Was this the jacket General George Custer was wearing when he was shot and killed at the battle of Little Bighorn in 1876?
No-one is sure for certain, but the story is certainly a fascinating one. And the jacket in question is coming to auction as part of Rock Island Auction Company's Premiere Firearms Auction on September 15, with a $300,000 high estimate.
The elk skin jacket sports the floral designs of many North American tribes - possibly a sign that Custer captured the jacket during a previous battle. It also features two bullet holes: in the chest and the right sleeve - corresponding to where Custer was shot. Both feature blood staining.
 If you’re willing to believe the story, $300,000 is a bargain price |
The lot comes with a 1958 letter from one John Dietzen:
"My father brought the coat back from the West when he returned in 1880. He told my mother, and the story was repeated to me in later years, that he had won the coat in a shooting match from a friendly Indian. The Indian was one of those employed by the U.S. Army for Scout work. He told my father that the coat had been taken by Sitting Bull from General Custer who was wearing it at the time he was killed," it reads.
Custer was well-known for wearing buckskin jackets, but whether he was wearing one on the day of his Last Stand is up for debate.
What is known is that John Dietzen's father, Joseph, was certainly in service with the US army in 1876.
The auction house is laudably candid in its appraisal of the jacket's authenticity.
"This jacket is not only of the period and style, but is accompanied by enough evidence to certainly be plausible. Since we cannot say for certain, we want to simply present the facts, and let buyers make up their own mind," commented Laurence Thomson, Rock Island Auction Company's executive director of operations.
Dietzen sold the jacket to the owner of Ohio's Indian Ridge Museum in 1959. There it stayed until 1995, when it was sold to the consignor.
If guaranteed genuine, we would expect the jacket to achieve far more than its $300,000 valuation, based on past auction results - such is the fascination with Custer and his infamous end at the hands of the Native Americans.
The US flag flown at Little Bighorn sold for $2.2m at Sotheby's in 2010, while a bib shirt he wore during 1873 made $56,762 earlier this year at Heritage Auctions.
We have hair from Native American leader Geronimo in stock.
We will bring you a preview of the firearms from the auction tomorrow.
