Winston Churchill’s 7.65 mm 1913 Webley & Scott self-loading pistol will be going up for auction on Dec. 2.
It is unknown when exactly Churchill might have used the pistol, but the British prime minister owned various firearms during World War II, and the pistol was part of his personal collection.
The pistol will be sold at the Bonhams auction house in Knightsbridge, London in early December. The auction house estimates that the firearm could sell for $3,000 to $4,000. They note that Churchill was the subject of about 20 failed assassination attempts during World War II, “including a bizarre exploding chocolate bar.”
The pistol is missing its magazine, and was signed by Churchill’s grandson, Winston Spencer-Churchill. As well as the signature and two letters certifying its providence, it comes with a 2015 letter of certification from the Kent Police.
Churchill’s collection of guns also included a presentation Sten Mk III sub-machine gun.
Scotland Yard used .32 Webley & Scott pistols for close protection details in 1911. Churchill’s most famous bodyguard, Walter J. Thompson, also carried one during his 18 years of service with the prime minister.
A painting by Winston Churchill sold for $2.8 million at an auction at Sotheby’s last year, a record for work by Churchill, who was an amateur painter.
(Via CNN.)
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