The gun that killed outlaw Jesse James brought $167,000 at auction in Britain Wednesday - almost twice as much as expected.
A postal bid from an American identified only as McGee won the gleaming .44-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver that belonged to Bob Ford, a young gunslinger who shot James at St. Joseph, Mo., on April 3, 1882.The Wallis and Wallis auction house in Lewes, southern England, had expected the gun to bring around $100,000. The auctioneers said they had no further details on the buyer.
An anonymous American put the gun up for sale. Roy Butler, owner of the auction house, had hoped it would end up in the museum in Clay County, Mo., where the outlaw was born.
Ford, who had been a friend of James, was eating breakfast at James' house when he gunned down his host and gained a place in Wild West folklore.