Say Anything Blog

This is the kind of thing that makes me wish I could afford to indulge myself like this:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Springfield rifle owned by the famed Apache warrior Geronimo fetched $100,000 during an auction of Wild West guns and weapons that brought in more than $1 million.

Lawman Wyatt Earp’s double-barreled shotgun garnered $65,500, while a saber attributed to U.S. Army cavalry commander George Custer sold for $20,315 at the Bonhams & Butterfields auction Tuesday.

Some of the guns were offered by a private collector who spent a lifetime accumulating firearms once carried by some of the most famous and infamous figures in American history, said Paul Carella, director of the company’s arms department.

“Obviously, he was like many of us, just intrigued and enamored of the old West,” Carella said Wednesday.

At the 800-item auction, buyers also spent $4,183 for a 32-caliber pistol reportedly carried by frontier scout Calamity Jane at her death.

“We achieved some very good prices,” Carella said. “I knew those pieces would garner the interest they did, because there are so many people interested in these guys, these folklore legends.”

Custer’s sabre, Geronimo’s rifle, Wyatt Earp’s shotgun, and Calamity Jane’s pistol. Now that’s just cool.