Among many Buffalo Bill’s revolvers, this one is perhaps the most important gun which he used in his days as a plainsman guiding America’s frontier army during the Indian wars. The gun, a US civil war-era Remington New Model Army .44 percussion revolver, used by William Cody, aka Buffalo Bill, is to be sold through Heritage Auctions in its Legends of the Wild West sale in Dallas on June 10 and could fetch $200,000.
The Most Important William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody Gun Could Fetch $200,000 at Auction in Dallas
This maybe most important revolver will be accompanied at auction by Cody’s personal business card in his position as judge advocate general of Wyoming, which bears the message: “To Charlie & Carrie. This old Remington revolver. I carried and used for many years in Indian Wars and Buffalo killing. And it never failed me. WF Cody Dec 13th 1906.” Cody wrote this note to his friends Charles and Carrie Trego, when he gave them the gun for Christmas in 1906.
After receiving a Medal of Honour for his extraordinary bravery in in the wars, he went on to become one of the most famous Americans of the 19th century with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, which ran from 1883 to 1913. Before that, Cody spent years on the Plains building his legend. Between 1868 and 1876, he fought in 19 documented battles and skirmishes. His 1872 citation read in part, “Mr. Cody acted in his usual manner.” [Heritage Auctions]
