The revolver that killed bandit Billy the Kid has sold at an American auction for the equivalent of $5 million. An anonymous collector bought the “iconic piece of history from one of the most important events in the Wild West,” as Bonham’s auction house described the firearm.
Billy the Kid is still one of the most notorious criminals in US history. When he was shot dead at 21, he had already made a name for himself as a cattle thief, and had shot at least eight people. Through stories in the pulp press, he was well on his way to becoming a celebrity.
After a death sentence and a spectacular escape, his former friend Pat Garrett managed to track down The Kid and ambushed through his heart on July 14, 1881. The sheriff used the .44-40 Colt that he had captured from a mobster’s mobster.
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