Wow, talk about inflation. Bonnie Parker's Colt Detective Special sold for $264,000 (despite ATF ruining the revolver in my opinion) and Clyde Barrow's Colt 1911 sold for $240,000 at an auction in New Hampshire over the weekend. I guess the fact that ATF placed a serial number on Bonnie's Colt revolver was of little consequence to the buyer, maybe because it could be considered the gun closest to her at the time she died in a hail of lawmen's bullets; it was found taped to her inner thigh. Clyde's 1911 was found in his waistband.
One report I read said the same buyer bought them both; it must be nice to be filthy rich. That same report said the guy who owned them, prior to this auction, supposedly bought them for $50,000 apiece back in 1986. As if going from $100K to over $500K was not inflation enough, just think of how much more these were valued today than they were when Bonnie & Clyde owned them in the early 1930's (these guns were taken from them upon their deaths in Louisiana back in May 1934). My bet is that each probably sold for less than $50 back then and almost certainly less than $75.
All the best,
Glenn B