Lincoln’s gun — priceless
This tiny 6-inch derringer sitting in a display case at Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site is one of the most priced guns ever. Yet the only price ever paid for this item was around $25 in the mid-1800s, by actor John Wilkes Booth. Booth entered the theatre box where Lincoln and his wife were watching Our American Cousin, slipped the single-shot derringer from his pocket, and fired at Lincoln’s head. Kept for generations as evidence by the War Department, the gun was eventually brought back to Ford Theatre, where it attracts countless visitors. Though once allegedly stolen, and replaced with a fake, the FBI re-authenticated it in 1997.
Washington
The French Marquis de Lafayette who played a significant role during the American Revolution gave two priceless pistols to George Washington. The guns are Damascus steel-mounted saddle pistols with a silver and gold wire inlay and come with a detailed description and documentation. They were sold at Christie’s in New York in 2002 to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for nearly $2 million USD or Rs 1,33,984,900 approximately.
Simon Bolivar
Simon Bolivar was a Venezuelan military and political leader who played a crucial role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama as sovereign states. He is often regarded as the father of Hispanic America. He died rather unbrazenly of tuberculosis and left behind a pair of flintlock pistols, which no doubt had the blood of Spanish viceroys on it. In 2004, the pair fetched $1,687,500 or Rs 1,113,103,759 approximately at a Christie’s auction in New York.
The Fuhrer’s Golden Gun
Some say that it was gifted to Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party on his 50th birthday in 1939 by the Walther family, and it was more like a prized possession rather than a protective accessory used by Hitler. According to several other historians, this gun was used by Hitler to commit suicide in his bunker as World War II waned. Another version says that an American soldier looted this treasure to capture Hitler, just months before his death. This ivory-gripped gun became one of many things secured from his desk drawers and was later auctioned for $114,000 or Rs 7,640,787 approximately.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Double-Barreled Shotgun
As historical tales tell us, it is said that Teddy Roosevelt, a pioneering American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909 was fond of hunting.
To take his passion forward, Roosevelt went ahead on on a year-long Smithsonian African expedition soon after he left his presidency post. During his excursion, it is said that he killed some really rare species in the name of science and history. His most priced guns that he used for hunting were later auctioned for '57,808,588 approximately.
