They were found in a mailbox left "by a gentleman whose uncle had received them from Gandhi himself", the Bristol auction house said.
ADVERTISEMENTA pair of round gold-plated glasses once owned by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi sold for nearly €300,000 (£260,000) at an auction in Bristol, UK.
"We found them just four weeks ago in our mailbox," East Bristol Auctions said on Instagram, "left there by a gentleman whose uncle had been given them by Gandhi himself."
Gandhi "often gave his old or unwanted pairs to those in need or to those who had helped him," the auction house said on its website.
The pair in question was given by Gandhi in the 1920s to the seller's uncle, who at the time worked for British Petroleum in South Africa, according to East Bristol auctions.
"It is presumed that it was offered as a thank you from Gandhi for a good deed", the house said.
The pair went under the hammer on Friday during a live-streamed auction.
The initial price was set between €11,000 and €17,000.