Dubbed the “Sale of the Century,” the recent offering from Rock Island Auction certainly lived up to the hype. In an lot filled with guns owned by notable persons from history, the Rough Rider topped them all. Teddy Roosevelt’s Colt Single Action Army brought $1.4 million at auction.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Colt Single Action Brings $1.4 Million at Auction
Roosevelt first received the six-gun as a gift for his 54th birthday in 1912. It came factory engraved and silver plated. Ten days later a man attempted to assassinate Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
But Roosevelt survived, and so too did the Colt, one of several famous guns in the auction. The lot also included guns owned by Elvis Presley, Annie Oakley, Granville Stuart, Emperor Franz Joseph, Tom Selleck and General John “Black Jack Pershing.
The latest auction pushed Rock Island to record numbers in 2020. The auction house reached $91.7 million in sales this year, a new record. Rock Island Auction sold $22 million in the December auction alone.
“What we’re seeing is the growing realization of the history and investment potential of these objects,” said RIAC President Kevin Hogan. “Year after year these numbers increase and it’s no coincidence. People love holding history in their hands, and have always wanted to possess what is beautiful. Collecting fine arms satisfies both.”
These results are in tune with an American upsurge in firearms ownership during a year filled with civil unrest and election concerns.
