. The painted silk standard was one of only two things that Shackleton saved from his ship before it was crushed in the winter ice. The explorer then carried the flag inside his coat as he and his men set out on their heroic journey to Elephant Island. Shackleton eventually found help in South Georgia after making a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) journey across treacherous seas in a small open boat.