The Winchester Rifle that Won the West

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

A few months ago, I was discussing in this group the "Colt that won the West." It was a six shots handgun patented in 1871 and 1872. Today I introduce the model 1873 Winchester rifle, known by connoisseurs and Wikipedia as "the gun that won the West." Of course, the two objects are not comparable, but this coincidence is fun. The enormous success of the Winchester also strengthens the comparison with Colt.

In 1875 Winchester produced a DeLuxe series of model 1873, called "1 of 1000". 136 copies have been documented.

On September 12, a model 1873 1 of 1000 released out of factory in 1875 is expected at 350 K$ by Rock Island Auctions (RIA) with a high estimate of 650 K $. This copy is in excellent condition. Even the blue finish is intact at more than 95%. The sale venue is in Moline, Illinois.

I searched on the web the meaning of 1 of 1000. I suppose that Winchester wanted to express that this model was close to the top of the range. Option 1 of 100 of model 1876 is more scarce than the 1 of 1000.

The first copy of 1 of 1000 model 1876 nearly reached 500 K$ premium included at the same auction house in September 2008. 1876 was prestigious for the Americans as the Centennial year of Independence.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The Winchester rifle was sold $ 425 K including 15% buyers premium. My calculator tells me that this corresponds to $ 370 K hammer price. Although this result is just above the low estimate, I think it is very good.