Last week my father told me that he'd sold my mother's father's watch - apparently he put it up for auction back in November last year. (Sorry for lack of initials, but it would all get too confusing.) The watch was a solid gold pocket watch given to my grandfather by his father in about 1920 - I think it's Victorian. It was left to my mother when her father died in the 1980s. My mother died in 2013 - so for 30 odd years she had kept the watch and not sold it.
When I objected, DF claimed that my brother would just have sold it (he has form for this - but he used to be quite hard up, so I'd say fair enough - and he was never given anything like an heirloom). Afterwards (too late) I thought, yeah, but you just sold it too, so what's the difference?
When I replied that I could have had it, he asked if I could have ensured it wasn't stolen. This is a reference to a burglary I had 16 years ago, when what family jewellery I had was nicked along with quite a lot of other stuff. Again I think it's a bit unfair as he's had a burglary too, and sounds like a weak excuse.
I'm pissed off that my DF didn't even mention this to me at the time, didn't see if my brother or I wanted it. DF doesn't need the money. AIBU to think he should at the very least have offered to sell it to me or my brother? I don't even really feel it's his to dispose of like this, as it was my mother's, and I feel pretty upset at the loss of this little bit of family history.