While Frank Sinatra was crooning his megahits like “My Way,” “New York, New York,” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in Las Vegas upon returning from retirement in the 1970s, he may just have had this beautiful Smith & Wesson revolver under his waistband.
It’s the latest artifactual arm on offer from Rock Island Auction Company, and one of nearly 2,000 lots featured in the elite weapons seller’s upcoming December auction in Bedford, Texas. Not only is this a Sinatra-owned piece, but arguably the world’s most famous revolver. It’s officially called the Smith & Wesson Model 29, but most know it colloquially by its caliber: the .44 magnum, as made famous by Clint Eastwood in 1971’s Dirty Harry.
As indicated by a notarized letter from Henry “Hank” Cattaneo, who was co-producer of Sinatra’s final three albums, the weapon was presented to Sinatra in its included hardwood case on March 12, 1976, by the “gang from Harrah’s,” one of the many casinos Sinatra played amid his comeback in the 1970s.
The included factory letter lists a 6.5-inch barrel and a covetable spec that included a blue finish, tigerwood target grips featuring “S&W” monogram medallions, a target hammer, and target trigger. But the most eye-catching elements were fashioned by master engraver Alvin A. White, who gold-inlaid Sinatra’s initials on the right side of the frame and a carved a fanciful scrolling pattern that covers the majority of the metal, from the end of the barrel to the back of the frame where it meets the grip.
Expect Sinatra’s Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver to fetch between $35,000 and $55,000 when the hammer falls at Rock Island Auction Company’s Bedford facility on December 6.
