Dueling Pistols

On the morning of July 11, 1804, at the Heights of Weehawken in New Jersey, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury General Alexander Hamilton was fatally wounded in a pistol duel with U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr. It was neither the first nor the last such tragedy. Dueling pistols were once the preferred method for resolving conflicts and affairs of honor by men of supreme courage and foolishness.

Beautifully hand-crafted and handsomely stored away in custom-designed cases for moments of extreme decision, the first dueling pistols appeared in the 1760s with flintlock mechanisms. Today, 18th and 19th century pistols for dueling are considered to be some of the finest examples of firearms from the period. Marked by superb craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail, antique dueling pistols seduce buyers with a combination of exceptional quality and romantic history that is difficult to match.

The ultimate symbols of honor, few antique pieces are the source of as much fascination and intrigue as these specialized handguns. Dueling pistols are collected passionately by firearms enthusiasts and history buffs.

Quick Facts

• The pistols used in the Hamilton and Burr duel are currently displayed on the client dining floor at the New York City headquarters of JPMorgan Chase, the successor of Burr's Manhattan Company bank
• The .58-caliber pistols used in California's last public gun duel, a 1859 shootout between State Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry and U.S. Senator David C. Broderick, sold at a 1998 Butterfield & Butterfield auction for $34,500
• In 2004 at Christie's, a pair of French dueling pistols owned by Simon Bolivar, the military and political leader who helped liberate much of South America from Spanish rule, sold for a jaw-dropping $1.76 million