Auctioneer Returns Watch That Traveled World With a President

A pocket watch that traveled the world with a president, even going into battle, has made one more journey so it can be displayed for the first time since it was stolen in 1987. Theodore Roosevelt, who was president from 1901 to 1909, was given the watch by his sister Corinne and her husband, Douglas Robinson Jr. It was taken from a display in Buffalo and not publicly seen again until last year, when an auctioneer in Florida ran across it and contacted the National Park Service, CNN reports.

As a watch, FBI agent Robert Giczy described the keepsake as "fairly pedestrian," describing its silver case as inexpensive. But it's a "historic treasure," he said, per the Guardian. Roosevelt was given the watch just before leaving for the Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898 and had it with him during the Battle of San Juan Hill. The Park Service said he also carried it when he hunted in Africa and explored the Amazon. The Waltham 17 jewel watch will be on public view for three months at Roosevelt's home at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island. (More Theodore Roosevelt stories.)