A vintage Mercedes Benz whose first owner was former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff back in the 1960s, at the time when he was still Leader of the Opposition, will be up for auction next Sunday. The starting bid for the 1962 Mercedes 190D saloon is €20,000 but the vehicle is expected to fetch a much higher price due to its link with Mr Mintoff.

Pierre Grech Pillow from Obelisk Auctions, who will conduct the sale, said items related to prominent figures in recent political history tended to fetch a good price. Three years ago a personal desk belonging to former Prime Minister Ġorġ Borg Olivier was sold to Labour MP Anton Refalo for €25,000, five times higher than the starting bid.

The restorer of the vintage Mercedes, Kevin Paul Bajada, told The Sunday Times of Malta that when he bought the car in 2005 he was not aware of its history.

“Back then it was in a rather story state, and it was even used to carry small agricultural machinery in the boot,” he said.

Mr Bajada, who has a passion for restoring vintage cars, only became aware that it used to belong to Dom Mintoff five years later when he had finished the job and was alerted by other car enthusiasts.

Subsequently he conducted research and it transpired the vehicle had been registered for the first time on July 13, 1963, and changed hands once when Dom Mintoff decided to sell it.

The grey Mercedes, which is powered by an 1,897cc diesel engine, can be viewed from today until Saturday at Obelisk Auctions Gallery in Mdina Road, Attard. The auction will be held on Sunday.

On Saturday there will be an auction of works of art by Giacomo Gianni, Mattia Preti and a large 17th century painting by Jeronimo Jacinto de Espinosa. The latter was exhibited in Caravaggio and Paintings of Realism in Malta at St John’s Co-Cathedral in 2007 and the starting bid is €90,000.