#Elvis #Revolver #Bullet #Selling
ROCK ISLAND, ILL.— Elvis may have left the building, but his personal revolver is very much alive in the collecting world, selling for 199,750 at a Rock Island Auction event in late August. The Smith & Wesson Model 53, adorned with a bicentennial theme by Master Engraver Russell Smith was delivered to Elvis Presley only months before his death Aug. 16, 1977.
Image courtesy Rock Island Auction Company
Presale estimate for the revolver was between $60,000-$90,000, but competitive bidding from gun enthusiasts and Elvis fans around the world resulted in a final hammer price more than double the revolver’s high estimate.
“The collectibles market has been experiencing unprecedented growth in several genres,” said Rock Island Auction Company President Kevin Hogan. “When you combine two of those genres, Elvis’ memorabilia and collector firearms, the result is tremendous excitement and high totals at auction.”
Image courtesy Rock Island Auction Company
Rock Island Auction has previously sold revolvers of Elvis’ for similarly hefty amounts. In 2017, the company sold the King’s Colt Python revolver for $172,500 as well as his Smith & Wesson Model 19-2 for $195,500.
Image courtesy Rock Island Auction Company
The success of Elvis’ revolver is the latest example demonstrating the value of guns linked to historic figures and pop culture icons in the current collectibles market. In 2022, Rock Island sold the only surviving blaster originally used by Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars: A New Hope for $1,057,500, and the previous year the auction house sold a revolver owned by John Wayne and seen in some of the star’s feature films for $517,500.
You May Also Like:
Elvis’ Private Jet Lands at $286,000 at Auction
John Wayne’s On-Screen Revolver Sells for More than $500,000
