HOT SHOTS

Feast your eyes on some of the most expensive firearms ever sold at auction, many of which have fetched over $1 million

- BRANDON FRIEDERICH

The most expensive car ever sold at auction was a one-of two 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR prototype that fetched an exorbitant $142 million at a 2022 RM Sotheby’s sale. The priciest watch ever to cross an auction block was a 2015 Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon featuring one-of-a-kind craftsmanship so desirable, the final bid hit $5.8 million at a 2023 Christie’s event. In both cases, it was ultimately a combination of quality, brand recognition and extreme rarity that resulted in record prices.

But in the realm of fine firearms collecting, the X factor that often pushes values into the stratosphere is provenance. Consider the most expensive gun ever sold at auction: the Colt Single Action Army used to kill notorious American outlaw Billy the Kid, which exceeded expectations by more than double when it sold for $6.03 million in 2021. Or just take a look at the many million- and multimillion-dollar firearms that have fallen under Rock Island Auction Company’s hammer.

Founded in 1993 in Rock Island, Illinois, the esteemed weapons specialist has set and shattered many of its own industry records, among them being history’s highest-yielding firearms auction ($30 million, set in May of 2021), the highest-yielding year of a firearms auction house ($121 million, set in 2021), and the second-most expensive firearm ever sold at auction (more on that below).