FA Cup going under the hammer

The cup replaced the original one which was stolen from a shop

The oldest existing FA Cup is to be sold at auction, it has been announced.

The second trophy will be the highlight of Christie's sale of football memorabilia on 19 May and is expected to fetch between £200,000 and £300,000.

It was presented to winning teams between 1896 and 1910 and replaced the original trophy, which was stolen from a shop window in Birmingham.

It was held aloft by Manchester United, Tottenham, Newcastle, Everton, Bury, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.

In 1895, Aston Villa won the competition for the second time, beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0.

That November, during an FA committee meeting, the club had to report that thecup had been stolen from the shop window of William Shillcock, a football andboot manufacturer in Birmingham, which had been proudly displaying the trophy.

Although a £10 reward was offered to anyone who could recover the cup, it was never seen again.

Instead, Aston Villa FC were fined £25 which covered the cost of a trophy "as nearly as possible like the old cup".

This replacement was presented to Lord Kinnaird in 1911 to commemorate his 21st anniversary as president of the Football Association.

The newly-designed third trophy, introduced from the 1910-11 competition, was in use until the Cup Final of 1990-91.

It remains at FA headquarters in London's Soho Square.

The fourth and current trophy, an exact replica of the third, has been in service since the 1991-2 Final.