The iconic aviation cap worn by Charles Lindbergh during his famed 1927 trans-Atlantic flight to France is being auctioned off in Paris.

The floppy brown leather cap that buttons around the chin is expected to fetch $64,000-$86,000 at Drouot's auction in what is being billed as an exceptional sale.

The item was discovered by a Parisian family in their garden days after the 25-year-old Lindbergh flew his plane solo from New York to Le Bourget in the Paris suburbs.

Auctioneer Nicholas Couvrand said that the cap had fallen off during a later flight when Lindbergh did "a loop" in the air.

The cap kept the captain warm during the gruelling 33-hour air voyage that propelled the unknown air mail pilot to international fame.

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