Dilliger gun brings twice expected price

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DALLAS, July 26 (UPI) -- A pistol once owned by John Dillinger was sold at public auction in Dallas for more than double the pre-auction estimate, the auction gallery director said.

The winning bid was $95,600, Heritage Auction Galleries Director of Militaria Dennis Lowe said in a news release. The gun sold Saturday was the one the notorious gangster was carrying when he was arrested in Tucson, six months before he was gunned down in Chicago.

"It's a Remington .41 caliber Double Derringer that was confiscated from Dillinger when he and members of his gang were taken into custody in Tucson in January 1934," Lowe said.

It had been expected to sell for $35,000 to $45,000.

"The winning bidder is a Los Angeles area collector," said Lowe. "The consignor is a member of a prominent Tucson family who also wants to remain anonymous. He owned this historic gun for 50 years but sold it because of his declining health."