Bonnie & Clyde's guns show 'crime pays' for $210,000 in Kansas auction

The historic guns of legendary outlaws Bonnie & Clyde have gone under the hammer in Kansas

As we said ahead of the auction, memorabilia of outlaws and famous criminals can be a huge draw for collectors and so it has proved once more with the sale of two guns belonging to Bonnie & Clyde.

Historic firearms believed to have belonged to and been used by outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were sold at an auction. A 45 Caliber fully automatic Thompson Sub-machine Gun and a Winchester 12 Gauge Model 1897 to be precise.

The weapons were seized after a raid on the pair in Joplin, Missouri in April of 1933, handed to a friend of one of the raiding officers, and kept in the family since then.

The raid occurred at the height of the duo's crime rampage that cut a wide swath across Middle American during the Great Depression. The raid did not produce any arrests as the two had a knack for being one step ahead of law enforcement, but it did yield a cache of weapons, plus a camera.

Bonnie and Clyde's Thompson Sub-machine 'Tommy' Gun

When the film was developed, there were some of the iconic pictures of the couple with some of their guns.

Although pre-auction estimates had listed the weapons at close to the $35,000 mark, the Winchester brought $80,000 and the Tommy gun $130,000.

Bonnie & Clyde's fame was ensured by a Hollywood film about the pair starring Warren Beatty, (which greatly romanticised them) and another film about the pair is about to start filming.

Following on from the recent Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, there seems to be every reason to think the fascination with iconic criminals and their memorabilia will continue.

Recent and related articles

· The Story of... Collectors and villains in the world of 'crime collectibles' | 26 October 2011

· Why not take on some money from the mob? It's all in a good cause... | 22 August 2011

· A fight to the finish as Jesse James signed photo sells for $51,240 | 11 April 2011

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Images: Mayo Auctions