A revolver belonging to notorious Chicago gangster Al 'Scarface' Capone has sold for £67,250 at auction.

The six-shot, double action weapon was made in May 1929, just months after the iconic American mobster ordered the murder of seven of his rivals in the infamous St Valentine's Day Massacre.

The nickel-plated Colt .38, which was sold at Christie's auction house in London by a private collector, came with a letter signed by Capone's sister-in-law confirming its authenticity.


A piece of history:The nickel-plated, six-shoot weapon belonging to infamous mobster Capone, left, sold for £76,250

Born in New York, Capone dominated the Chicago underworld during prohibition until his 1931 arrest for tax evasion.

He was once king of the Chicago rackets and is thought to have personally killed many rivals and ordered the deaths of others.

 

Christie's spokesman Leonie Ashfield said earlier this month when the aution was revealed: 'We've had film memorabilia but nothing related to the actual Al Capone that's coming up on my computer in the last 10 years.'

Although it is not known if the weapon was used by Capone in any of his numerous killings, it is the first item of his to be auctioned by Christie's in over a decade.


Public enemy: Al Capone's mugshot, complete with three-piece, shirt and tie

Capone was a Prohibition-era gangster who ruled a multi-million dollar empire of illegal booze, gambling and prostitution in the 1920s.

After his arrest in 1931 for tax evasion, Capone served seven years and six months in federal prison, which included a stay at Alcatraz.

He was paroled in November 1939 but by that time, he reportedly suffered badly from paresis brought on by syphilis.

He went into seclusion at an estate near Miami, Florida, where he died of a stroke and pneumonia in January 1947.

Since Capone's death, many of his belongings have made their way into auction houses.

A bullet-proof 1928 Cadillac that Capone owned sold at auction for $37,000 (£23,000) in 1971.

According to the November 21, 1971, issue of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal, the winning bid was roughly $8,000 more than the price paid for President John F. Kennedy's 1963 Lincoln Continental sedan.

In 1982, a rare signed photo of Capone sold at auction for $4,250 (£2,600).

The previous high price for a 20th century photograph at that time was a signed picture of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon, which went for $3,200 (£1,985).

Posted in: 250 at auction.,A revolver belonging to notorious Chicago gangster Al 'Scarface' Capone has sold for £67