The gun that killed Billy the Kid in 1881 sold for $6 million
Steph Deschamps / August 29, 2021
The revolver from which Billy the Kid's fatal bullet was fired in the American Wild West sold at auction for $6.03 million in Los Angeles, a record amount for a firearm.
Initially estimated at $2 million to $3 million, this Colt .44 caliber cylinder gun was owned by the notorious Sheriff Pat Garrett, who tracked down and shot the notorious outlaw on July 14, 1881, in New Mexico, Bonhams auction house said. The Kid died of a bullet in the chest at the age of 21.
Born Henry McCarty, but also known as William Bonney, Billy the Kid was a legendary gunslinger whose life as a fugitive inspired Hollywood. Another great figure of the American West, Pat Garrett has been portrayed many times in movies and on television.
Prior to Friday's sale, the record sale price for a firearm was $1.98 million for a pair of 18th-century pistols given by the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington during the American Revolution.