Morphy's Blockbuster $10M Firearms Auction Topped by $492,000 Musket That Fired First Shot at Battle of Bunker Hill

Intense bidding drove many rare, historically important guns to prices well beyond pre-sale expectations

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Nov 11, 2019, 09:10 ET

DENVER, Pa., Nov. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 23, Morphy Auctions sold the widely acclaimed gun that fired the first shot at the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill for $492,000. The company's Extraordinary Firearms Auction held over two days, October 22-23, 2019, attracted worldwide media interest and grossed more than $10 million.

Historically significant, fully documented Dutch .79 smoothbore Type III flintlock musket and bayonet of Private John Simpson, who fired the first shot at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Unbroken line of family provenance since 1775. Sold for $492,000 against a pre-sale estimate of $100,000-$300,000

Relief gold-inlaid and engraved percussion shotgun by Keozi & Jahchimek of Warsaw and Krakow, circa 1850, presented in its original highly embellished rosewood case with accessories. Sold for $270,000 against an estimate of $90,000-$120,000

The auction headliner, a .79-caliber Dutch flintlock musket that originally belonged to Private John Simpson of Deerfield, New Hampshire, had passed by descent through subsequent generations of the patriot's family for 244 years. It came to Morphy's with impeccable provenance and a voluminous archive of supportive documentation.

"The gun is an icon of the American Revolutionary War," said Dan Morphy, founder and president of Morphy Auctions. "At the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel William Prescott instructed his troops not to shoot at the Redcoats until they could see the whites of their eyes, but in his excitement, Simpson preemptively fired off the battle's first shot. He was only lightly reprimanded for disobeying orders and later rose to the rank of major. His musket remained a treasured family heirloom until the day of our auction."

The buyer of the gun, an individual who wishes to remain anonymous, has arranged for it to be publicly displayed at the National Museum of Military Vehicles, which is currently under construction in Dubois, Wyoming. The $100 million, 140,000-square-foot museum will open in May 2020 to serve as the permanent home for 150 historic war vehicles and a $10 million historic weapons collection that includes a rifle fired at Custer's Last Stand and a pistol used by General John J Pershing in World War I.

The Bunker Hill gun sold for nearly $200,000 more than its high estimate. Its price reflected a pattern seen throughout the auction, in which rare and historically important firearms met or exceeded expectations. For example, a circa-1850 relief gold-inlaid and engraved percussion shotgun made by Keozi & Jahchimek of Warsaw and Krakow, presented in its original rosewood case with accessories, sold for $270,000 against an estimate of $90,000-$120,000.

A handgun of the Old West, a Colt 1847 Walker A Company No. 181 percussion revolver – one of only 1,000 made to arm mounted troops for the war in Mexico – came to auction with an $80,000-$120,000 estimate. Authenticated by the Texas Gun Collectors Association, it attracted very strong interest and was bid to $153,750.

Antique machine guns, whose resale is strictly controlled and requires BATF approval prior to transfer, continue to achieve top prices at auction as "curios and relics." One of the finest examples in Morphy's sale, a World War II German 9mm Erma dual-magazine-housing MP40/II machine gun with Erma, Krupp and numerous Nazi proofs sold above its estimate range for $102,000. A Marlin-manufactured and Numrich Arms Company-registered M2 submachine gun, the US military successor to M2A2 Thompson Marlin, rose to $52,275 while a British Vickers Model 1912 .303-caliber machine gun made for the El Salvador government, accompanied by its rare original commercial tripod, made $47,970

Other noteworthy lots included a 1950 J. Purdey & Sons (London) .410 bore game shotgun, 28in barrel, with original case with accessories, $51,660; and an extremely fine .41 rocket ball caliber Navy-size pistol marked THE VOLCANIC REPEATING ARMS CO. PATENT NEW HAVEN CONN. FEB. 14, 1854, $35,670.

To discuss consigning to a future firearms auction at Morphy's, call 877-968-8880 or email [email protected]. Online: www.morphyauctions.com.

Media Contact:

Sarah Stoltzfus, tel. 877-968-8880, [email protected]

SOURCE Morphy Auctions