The Finest Collector's Pistol

[miatchguy]

What do you all think is the finest collectors pistol there is? I don't know much about it but I really like the S&W 1911, there's only 19.
($10,000 though )
http://www.smith-wesson.com/Services/Engraving/1911.htm
http://www.smith-wesson.com/Services/Engraving/images/custom/1911_right.jpg
What do y'all think?

 

[Hkmp5sd]

The .45 ACP Luger - #2 of 2 manufactured (only one remaining).

Estimated value: $1,000,000+

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'll take the 45 cal P-08 first. I'll even take that Broomhandle Mauser that has "Hold me in honor. The Kaiser fired me on..." I wonder if it still exists?

BTW, looking at a $10k gun is just an excuse to learn how to engrave.

 

[Marko Kloos]

There's one handgun even more desirable than the Luger 08 in .45, and that's the one and only "Baby Luger" ever made. It was a six-shot chopped Luger, and served as Georg Luger's personal carry gun. Nobody knows where it ended up, though.

 

[CWL]

Engraved S&W revolvers or Colt SAAs. Since these are one-off commission pistols with auction values of $1MM+, I'd think that these take the cake.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Yup---the .45 cal Luger is the Holy Grail.

 

[arinvolvo]

Grendel p 12....nuff said.

 

[Jeeper]

IF you are going off pure value then I would think that the gun used to kill Pres. Lincoln would probably be tops ever.

 

[arinvolvo]

Or maybe the 32 that killed Ferdinand, or the gun used to off Hitler...Or any number of historical one of kind pieces, that may or may not still exist.

Machine gun kellys machine gun, billy the kids pistols, or any of the other old loutlaws firearms gotta be worth a ton also.

 

[miatchguy]

Here's another good one, it's Dr. Goebbels Walther, he was one of Hitler's advisors i think, he ended up turnin' on him. (good man )
The thing costs $250,000
http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976089732.htm

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister. I wonder what kind of documentation they have to prove the gun was actually owned by him.

 

[BigG]

Without a proven historical provenance, i.e., not connected with some particular figure, I would take one of the original pairs of Whitneyville Walker Colts. Or if no pair exists, I would take one. If I could have somebody famous's pistol, I would take Wild Bill's Navy Colts.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The single most valuable gun in the world is the one that saves your life.

 

[Jim K]

Just for info, the gun used to kill Franz Ferdnand was not a .32, it was a Browning Model 1910 in 9mm Kurz (.380ACP). Four guns of that model were provided by the Serbs; the serial numbers were 19074, 19075, 19120 and 19126. They were in a Vienna museum until stolen by the Russians during their occupation of Austria. No record was kept of which one actually was used to kill the crown prince.

There is a question about the number of "Baby" Lugers made. At one time, August Weiss said there were four, two in 9mmK and two in 7.65mm (.32ACP). One, in 9mmK has turned up, but I don't know who has it now. There are or were repros being made for $20k or so, if memory serves.

The pistol supposedly used by Adolf to do himself in is a 7.65mm Walther PP, highly engraved and heavily gold plated. (It has been described as "solid gold", but Walther employees who have supposedly authenticated it called that nonsense, saying that a solid gold pistol would not be functional and that Walther would not have presented a phoney gun to the nation's "leader".)

It sold several years ago and reportedly is or was owned by a Canadian collector. IIRC, the sale price was over a million USD.

Jim

 

[4v50 Gary]

The Deringer used by John Wilkes Booth is displayed at Ford's Theatre by the National Park Service. The bullet is at the military medical school/hospital in Washington D.C. I've seen the former but not the latter.

 

[rugerfreak]

I wouldn't mind having General Patton's brace of pistols that I've seen in so many pictures.

 

[Mike Irwin]

An AMT product that actually works flawlessly.

Oh wait.

Pipe dreams aren't part of this discussion.

 

[BerettaNut92]

20th Century: The pistol used to whack Ferdinand?
21st Century:....well not a pistol, but Osama's Krinkov?

 

[arinvolvo]

Exactly what type of gun was it that killed ferdinand?

I have heard 32, but now someone says 9 kurz (380)....Caliber aside, what model of firearm was it?

I cant seem to find info on google.

 

[BerettaNut92]

I dunno I thought i read it was a Beretta but that's off my very bad memory and possibly Internet lore?

 

[Mike Irwin]

As far as I recall from Tales of the Gun on the History Channel, it was an FN-made Browning 1900 or 1903...

 

[BigG]

I thought Ferd was hit with a 7.65mm Browning 1900 but if Jim Keenan says it was a 1910, who am I to argue. He even quoted the serial numbers.

BTW, the Browning 1910 is one of the very finest pocket automatics ever. Prior to 68 when they were no longer importable to US they represented the most compact, flat snag free pistol there was. Makes a PPK look like a Lorcin. Bad Congress! Bad! Bad!

 

[Justin]

I dunno I thought i read it was a Beretta but that's off my very bad memory and possibly Internet lore?

Ghandi was assassinated with a Beretta, though what model or caliber I don't recall.

 

[Gordon]

The onliest problem with the 1910 Browning .380 is the fact that the striker is used to eject the round(not extract the round) . So if you are vigorous on ejecting live rounds(shudder).... I can't bring my self to carry one .thanks Old Fuff for reminding me why I didn't like this long striker(prone o breakage) design.

 

[BigG]

Gordon: There is so little mass in the 380 that it's a million to one that racking one out of the chamber would ever set one off. Still, to each his own.