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Sat Jul 24, 2021, 03:56 PM

 

The Gun That Killed Billy The Kid Is Going Up For Auction. Starting Bid: $2 Million

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019391848/gun-killed-billy-the-kid-auction-2-million



A revolver that killed one of the most famous wanted men in the Wild West 140 years ago is slated to be offered for millions of dollars next month.

Prior to his killing, a judge is said to have sentenced famed outlaw Billy the Kid to hang until "you are dead, dead, dead." Billy was rumored to respond, "And you can go to hell, hell, hell."

Legends like these — some facts and others fiction — chronicling the Kid's life have persisted more than 100 years after his death. And they've kept history buffs captivated by Billy the Kid's tale. They have also driven interest in pieces of Wild West history, for which collectors are prepared to pay hefty prices. In 2008, for instance, Bonham sold Billy's gun for $64,350.

Billy the Kid, a gunslinger often said to have killed eight men, had been on the run for three months when Sheriff Pat Garrett hid in a dark bedroom and shot him in the chest on July 14, 1881, in Fort Sumner, N.M., according to Garrett's account. The single action revolver Garrett used will be offered at Bonhams auction house, which estimates it could go for $2 million to $3 million. Garrett had taken the gun from another member of the Kid's gang, Billy Wilson, after he arrested him.

(excerpt)

Out of my price range, sadly.

25 replies, 1431 views

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Reply The Gun That Killed Billy The Kid Is Going Up For Auction. Starting Bid: $2 Million (Original post)
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 OP
jaysunb Jul 2021 #1
Chainfire Jul 2021 #2
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #4
Thtwudbeme Jul 2021 #3
tenderfoot Jul 2021 #5
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #6
tenderfoot Jul 2021 #7
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #8
tenderfoot Jul 2021 #9
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #10
MarineCombatEngineer Jul 2021 #12
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #13
MarineCombatEngineer Jul 2021 #11
Devil Child Jul 2021 #14
MarineCombatEngineer Jul 2021 #19
Maru Kitteh Jul 2021 #17
MarineCombatEngineer Jul 2021 #20
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #21
Devil Child Jul 2021 #15
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #22
Kingofalldems Jul 2021 #16
Dial H For Hero Jul 2021 #18
LeftInTX Jul 2021 #23
tenderfoot Jul 2021 #24
LeftInTX Jul 2021 #25

Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sat Jul 24, 2021, 04:07 PM

1. Gun fetish at its finest.

Throw in a little extra judicial murder and jeans are being creamed across the land. 😞

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sat Jul 24, 2021, 06:27 PM

2. The gun that one sociopath used to bushwhack another 140 years ago, of course

it is worth three million bucks. I just asked my wife if I could bid on it, and the reply was in the negative, so you all can fight over it. I seem to remember Jack Ruby's revolver being auctioned off some time recently.

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Response to Chainfire (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:39 PM

4. Ruby's revolver was up for auction in 2016. Minimum price: $1 million.

 

Bidding only hit $200,000, so no sale.

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sat Jul 24, 2021, 06:32 PM

3. This should be in a museum

 

instead it is going to end up in a den somewhere- and in a couple of generations in a garage sale.

I would love to see the provenance on it-

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:44 PM

5. You can trade in your porsche to buy it - how cool would that be?

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Response to tenderfoot (Reply #5)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:46 PM

6. I would do so in a heartbeat...then sell the gun. Profit: $2.975 million.

 

Works for me!

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Reply #6)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:52 PM

7. You're that wealthy yet spend your time online.

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Response to tenderfoot (Reply #7)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:54 PM

8. I wouldn't describe the ability to purchase a $25,000 car as making one "wealthy".

 

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Reply #8)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:55 PM

9. So you bought "used"

got it.

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Response to tenderfoot (Reply #9)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:57 PM

10. Yup. 2007 Boxster S.

 

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Reply #10)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:00 PM

12. Nice. nt

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Response to MarineCombatEngineer (Reply #12)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:04 PM

13. It's a fun drive! Needs a bit of work, slow coolant leak, a couple of of underbody panels.

 

Nothing too serious, but I’m going to stay on top of it.

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Reply #8)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 02:59 PM

11. I guess some think that owning a Porsche as being wealthy,

so I guess that would make me a gazillionaire because I own a $100,000 truck.

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Response to MarineCombatEngineer (Reply #11)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:10 PM

14. I see you in your cab, staring down at us unwashed masses, eating your caviar!

 

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Response to Devil Child (Reply #14)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:25 PM

19. Oh, you wouldn't believe what I see on our roads,

suffice to say I've seen a lot of nasty things while going down the highways.

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Response to MarineCombatEngineer (Reply #11)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:22 PM

17. I knew a dead-ass-broke dumb kid who had a Porsche for a few weeks

because he thought it would help him get laid. It was a dysfunctional yellow nightmare of a vehicle and he spent more time fixing it than driving it. He drove it back to the dealership about 3 or 4 weeks later.

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Response to Maru Kitteh (Reply #17)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:27 PM

20. Yep, all it takes is good credit and you too can own a high class vehicle,

or a truck like mine.

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Response to Maru Kitteh (Reply #17)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:28 PM

21. A used Porsche isn't a car to buy lightly.

 

I would run, not walk, from a $10,000 2007 Boxster.

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:12 PM

15. Hope the eventual purchaser is willing to loan this weapon out to an appropriate museum.

 

Quite the history behind this firearm.

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Response to Devil Child (Reply #15)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:32 PM

22. I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Mind you, they may buy it strictly as an investment.

 

In that sense, it's no different than someone buying Action Comics #1.

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons recently had a video in which he expressed the opinion that the vast majority of collectible firearms should not be in museums, but rather in private hands. He made some excellent points.

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:17 PM

16. Gungeon post. This is GD.

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Response to Kingofalldems (Reply #16)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 03:24 PM

18. The Gungeon is for posts about gun politics. This story is not that.

 

(edit to add)

For that matter, would you direct all stories that advocate gun control away from GD? There have been plenty of those lately.

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Response to Dial H For Hero (Original post)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 05:19 PM

23. I'm don't understand this country's obsession with Billy the Kid...

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Response to LeftInTX (Reply #23)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 05:29 PM

24. Because America loves criminals

Hence the 10 million films/documentaries about Ted Bundy

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Response to tenderfoot (Reply #24)

Sun Jul 25, 2021, 06:14 PM

25. Bundy is different because we learn from these cases, but Billy the Kid obsession is

like Alamo obsession.....

I don't get it...

Then every once in a while, someone comes up with a picture that "could" be Billy the Kid and the whole world goes wild..I just don't get it.......

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