Last updated March 2026 · By Nick Hall, firearm history writer covering gangster-era firearms and prominent auction sales

Update: The gun got pulled from the auction after bidding stalled at $885,000. So expect to see this go under the hammer again in the near future.

The Colt 45 belonging to Al Capone is expected to fetch more than $2 million when it goes up for auction on May 18th in South Carolina.

Capone’s faithful 45 ACP 1911, which he nicknamed Sweetheart, sold for $1 million at another auction in California three years ago. Now it’s set to go under the hammer once again and apparantly it has more than doubled in the price in that short time. Experts say it could go for as high as $3 million, but they expect at least two when it goes for sale with a reserve of $500,000 at Richmond Auctions.

Capone undoubtedly used many guns in his life, but Sweetheart was special. “This gun was kind of his protection and I think it saved his life on a number of occasions and so he called it his sweetheart,” his granddaughter Diane Capone told CBS News ahead of that auction. As far as she knew, her grandfather carried the pistol with him everywhere and this hefty Colt 45 ACP was the Godfather of Organized Crime’s EDC.

Mae Capone handed it down to their son, Sonny Capone, who in turn left it to his daughters Diane and Barbara Capone following his own death in 2004.

Al Capone’s granddaughters initially put the pistol up for auction in 2021 and this is the second chance for Capone fans to get hold of the blued 45. It’s an almighty price, but then this is a piece of American history.