Ulysses S. Grant revolvers bring $5.17 million at Rock Island Auction

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Rock Island Auction Company (RIAC) has announced its May Premier Auction achieved $28.2 million in total sales, with a pair of Ulysses S. Grant Remington revolvers selling for $5.17 million on the opening day of the three-day auction on May 13-15.

The May Premier Auction was the second-largest auction in the history of the company, a news release says. The Remington revolvers, numbered 1 and 2, were previously owned by Civil War general and 18^th President Ulysses S. Grant.

The sale of the revolvers shattered the auction house’s previous record, which was the sale of a garniture of six arms presented to Napoleon Bonaparte at $2.875 million in December 2021, the release says.

The auction also included arms from well-known figures such as Wild Bill Hickok, Frank Sinatra, J. Edgar Hoover, and a Colt Single Action Army revolver documented as a battlefield pickup at the Little Bighorn.

Other highlighted pieces from the auction include:

• Wilbur Glahn engraved and gold inlaid Colt Single Action Army
  • Pre-auction estimated price: $170,000 – $250,000
  • Price realized: $411,250
• Confederate Dance and Brothers Revolver
  • Pre-auction estimated price: $95,000 – $160,000
  • Price realized: $199,750