Auction News Network

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.

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.

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.

Gallantry Medal From Bunker Hill Battle

The British “won” the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, 1775, but it cost them dearly, 100 commissioned officers killed, and not much to show for the victory, but there were still medals to be awarded. The silver “gallantry medal” from King George III given to 21-year old Capt. Peter Ewing of the Royal Marines will be auctioned in June (fittingly enough) by Heritage. High estimate is $70,000.

$200,000 Expected For Buffalo Bill Revolver

Frontiersman, and showman Buffalo Bill Cody had a number of guns, but probably none can surpass the provenance of his Civil War-issue Remington New Model Army .44 percussion revolver that Heritage will auction as part of a Wild West sale on June 10.  The revolver, estimated at more than $200,000, comes with a note Cody wrote to his friends Charles and Carrie Trego, when he gave them the gun for Christmas in 1906:  “This old Remington revolver. I carried and used for many years in Indian Wars and Buffalo killing. And it never failed me. WF Cody Dec 13^th 1906.”

$80,000 Expected For Iron Man 2 Suit

A suit from the movie, “Iron Man 2,” will be sold at a Chicago Heritage Auction, April 14. Robert Downey, Jr., the real Iron Man, never wore the suit, Don Cheadle swiped it so the government could duplicate it and fight crime like Downey. In reality, the 6-foot suit for sale is not iron, it’s fiberglass and filled with wires, hoses, and cables. High estimate is $80,000.

Dueling Pistols From A King’s Aide

Lt. Col Alexander Ross (1742-1827), aide to George III, didn’t use this set of handsome silver-mounted 28-bore flintlock pistols for combat. Presumably, he used other weaponry during engagements in India, Europe, and America, where he served as Aide-de-Camp to Cornwallis, a key British commander in the Revolutionary War. Instead, these pistols were meant for dueling. When Bonhams offers them on April 18^th in its Antique Arms  & Armour sale in London, they’re expected to realize $47,000-$62,700.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Colt Pistol

When Theodore Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” he may have had his 1902 semi-automatic pistol in mind. Colt presented him with the gun, engraved in gold with ‘T.R.,’ when he was President. Rock Island will offer the pistol, along with Roosevelt’s personal correspondence related to it, at its Illinois auction on Dec. 2-4, when it’s expected to sell for $150,000-$225,000.

UPDATE: T.R.’S Colt pistol sold near the high estimate, for $207,000.