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Rare Confederate revolver goes to auction block (Subscription site?)
Confederate revolver made in Augusta to be auctioned this weekend
One of the most coveted Confederate collectibles - a pistol made in Augusta 144 years ago - will change hands this weekend at a Delaware auction.
A .36-caliber Rigdon & Ansley revolver will be sold at auction this weekend in Herrington, Del. Made in Augusta in 1863, the pistol is estimated to be worth between $27,000 and $32,500.
"It's one of the top 10 of this sale," said sales manager Kevin Thawley, of Reagan Auctions, which is selling the .36-caliber Rigdon & Ansley revolver and other rare firearms from a private collector's estate.
The pistol was made in 1863 in a foundry that occupied the site of today's John S. Davidson Fine Arts School on the Augusta Canal. Its estimated value is $27,000 to $32,500.
According to information from the Augusta Museum of History, which bought one of the pistols in 2003, the weapon's origins date to 1861, when a cotton broker named Thomas Leech teamed up with machinist Charles Rigdon to build Confederate arms in Memphis, Tenn.
After moving from Memphis to Mississippi, the operation moved again - this time to Augusta - in late 1863, when Mr. Leech left the partnership, leaving Mr. Rigdon paired with an Augustan named Jesse Ansley.
Although Augusta was a major manufacturing center during the Civil War, its main product was gunpowder.
The Confederate Powderworks occupied two miles along the canal and produced 2.75 million pounds of gunpowder from 1861 to 1865.
Nearby, 12-pound Napoleon cannons were made at the Foundry & Machineworks that stood near present-day Dyess Park.
Auction details can be found on the company's Web site, www.reaganauctions.com. The sale will be held at Delaware State Fairgrounds in Herrington, Del.
Confederate revolver made in Augusta to be auctioned this weekend
One of the most coveted Confederate collectibles - a pistol made in Augusta 144 years ago - will change hands this weekend at a Delaware auction.
A .36-caliber Rigdon & Ansley revolver will be sold at auction this weekend in Herrington, Del. Made in Augusta in 1863, the pistol is estimated to be worth between $27,000 and $32,500.
"It's one of the top 10 of this sale," said sales manager Kevin Thawley, of Reagan Auctions, which is selling the .36-caliber Rigdon & Ansley revolver and other rare firearms from a private collector's estate.
The pistol was made in 1863 in a foundry that occupied the site of today's John S. Davidson Fine Arts School on the Augusta Canal. Its estimated value is $27,000 to $32,500.
According to information from the Augusta Museum of History, which bought one of the pistols in 2003, the weapon's origins date to 1861, when a cotton broker named Thomas Leech teamed up with machinist Charles Rigdon to build Confederate arms in Memphis, Tenn.
After moving from Memphis to Mississippi, the operation moved again - this time to Augusta - in late 1863, when Mr. Leech left the partnership, leaving Mr. Rigdon paired with an Augustan named Jesse Ansley.
Although Augusta was a major manufacturing center during the Civil War, its main product was gunpowder.
The Confederate Powderworks occupied two miles along the canal and produced 2.75 million pounds of gunpowder from 1861 to 1865.
Nearby, 12-pound Napoleon cannons were made at the Foundry & Machineworks that stood near present-day Dyess Park.
Auction details can be found on the company's Web site, www.reaganauctions.com. The sale will be held at Delaware State Fairgrounds in Herrington, Del.