£25 FA Cup won by Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United sold at auction for £760,000

The trophy, which cost just £25 to make, was first lifted aloft by the Owls when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers way back in 1896 and when the club was known as The Wednesday.

West Ham United co-owner David Gold put the trophy – the second version of the FA Cup presented to winners of the competition between 1896-1910 – up for sale after buying it 15 years ago for £478,000 during his time as chairman of Birmingham City.

The original cup was stolen in 1895.

An unknown buyer snapped up the trophy at auction house Bonhams in London earlier today.

A spokesman said: "The trophy charts the transformation of the game from one dominated by public school players to the popular mass participation sport that it became and remains.”

The cup had previously been on display in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

"We are very proud to have been entrusted with the sale of this legendary cup," Bonhams managing director Jon Baddeley said.

"It embodies so much of the early history of our national game that it can, without exaggeration, be described as a national treasure."

The Wednesday’s Fred Spiksley scored both goals in the 1896 2-1 win, giving the club their first ever FA Cup victory.

Sheffield United also lifted the trophy two times during their early history, winning it in 1899 and 1902, defeating Derby County and Southampton respectively.