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The barrel also has a faint bulge and thin stress fractures in the breech section from
an unknown incident. The grips are very fine and have mild wear at the lower edges, minor scratches and dings, attractive grain, and most of the glossy original varnish.
The revolver remains mechanically fine. This is perhaps the best documented Wild
Bill Hickok firearm extant, having been held privately with full chain of ownership. Its connection to Hickok’s murder in Deadwood certainly adds some eerie mystique and historical significance to the revolver. How long Hickok might have owned the revolver is not clear, but it was manufactured early enough to have been carried by him for several years, and small enough to have been concealed in many of his photos where he appears to be unarmed, possibly being used in one or more of his gunfights in the Old West and is an outstanding artifact from one the era’s most legendary gunfighters. Estimate: 150,000 - 350,000
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