Auction News Network

Rare Winchester Sells For $333,500

When automotive magnate John F. Dodge ordered a firearm he didn’t go halfway. A case in point is the Lightweight Model 1886 Takedown Lever Action rifle that Winchester created for him. With a custom carved stock of English walnut, the gun features elaborate engravings by John Ulrich. On the receiver’s left side are a gold inlaid white tail buck, doe and fawn; on the right are a gold bull moose and reclining cow in a forest scene. With its exceptional condition and provenance in mind, Maine-based auctioneers James D. Julia valued it at $175,000-$275,000, an estimate that turned out to be modest. This week it sold for $333,500.

$750,000 Target For Lead Shot That Missed Tsar Nicholas II

Back in 1905, what was believed to be an assassin’s bullet narrowly missed Tsar Nicholas II outside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. That grapeshot ball is tiny, but it set off more than a decade of unrest, culminating in the Russian Revolution in 1917. Privately owned for almost a century, it’s expected to sell for up to $750,000 when it comes up for auction at the London-based Wartski, a dealer in antiques.

Capt. Cook’s Pistol In Australian Auction

If Australia has a founding father, it’s Captain James Cook, who claimed the territory for Britain in 1770. So it’s appropriate that Australia should be the site of an auction in which his pistol will be offered.  Cook willed the the early 18^th century Continental Flintlock holster gun to his sister, and generations of the Cook family have retained ownership. When it comes up for sale in Melbourne on February 14^th, it’s expected to realize $105,000-$210,000.

Bonnie & Clyde Pistol In Missouri Auction

Given the size of Bonnie & Clyde’s arsenal, it’s perhaps not surprising that the outlaw pair’s guns have been coming up for auction with some frequency. The latest is a Smith & Wesson .32L caliber revolver that was taken from ill-fated couple’s car, after they were shot and killed in a 1934 Louisiana ambush. Other guns associated with the notorious duo have sold for as much as the $504,000 fetched last year for a pair of pistols found on their bodies. When this one comes up for auction at Missouri’s Mayo Auction & Realty on February 1, it’s expected to sell for considerably less, as it was merely part of a cache of weapons found in their trunk.

Bond Gun Sells For $196,000

As a gun, this Walther PPK has certain drawbacks. It doesn’t, for example, shoot bullets. All the same, the air pistol is the most famous Walther PPK in the world, having been used in the publicity stills for “From Russia With Love” as well as other Bond films. Yesterday it sold at Sotheby’s in London for $196,000.

Over $50,000 Expected For Custer’s Spencer Carbine

Over the course of his military career General George Custer had many firearms. He seems to have had a special fondness, however, for his 1865 Spencer Carbine, going so far as to mention it in his autobiography, in which he calls the rifle “my trusty Spencer which was always at my side.” When Heritage offers the weapon as part of its Political, Western Legends & Americana Memorabilia sale in Dallas on December 11, it’s expected to sell for more than $50,000.

Update: the Spencer more than tripled its high estimate, selling for $179,250.

Rare Colt Carbine At Rock Island Auction

You could equip a good-sized militia with the 2700 firearms coming up for auction next week at Rock Island. All sorts of rarities will be on the block, including the only known Colt Paterson Model 1839 Deluxe Carbine with Birds-Eye Maple Stock. The rifle, winner of the Best Single Weapon award at the St Paul Minnesota Cot Show, is estimated at $75,000-$150,000.

WW II “Enigma” Machine Sells For $135,000

The German’s WW II machine called Enigma encrypted the Nazi’s deepest battle secrets, convinced its code was “unbreakable.” An even deeper secret was the Allies broke it. Bonhams auctioned a perfectly working model in its original oak case for $135,000 in London this week.

Revolutionary War Flag Sells For $422,500

Momentos of historical wars not enshrined in bronze or chiseled in stone usually dry up and blow away not long after the war is forgotten. Not so a silk battle flag from the Revolutionary War preserved by a family for 200 years and sold yesterday at a Philadelphia auction for $422,500.  The flag is fragile and faded but it’s clearly the “Colors” of the 8^th Virginia Regiment led by the so-called “Fighting Parson,” Anglican priest and Gen. Peter Muhlenberg. 

Bonnie & Clyde & Butch Cassidy’s Guns Sold

Guns are as American as apple pie and when it comes to collecting, the bigger the outlaws who carried them, the bigger the price. Over the weekend 3 handguns belonging to Butch Cassidy and Bonnie and Clyde Barrow sold for a total of $680,000.

When Is A Pistol Worth $550,000?

Begin with the notorious Dalton gang, who operated in the American West between 1890-1892 and specialized in bank and train robberies. This was the gun that was taken from Bob Dalton’s body, after the famous Coffeyville Raid, in which the Dalton gang attempted to rob two banks simultaneously. Residents of that town armed themselves to fight the bandits, killing two of brothers and two other gang members. Bob Dalton’s factory engraved black powder single action Army revolver will be offered at Rock Island’s Firearms sale on September 7th, 8th, and 9^th, and is loaded with an estimate of $350,000-$550,000.

Capone’s Deposition On Murder Attempt For Sale

In the 1920’s Chicago gangsters were shooting each other so it was no surprise police questioned Al Capone to see what he knew about the attempted murder of mob boss John Torrio. In a 50-page deposition Capone said he knew nothing and wouldn’t tell if he did. That document (signed 4 times by “Alphose Capone”) is for sale next month at a New Hampshire auction.

Naval Cable Reports End of WW II

The U.S. army, navy and air force in the Pacific were girding for the bloody invasion of Japan when this cable arrived aboard the U.S. Holland telling “all hands” to stand down. The war was over. The son of the sailor who kept the dispatch puts it up for auction in Millville, Pa., on Aug.15, 67 years to the day it was sent.

‘Kit’ Carson’s Flintlock Pistol To Sell

Christopher Houston ‘Kit’ Carson became a legendary figure after leading one-time Presidential candidate and explorer John C. Fremont on his expeditions through California and Oregon.  Carson’s fame only increased with his exploits in the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, in which the frontiersman carried a standard issue flintlock pistol. Along with a dozen of his other possessions, it will be the highlight at an auction on August 11-12 in Sante Fe, where it’s expected to sell for $15,000-$25,000.

British Hero’s Victoria Cross May Sell For $279,000

On August 23, 1914, Private Sidney Godley of the Royal Fusilliers set the standard for heroism in WWI. Although severely injured, with a bullet lodged in his head, he took control of a machine gun and for two hours single-handedly held off six German divisions from the Nimy Bridge at Mons, France. When his battalion was ordered to withdraw, he provided covering fire until all were evacuated. For his actions, Godley won a variety of medals, including the Victoria Cross, which will be featured at a Spink auction in London on July 19^th, when they’re expected to sell for $217,000-$279,000.

Update: the Godley medal sold for way above expectations, achieving a result of $433,653 including buyer’s premium.