Colt Model 1860 —
Morphy Auctions in Denver, Penn., put nearly 1,000 antique guns up for bid, and a few swords as well, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. They ranged from practical, workhorse-style guns to Nazi pistols and samurai katanas. Some of the rarer items, like the revolvers from the Wild West, fetched tens of thousands of dollars.
Parker —
Well-made and of simple construction, the Parker shotgun is prized by duck hunters and gun collectors alike. Parkers have been out of production for more than 70 years. There's a fourth-generation family of gunsmiths in Ilion, NY, that does nothing but refurbish them for well-heeled clients. "It's an honor to work on these guns," said Parker gunsmith Larry DelGrego III, in an interview with CNNMoney last year. There's a finite number of Parkers, and the final selling price was a testament to that.
M-1 with infrared —
This is a standard M-1 carbine from World War II, but fixed with an extraordinary scope from the Korean War. It is one of the earliest infrared sights in existence. But while it was cutting edge weaponry in the 1950s, its unwieldy bulk and dependence on a massive power source makes it unusable on the battlefields of today. The original stenciled carrying case is included.
M-1 paratrooper —
"To the Greatest Generation, and even their kids, the M-1 defined the word 'rifle,'" wrote the late Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. history, in his posthumously published "American Guns." M-1s typically have wooden stocks, so this extra-portable paratrooper model, with a folding metal stock, is quite rare.
500 Magnum —
So you think Dirty Harry had a big gun? Well, he did. But this 5OO Magnum revolver from Smith & Wesson is bigger. In fact, it's one of the most powerful handguns in the world, dwarfing Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum and rivaled only by the Desert Eagle. When firing this hand cannon, use both hands and keep your feet firmly planted.
Trench shotgun —
Trench warfare was all the rage in World War I. This trench shotgun is a 12-gauge pump for shooting into crowds of soldiers packed into narrow, twisting confines. Limited ammo capacity and close quarters combat made the bayonet a necessity. It's rare to see a bayonet on a shotgun, which makes this piece distinctive.
Blunderbuss —
Before there was a shotgun, there was this blunderbuss, which has a flared barrel, sort of like a horn or bell, to spread the scattershot. It's an 18th-century flintlock with only one shot, but the upside for the shooter is that he didn't need to aim. "The huge barrel was loaded with buckshot, nails or whatever was available, and the extra-wide muzzle assured a wide dispersion of great pain and destruction," wrote Gerry and Janet Souter in "Guns of Outlaws."
Mauser —
The Mauser, also known as the "broomhandle," was an early form of the semiautomatic pistol that was used by the Germans during World War I. The magazine is distinctively located in front of the trigger, which makes the gun easily recognizable as the inspiration for Han Solo's blaster in "Star Wars." The wooden stock is detachable and doubles as a holster.
Luger —
The Luger was the Nazi Third Reich's pistol of choice. It is recognizable, not only to veterans and historians, but by the general public, largely because of its appearance in war movies as the quintessential Nazi sidearm. The NRA calls it "one of the most recognizable semiautomatics in history. A veteran of two world wars, these workhorses served on land, sea and air, and were a prized war trophy for returning Doughboys and G.I.s."
Walther —
Which brings us to the Walther P38, another standard-issue sidearm for German officers in World War II. The P38 appeared late in the war, replacing the Luger. The company Walter Arms claims to have invented the first semiautomatic pistol. Even though the original Walther factory was destroyed in the war, the company is still producing guns, including the P38. They also make a version of the Uzi, an Israeli weapon.
Nambu —
The Japanese had their own sidearms during World War II, produced by Nambu, a manufacturer named after founder and inventor Kijiro Nambu of the Imperial Japanese Army. The guns were small and portable, and U.S. soldiers brought them home from the Pacific as souvenirs. While they don't quite have the panache of German firearms, the Nambu pistols are still valued by collectors. The original leather holster is included with this Morphy model.
Pepperbox —
This pepperbox is an early prototype of the revolver, and it bears little resemble to the guns of today. Modern revolvers have bullets loaded into cylinders, which rotate after each shot, lining up a fresh bullet with the barrel. With this pepperbox, the entire barrel is rotated with each shot ... eight barrels, actually, each one loaded with a bullet. Ponderous it may seem, but it's better than a single-shot.
Samurai swords —
The auction will also have swords. The Japanese perfected the art of sword-making by folding the paper-thin steel of katana blades many times for added strength. Originally wielded by the legendary samurai, katanas and the shorter-bladed wakizashis were military issue for Japanese officers all the way up through World War II. Every G.I. in the Pacific wanted one, as the ultimate island hopping souvenir. Morphy is auctioning two lots of four swords each.
Winchester —
The Winchester lever-action rifle from 1886 was cutting-edge technology in the wars between the U.S. Army and the Native Americans in the west. Teddy Roosevelt and Geronimo were both photographed with Winchesters. Also, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, because no Western is complete without a Winchester. This one's 132 years old.
Uzi —
The Uzi 9mm is the official submachine gun of the Israeli army. Like the Kalashnikov, it bears the name of its inventor, Uzi Gal, who fled his native Germany when the Nazis took over. He developed the gun in 1950 while serving in the Israeli army. Decades after it was introduced, the Uzi was popularized as Arnold Schwarzenegger's weapon of choice in "The Terminator." The Uzi company is still producing guns.
M1911 —
The Colt M1911 .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol was the workhorse of the U.S. Army for more than 80 years, from the war in the Philippines at the end of the Spanish-American War, all the way through both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam, into the 1980s. This particular model in the Morphy auction was made in 1969, just in time for Hamburger Hill. M1911s were used by tunnel rats trying to root out deeply-entrenched Viet Cong.
Schofield —
Before the U.S. Army had the M1911, its officers used various revolvers, including the Schofield model 1873. Invented by a Union veteran of the Civil War, the Smith & Wesson Schofield was the first revolver to use metal cartridges instead of cap and ball, making it more reliable in wet weather. Philip Schreier, senior curator of the NRA's National Firearms Museum, calls it "one of the best friends a 19th-century cavalryman ever had" because its break-cylinder design ejected spent casings, making it easy to reload.
Palm pistol —
Size does matter, in the sense that a small gun is sometimes better than a big one. This .32 caliber palm pistol is easily concealed, just in case that fifth ace isn't. Made in the 1890s, Morphy describes it as a "squeezer type pistol with rotary chambers." It's a good gun to have when the poker game gets ugly.
AR-15 —
The AR-15, sometimes known as the M-16, is an assault rifle that was first used in the Vietnam War. The U.S. military needed to compete with the Soviet Union's AK-47, so it selected this "accidental rifle," which was initially rife with problems and prone to jamming during combat, according to C.J. Chivers, war veteran, reporter, and author of "The Gun." But the rifle has had a slew of upgrades since then, and is the rifle most likely to be found in the hands of American soldiers on a modern battlefield.
Cannon —
This is a Winchester signal cannon, which is perfect for starting off a yacht race, if you ever have a hankering for that sort of thing. The cannon fires 10-gauge blanks and comes in its original wooden Winchester crate. On your mark, get set, GO!
