Gold-Plated Yacht Guns

by | Jul 17, 2015 | RARE & UNIQUE GUNS

Gold-Plated Yacht Guns

Yachting and fine guns are not usually synonymous. A sailing sloop along Martha’s Vineyard doesn’t exactly inspire thoughts of gold-plated Colts belowdecks. The two weren’t mutually exclusive in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Those who purchased the finest in wood and canvas were also likely to buy the finest in wood and steel. 

Below are some of the guns owned by “Colonel” Edward Green. Green was the owner of the SS United States, a luxury vessel twice the size of the presidential yacht of the same time period. Green ordered ten custom guns from Colt and Winchester for his yacht, each gold- and silver-plated to match the glitz of the United States. 

He received the guns and yacht in 1917, but his enjoyment of the latter wasn’t destined to last. The United States sunk in 1919 after hitting a rock. There was nothing to do for the yacht, but the guns were rescued before the ship went completely under. The firearms are now part of the NRA’s “Theodore Roosevelt and Elegant Arms—1880s to 1920s” collection.

 

Photos courtesy of the NRA National Firearms Museum

 

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