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Saturday, June 4, 2011

AL CAPONE'S GUN COULD FETCH $100K AT AUCTION

SCARFACE
TO the man himself even today's $100,000 price tag would be little more than chump change, but you can bet he didn't pay that sort of money for the Colt .38 when he bought it. 
But the iconic gangster's nickel plated pistol is expected to go for at least that amount when it is auctioned by Christie's later this month. 
It is not known whether it was used in any murders although the one time king of the Chicago rackets was thought to have personally killed several people. A spokesman for the auction house Leonie Ashfield said: "We've had film memorabilia but nothing related to the actual Al Capone in the last 10 years."
Capone's empire was worth millions of dollars, raked in from illegal booze, gambling and prostitution, until his reign ended in 1931 he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and prohibition charges.
After serving almost eight years behind bars he went into seclusion on an estate near Miami, Florida, where he died of a stroke and pneumonia in January 1947.
The fascination with the onetime mob kingpin has remained well into the 21st century however, with high prices being paid for a number of items belonging to him.  
A bullet-proof 1928 Cadillac that Capone owned sold at auction for $37,000 in 1971 while a rare signed photo of him fetched $4250 in 1982.
This pistol is expected to fetch a whopping amount, possibly more that the $95,600 paid by a California collector for a pistol that once belonged to Depression-era gangster and bank robber John Dillinger.
Capone's revolver will be sold in London alongside several other items dating from the 10th century to the 20th century, including arms, armor and military items.
Among them is another notable gun being sold by a private collector: a .44 six-shot revolver that was once owned by Cole Younger, a member of the 19th-century James-Younger Gang, which included legendary outlaw Jesse James.

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