Bonnie and Clyde's Guns go for Half a Million Dollars!

[Vikram]

Bonny and Clyde were notorious depression era outlaws in USA.

Guns found at the shoot-out site fetched over a half a million dollars in an auction

Bonny Parker and Clyde Barrow



Clyde's Colt Army .45


Bonnie's Colt Detective Special snubnose .38



http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/30/us/ne ... index.html

You can read more about them here

Best-
Vikram

[Hammerhead]

Bonnie, Clyde guns stay together after high bidder pays $500,000

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Two pistols found on the bodies of famed Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow after they were killed by a posse in 1934 have sold at auction on Sunday for $504,000.

A snub-nosed .38 special found taped to the inside of Parker's thigh with white medical tape fetched $264,000 at an auction in Nashua, New Hampshire. A Colt .45 recovered from the waistband of Barrow's pants was purchased for $240,000.

The guns owned by Parker, who died at age 23, and Barrow, who was 25, were purchased by a Texas collector who wished to remain anonymous.

"They're still iconic and their love story kind of resonates," said Bobby Livingston, vice president of RR Auction, the company that conducted the sale. "We have a romanticized vision of Bonnie and Clyde."

The hunt for the outlaw lovers captured the nation's imagination during the depths of the Great Depression. The duo were believed to have committed 13 murders and numerous bank robberies, kidnappings and car thefts during a cross-country crime spree from 1932 to 1934. Their fame was heightened by their practice of leaving glamorous photos of themselves at crime scenes, including one of Parker smoking a cigar.

A popular 1967 movie, "Bonnie and Clyde," a somewhat romanticized account of the couple's career starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, was critically acclaimed for its frank presentation of sex and violence.

Among other crimes, the two are thought to have killed police officers in Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. They were also suspected of staging a prison break in Waldo, Texas, that left two prison guards dead in 1934.

A posse of Texas Rangers and Louisiana police killed the two in an early morning ambush in northern Louisiana in May of that year.

The guns auctioned off came from the estate of memorabilia collector Robert Davis, who had purchased them in 1986 for about $50,000 each, Livingston said.

A gold pocket watch found on Barrow's body sold for $36,000. Other items included a 1921 Morgan silver dollar taken from Barrow's jacket fetched $32,400, and one of Parker's silk stockings, taken from the couple's car after their death, which went for $11,400.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Philip Barbara)

[timmy]

I saw this article, but you beat me to posting it!

Bonnie's snub was a Colt's Detective Special, and the .45 of Clyde's was a 1911. Clyde was also said to be fond of BARs (who isn't?).

They were a murderous bunch and still seem to attract a lot of sympathy in the East Texas/Louisiana area today. Not so long ago, I saw a PBS special on them in which a relative was recounting Clyde and Bonnie, as well.

The movie is one I wasn't too impressed with. Warren Beatty, I've never been particularly keen on, but Faye Dunaway is one of the best, in my mind. If you google Bonnie, you will see that having Faye play her was surely a compliment, if you get my drift.

These goondas get a lot of attention in the USA, but they were nothing but just that, taking advantage of the dire times to rob banks and practice antisocial behavior. No doubt, they were unsavory, but I guess I can't get too enthusiastic over whoever would be retrieving a revolver taped to the uppermost thigh of a corpse...

Here are the guns in question:



Here are Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty playing Bonnie and Clyde in the movie:



Here's the real Bonnie Parker smoking a stogie. As you can see, it would take a Hollywood to pretty up this beauty, along with what she did!



For those of you who have not seen the movie, I wouldn't suggest making a huge effort to do so.

[dr.jayakumar]

leaving all that history,why was these guns sold for such a huge amount?after all they where outlaws like any other.
dr.jk

[timmy]

That's just the point: there is a huge interest in criminals, such as this pair, Dillinger, various mafia figures, and even drug lords. There are quite a few people who are interested in these types, and I'll admit that movies on such subjects, like The Godfather can be quite riveting. Based on this interest, speculators also invest in these sorts of things, hoping for a profit.