Within the most expensive guns ever sold are the US President’s guns. Guns than actually carry a lot of historical value.

But a gun’s historical significance is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. Even without seeing any action, some guns represent something significant through their adoption by important historical figures for security, status or image. In some cases, those significant people stared down the barrel. When a gun is ascertained to be incredibly historically valuable, it can sell for hundreds of thousands – and even millions – of dollars.

The following guns have commanded record auction prices for their collectible value.

 

Teddy Roosevelt’s Double-Barreled Shotgun

Theodore Roosevelt a totally hunting fanatic, embarked on a year-long Smithsonian African expedition in March 1909 — the very same month he left the White House. In about thirteen months, Teddy’s party killed and trapped an estimated 11,400 animals ranging from insects to elephants, including six rare white rhinos, for preservation in American Museums.

Roosevelt’s epic excursion was all about killing rare species in the name of science and history – deplorable as that may be – and the shotgun pictured above was part of this mission. The Fox Gun Company made the gun especially for Roosevelt’s safari as he ended his presidential term.

 

George Washington’s Saddle Pistols

Not to be outdone by South American revolutionary war pistols, these United States of America revolutionary war pistols went to the Richard King Mellon Foundation in 2002 for just shy of $2 million at Christie’s.

After arming George Washington throughout America’s war for independence, these twin firearms eventually landed in the hands of seventh US president Andrew Jackson.

 

Lincoln’s Killer

Although it was not a US President’s gun, It was the gun that Killed President’s Lincoln and has not an estimated price, it is priceless. Actually the only price ever paid for this item was around $25 in the mid-1800s, by John Wilkes Booth. This tiny 6-inch derringer sitting in a display case at Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site.

One shot was all Booth had to end Abraham Lincoln’s life when he snuck into the President’s theater box on April 14, 1865. Though once allegedly stolen and replaced with a fake, the FBI re-authenticated it in 1997.