Rock Island Auction was giving the “Millikin Dragoon” some last-minute publicity at this year’s NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits.
Want to own a piece of history and make history at the same time? On Friday, you can. (If you have a couple million bucks lying around).
The bidding for a legendary Colt Dragoon could reach $2,000,000 at Rock Island Auction’s Premium Auction beginning May 3, breaking the previous $1,840,000 record held by a Colt Civilian Walker Revolver.
Known as the “Millikin Dragoon,” noted Colt historian R.L. Wilson called the firearm “one of the classics of Colt collecting,” and Rock Island bills it as a “one-gun tour de force which transcends fine arms collecting.”
Historical pedigree, ownership pedigree, artistic merit and condition combine to make the Millikin Dragoon the crown jewel of whoever wins the long-anticipated auction.
Manufactured in 1857, the revolver is best known for Gustave Young’s elaborate floral scrollwork engraving. The size of the revolver gave Young a huge canvas on which to work, and he showcased his talent by etching an eagle, dog, and wolf head among the scrolls. He also included a Ranger and Indian scene on the cylinder, and the inscription reads “Colonel P.M. Milliken.”
The revolver originally belonged to a Union Army officer named Col. John Minor Millikin, who was cited for gallantry by General Rosecrans after his regiment refused to surrender to Confederate cavalry. The fight devolved into hand-to-hand combat and Millikin was shot through the neck by a rebel private.
His friend and New York Times editor Whitlaw Reid wrote of Millikin, “In the fire of our great struggle his true character shone out; and in the halo from Stone River that now surrounds the name, none, even of his enemies, fail to do tender justice to his worth, or to cherish as a sacred possession the memory of Minor Millikin.”
Minor passed down his revolver to his son, Paul Minor, who also had a distinguished military career serving in the Spanish American War and World War I.
In the years since, the firearm has been owned and preserved by many noted collectors, including Al Cali, John S. duMont, and Larry Shrerin.
Also of note in next week’s auction is a Colt Single Action Arm Revolver known as the “Covey Gun.”
The rare engraved first-generation Colt SAA was owned and carried by Claude C. Covey of the U.S. Indian Service.
As an agent in the Indian Service, Covey pursued and implemented general welfare policies such as infrastructure projects, improving conditions for raising livestock and farming, and the introduction and expansion of educational programs.
Documents included with the gun demonstrate, according to Rock Island, “a genuine concern for the well-being of the Rosebud Sioux and his belief that their interests matter.”
The Covey gun is estimated to sell for between $190,000 and $275,000. Visit RockIsandAuction.com to learn more about these cool revolvers and the hundreds of other highly collectible firearms being offered at this weekend’s premium auction.
Rock Island Auction proudly displayed the Covey Gun at this year’s NRA Meetings and Annual Exhibits.
The wife said “NO !!!” ……. I don’t think I can talk her out of this one …….
Wow!! I hope my income tax return gets here before the bidding starts.