Julia's Firearms Auction Shoots To $8.3 Million

I enjoy auctions. It does not matter if they are local estate sales, Christies Fine Art or stock auctions at the Fort Worth Stock Show. I enjoy the atmosphere at an auction, the energy that builds as the auction progresses. You can learn a lot by reading the better auction catalogs and then investigating deeper the items that catch your interest. The worst financial mistake I ever made was at an auction. I purchased a Salvidor Dali etching that turned out to be a forgery. I have also done very well in auctions, once getting an old oak china cabinet for $30.00.

So, what do auctions have to do with a gun blog?

James D. Julia inc's fall firearm auction grossed over $8.3 million dollars. I, sadly, was not there.

Some .45's from the auction:

First is a pistol that was presented to Governor E. Lee Trinkle of Virginia by Governor John H. Trumbull of Connecticut. It is a beautifully engraved blued pistol with ivory grips and gold seals of the State of Virginia on one side and the State of Connecticut on the other.

Auction sale price - $55,200

Next we have a Colt Government Model Commercial 1911 that was manufactured in 1918 during WW1. Very few commercial firearms were manufactured during the war as most production went to the military.

Clicking on any of the images will bring you to group photos of the firearm. This 89 year old firearm is a thing of beauty. The wood checkering on the grips is in excellent condition as is the bluing. John Browning's design of almost 100 years ago is as effective today as it was then.

Auction sale price - $10,637.50

Our next examples are a matched pair of engraved and gold inlaid Colt Combat Commanders with ivory grips. Description from the auction catalog:

This fabulous consecutive numbered pair of pistols was made for Timoor Daghistani, a Colonel in Jordanian Army Tank Corps & brother-in-law of His Majesty, King Hussein of Jordan. These pistols were sent “in the white” to renowned historian & author, R.L. Wilson with the request that they be embellished by Alvin White for then Major Daghistani. Maj. Daghistani sent pictures of two tanks that he wished to have commemorated on his pistols, one being the M60A1 Abrams on #1 and the other, the venerable M48, on #2. These pistols were then embellished nearly identically with Mr. White’s readily identifiable style of extensive coverage foliate arabesque patterns with a flower blossom at back of each ejection port and another flower blossom on left side of the slide of #1. Both tanks are on left side of their respective slides in deep relief gold in fantastic detail. Towards rear of slide, on same side, are Col. Daghistani initials in flush gold script, “TDG”. Right side of slides have “COLT’S COMBAT COMMANDER MODEL” in flush gold and the serial number on frames are also in flush gold. They have identical checkered ivory grips with the Rampant Colt in deep relief in center on each side.

The sale price was not listed for this very fine pair of Colts.

There were almost 1900 items up for sale at this auction. Reading through the catalogs is a step through history and a learning experience.

Keep and Bear Arms alerted me to this auction.