Buy the gun that killed Lee Harvey Oswald
Jack Ruby's pistol that he used to kill JFK assassin (?) Lee Harvey Oswald will go up for auction next month. The Colt Cobra is expected to fetch $2 to $3 million as part of a huge auction of pop culture collectibles on the block by Guernseys auctioneers. From Reuters:
Link (Thanks, Vann Hall!)Collected over the past 25 years by South Florida property developer Anthony Pugliese, the collection, which also includes a whip and the holy grail from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," will be put up for auction next month in Las Vegas...
He said the Colt Cobra revolver used by Jack Ruby to kill Oswald in 1963, just days after Oswald was arrested for assassinating Kennedy, could fetch several million dollars alone. The initials of detectives who handled the gun are scratched on it.
"The whole world saw that unfold live and here's the very gun and the hat that Jack Ruby was wearing," said Ettinger, adding that the tag tied to Oswald's toe to identify his corpse and a lock of his hair were also to be auctioned.
Also up for grabs is the jacket worn by Beatle John Lennon in the "Imagine" video, the wedding dress worn by pop star Madonna in her "Like a Virgin" video, a "Superman" costume worn by Christopher Reeve, and an Andy Warhol paint brush.
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Hmm. I know they were pretty sure Ruby did it, but is that really any way to treat evidence?
Last I heard of this gun it was supposed to be melted down by police in Washington D.C. Back in the 90s the owner (not sure if it's the same owner or not) had brought it with them to Washington planning to show it to some high government type they were there to visit. I want to say Tom Foley, who was Speaker of the House at the time.
Anyway, they managed to get it seized, either by the Capitol Police or by D.C. Police (you'll note my memories on this are rather vague) and, in accordance with D.C.'s notoriously tough gun laws, any weapon they seize has to be destroyed. At the time, I recall there being a brouhaha about it because of the historical significance of the gun. If this is the same gun, I guess they must have managed to save it.
Wow, the whip and grail from Indy! What would the www.indygear.com guys give for that one?
#2 Nores; Interesting comment. I did a quick search and found this dated April 21, 1992:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D81239F932A15757C0A964958260
I'll keep looking for more.
Blast! I wanted to spend my millions on the gun that killed Andy Warhol not that of some weird loser who killed a killer who tried to kill a killer. Andy lived with his mom until the day he prematurely died, never recovering from either his skin condition or the bullet wound inflicted by the girl who wrote the Society to Cut Up Men (SCUM) Manifesto.