When I saw Reuters headline:
‘Wild Bill’ Hickok’s pistol fails to sell at San Francisco auction”
I wasn’t shocked because the gun didn’t sell.
[Reuters) – The revolver carried by Old West lawman James “Wild Bill” Hickok on the day he was shot down at a Deadwood saloon failed to sell at an auction in San Francisco on Monday, with bidders failing to meet the steep reserve set by the gun’s owners.
Bonhams Auctioneers started the bidding for the Smith & Wesson No. 2 revolver at $150,000, but potential buyers were only willing to pay $220,000, less than what the consigners would sell it for, Bonhams arms and armor specialist James Ferrell said.
The reserve price is private, but it is typically set between 20 and 30 percent less than the minimum of the item’s estimated value, Ferrell said.
Hickok’s revolver was valued between $300,000 and $500,000.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/us-usa-wildwest-gun-idUSBRE9AH0G320131119
So why the heck are you doing the Auction in San Francisco? Think of all the oil money in Texas, Oklahoma, even Colorado is a better place where you’re going to find gun owners willing to pay top dollar.