A while back we covered the auctioning of Al Capone and Sonny Capone’s collection of firearms and memorabilia. That auction has now concluded and in an unsurprising turn of events, the entire collection sold for millions. Most notably, Al Capone’s Colt 1911 pistol which he lovingly called “sweetheart” sold for far more than its expected $150,000 estimated auction price and instead sold for $1.04 million. Sweetheart was purportedly Al Capone’s favorite gun.

More Famous Gun’s @ TFB:

• Al Capone’s Favorite 1911 and Other Personal Items Head to Auction
• Colt with Likely Pancho Villa Link Discovered by Gunsmith
• Ted Nugent Auctions off Guns, Bows, Knives, Ammunition, and More
• Cody Firearms Museum Auctions Off One-of-a-kind New Original Henry Rifle

Another Capone artifact – a Colt 380 Auto pistol sold for nearly double its expected price ($242,000)

Al Capone’s “Sweetheart” Colt 1911 Sells for 1.04 Million

Much of the Capone family heirlooms were expected to only sell for several hundred thousand but much to the surprise of everyone including the auction house (Witherell’s), the pistols along with several other items including a personal letter from Capone to his son sold for millions with the total collection fetching $3.1 million.

Among the other items sold were another one of Al Capone’s firearms (a Colt Model 1908 .380 ACP), several family photos, jewelry, watches, and even a platinum and diamond pocket knife monogrammed with Al’s name on it. Most of the Jewelry sold was personalized for the Capone family and either featured Al’s first name or his initials and were all emblazoned with diamonds. While the Jewelry sold for tens of thousands, the firearms sold for hundreds of thousands or millions.

This platinum and diamond pocket knife sold for $78,650

Some criticism has been leveled against Capone’s granddaughters with critics saying that they are profiting off of “blood money.” Some believe that firearms, letters, and jewelry should instead be donated to a museum. It is worth noting that there is a dedicated Gangster Museum in Hot Springs, Arkansas that features a lot of Capone memorabilia. However, since the auction has concluded, the items are now in the hands of private collectors and I’m sure they will be preserved for years to come as items of great historical value from the American prohibition era.

Despite his infamous status, Capone’s handwriting is still better than mine. (the personal letter sold at auction for $56,700) It is worth noting that Capone wrote this letter to Sonny while he was imprisoned in Alcatraz.