A Model 1886 Winchester rifle presented to the man who captured Apache leader Geronimo is now the most expensive single firearm ever sold at auction after drawing $1.265 million at Rock Island Auction Company's premiere auction. The sale took place April 29, 30, and May 1. Other guns have sold higher as a pair, but no other single firearm has sold for more through auction. The three-day sale grossed $17.5 million.
"It is an honor to be entrusted with an American treasure," said RIAC President Kevin Hogan. "Being serial number one and possessing such outstanding condition would alone be enough to draw six figures at auction. When you add one of the most famous names in the history of the Old West you have a huge crossover appeal and set the stage for something special to happen.”
"For decades firearms have provided an alternative form of investment and this is clear proof of that," says RIAC CEO Patrick Hogan. With firearms sales spiking in the previous two presidential election years and the new world record price, the future appears extremely rosy for the gun collecting market.
The rifle's story begins with two brothers-in-arms during the Civil War who went their different ways after that conflict. One elected to continue a lifelong military career while the other pursued firearms and their development. When Captain Henry Ware Lawton captured Geronimo in 1886, his close friend Lieutenant George E. Albee was working for Winchester and able to secure serial number one of their newest rifle design. Albee presented the rifle to him to commemorate Lawton's achievement.
Captain Lawton was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor following the surrender of Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo. Also included with the rifle was a pocket watch which was also presented to Lawton.
For further information, visit www.rockislandauction.com.