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 Technology News | November 2007 
Pancho Villa's Guns Up for Auction
 Zeke MacCormack - San Antonio Express-News
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| | Pancho Villa, the infamous outlaw and revolutionary known for his fondness of large guns. |
Fredericksburg, TX — Guns reportedly brandished by Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa headline this weekend's auction of more than 800 collectibles that range from historic to odd.
A mounted walrus skull, a 19th-century French cavalry helmet and an autographed photo of former Vice President Dan Quayle are among the merchandise slated for sale Saturday and Sunday at the Fredericksburg Event Center.
"This is a pretty eclectic collection," said sale organizer Tom Burks, gesturing at the knives, western art, jade carvings and other items strewn over 25 tables at the facility on FM 2093.
He estimated prices will range from $100 to $100,000 as auctioneer Randall Hill drops the gavel on bids made in person and online at FrontierTimesWesternAuctions.com.
Commanding top dollar likely will be what promoters call "extremely rare antique firearms formerly belonging to Villa."
"These are some of the most historically important guns that exist," said Burks, a former curator at the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco.
He said an 1875 single-action Remington pistol engraved with "Doreteo Arango," the given name of Villa, sold for about $60,000 a decade ago.
"Any historically related guns these days have just gone through the roof," he said.
Also on the block Saturday is a German-made Mauser rifle that Villa dropped around 1914 during a border skirmish with Mexican forces, according an accompanying affidavit.
"In his haste to cross the Rio Grande, Pancho Villa dropped the rifle in the river," Ruth Jane Croy, its former owner, said in a sworn statement written in 1977, when she was 74.
Also among the roughly 100 guns is a "pocket pistol" said to belong to Martha "Calamity Jane" Cannary and an 1881 Colt revolver of Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Madsen, Burks said.
Other historic items slated for sale include an 1885 Indian peace medal featuring the likeness of President Cleveland and what are called 400-year-old Cherokee pipes.
Burks said sale items — which can be viewed on the Web site — came from 10 private collectors.
Burks said he has no question about the authenticity of the guns, which have all previously sold as billed.
"These guns have been owned by some of the most knowledgeable collectors in the world," he said. "I'm satisfied, but there's no ironclad guarantee of anything."
As cameras were set up and Internet links checked, auctioneer Hill admitted being nervous about his online auction debut.
"My concern is just making it work since this is the first time," said Hill, who expects to average a sale a minute once the bidding starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Bidders can look at the merchandise starting at 8 a.m.
Beyond the saddles, spurs and other western gear are niche collectibles such as a Nazi helmet, a 2-foot penis bone from a walrus and a framed New York Times front page with the headline "Clinton Impeached."
J.D. Adams, who built the 25,000-square-foot facility, which opened in March, also hopes to sell some of the restored cars he has on display there.
Confessing that he's "always been intrigued by auctions," Adams said he might do some bidding. "Some of those guns are real sharp," he said.
zeke@express-news.net |
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