Tampered Watergate door lock sells for $62,500

A lock that burglars tampered with at the Watergate building during the famous break-in allegedly directed by former President Nixon’s campaign sold for $62,500 this week, Washingtonian magazine reported Friday.

The lock was replaced following the raid of the Democratic National Committee, which was housed in the complex in 1972. It was auctioned by the Nate Sanders auction house with authenticity documents.  

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Jim Herrald, the retired superintendent of the Watergate Complex of buildings in Washington, D.C., who has held onto the lock for several decades, opened up bidding on the lock at $50,000 earlier this month. The lock was bought Thursday by an unnamed buyer at a Los Angeles auction house. 

Herrald obtained the lock after it was replaced following the break-in on June 17, 1972. 

The men charged with breaking into the offices were indicted on counts of conspiracy and wiretapping. Nixon later resigned in the wake of his administration’s exposed efforts to conceal the scandal. 

The sale of the lock comes after an unsuccessful attempt to auction it off two decades ago, which only garnered a $13,000 bid. Herrald decided not to sell it at the lower price.