Record price for Trafalgar Union Jack

LONDON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- An anonymous collector Wednesday bought the only surviving Union Jack known to have flown at the Battle of Trafalgar at auction in London.

The flag fetched a record-breaking 384,000 pounds (nearly $640,000), The Daily Mail reported. Auctioneer Charles Miller said before the sale it would go for at least 15,000 pounds (about $25,000), The Daily Telegraph said.

Made by the crew of HMS Spartiate, the flag, which measures 11 feet by 7 feet, flew from the ship during the 1805 battle and has the bullet holes to prove it. After the British victory against the French and Spanish, it was presented to Lt. James Clephan, a Scotsman who had risen to officer's rank after being press ganged into the Navy.

Clephan's descendants, now living in Australia, decided to put the flag up for auction.

The buyer's plans for the flag were unknown. Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said before the sale that she would temporarily ban any export of the flag to give British museums a chance to match the price, the Telegraph reported.