The gun with which Sheriff Pat Garrett killed the legendary American pistol of the Wild West, Billy de Kidd, was sold for almost 6 million dollars at an auction held in Los Angeles yesterday, a price more than double the pre-sale estimate.
Bonhams auctioneers say the Colt revolver used by Sheriff Pat Garrett to kill Far West’s infamous outlaw in 1881 was purchased over the phone by a person who wishes to remain anonymous.
Bonhams, who described the gun as “the most iconic treasure in early Western history,” said the $ 6.03 million price tag is a world record for any firearm. The initial estimate was that its sale price would be between $ 2 and $ 3 million.
Billy de Kidd was wanted in Arizona and New Mexico, having killed eight men. After many months of persecution, Garrett found him on a ranch in Fort Summer, New Mexico, shot and killed him on July 14, 1881. Billy de Kidd was 21 years old.
Kidd’s story became an inspiration and was imprinted in pop culture for almost 100 years, with films such as “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” and “Young Guns”.
The gun came from the collection of a Texas couple, Jim and Teresa Earl, who had been collecting Western firearms and other handicrafts for about 50 years. Jim Earl died in 2019.
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