Memorabilia and artwork from collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers were sold for £1.6 million (€1.86 million).

A commemorative plaque from the opening of the firm’s Canary Wharf office in 2004 by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown was among the auction’s hottest items.

After a flurry of activity, it eventually went under the hammer for £28,750, way above an original estimate of £1,000 to £1,500.

More than 1,100 bidders signed up for the event, which was ordered by the firm’s administrator, PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a bid to raise cash for Lehman’s creditors.

The auction at Christie’s in London took place just days after the second anniversary of the bankruptcy which almost triggered a global financial crisis.

Among the items sold was a work by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, which went for £99,560.

Other highlights included Gary Hume’s Madonna, which realised £73,250.

The sign which adorned the company’s offices in Canary Wharf was sold for £42,050.

In total, some £1,641,613 was raised for creditors during the auction.

Christie’s said “fierce competition” resulted in a sale which lasted more than six hours and realised a final sum that exceeded pre-sale expectations.

Barry Gilbertson, partner at PwC, said: “The prices achieved in the auction demonstrate just how much interest there is in anything related to the collapse of Lehman Brothers two years ago.

“The chance to own a piece of history does not come up very often.

“The administrators were confident that, by holding their nerve for two years and waiting for the art markets to recover, they would be able to realise the optimum return for the creditors.”

A further sale planned for next month will see photographer Andreas Gursky’s New York Mercantile Exchange auctioned for a price expected to reach between £100,000 and £150,000.