KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The nickel-plated Colt .38 semi-automatic pistol pulled from the folds of Depression-era outlaw Bonnie Parker’s skirt hours after her death goes up for sale later this month.
Along with it are the six bullets found in the gun’s clip, an album of 14 original photos from the scene where a posse of lawmen shot Parker and lover Clyde Barrow down, and an affidavit of authenticity from the coroner who signed the couple’s death certificates.
Bidding opens at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 25 at Case Antiques in Knoxville.
The collection sells as a single lot with an estimated value of $125,000-$175,000. Similar sets of guns associated with the pair have sold for as much as $500,000.
‘‘Something found on the bodies is extremely rare,” said John Case, president of Case Antiques Inc. “I don’t know that we’ll ever have another weapon like this.”
Frank Hamer, the legendary Texas Ranger who hunted the pair to their deaths, apparently never saw the Colt. The mortician in Acardia, La., in 1934 gave the gun as a gift to current owner Bob Hightower’s father.