Rock Island Auction Company Sells Elvis Presley’s S&W Model 53 Revolver
This past Saturday, August 26, 2023, RIAC sold Elvis Presley’s Historic Special Order Russell Smith Signed, Master Engraved, Gold and Silver Inlaid with the original case gifted to the King of Rock himself.
Simply known as “The King,” Presley was rock-n-roll’s first bonafide super star and to this day is one of the most important cultural icons in US history since his first number one charting song barreled through the American cultural landscape in 1956. After his death in 1977, The King was reported to own 37 firearms, among that collection was a machine gun.
Originally manufactured in 1974, this Model 53 returned to the S&W factory in 1976 to undergo its transformation into a bespoke Russell Smith masterpiece exclusively for Presley. The revolver is identified by the serial number in a 1988 letter, dated and signed, from Russell Smith. In this letter, Smith confirmed that he performed the engraving “in 1976 for a Bi-centennial Commemorative gift for Elvis Presley, factory ordered from Hiram’s of California.”
The firearm gaveled at a whopping $199,750.