--- description: A golden gun that belonged to Nazi Hermann Göring is going up for auction. title: A Golden Gun That Belonged to a Top Nazi Is Going Up for Auction image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefdfb61750c81398/6988a16aa988ca147b6b8fde/gettyimages-535787367.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Golden Gun That Belonged to a Top Nazi Is Going Up for Auction by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2016 10:03 PM CUT  Hermann Goering, Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, inspecting Austrian troops, March 1938, Germany. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images) Hermann Goering, Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, inspecting Austrian troops, March 1938, Germany. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)Photo 12—UIG via Getty Images by [Rosalie Chan](/author/rosalie-chan/) ## Rosalie Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 5, 2016 10:03 PM CUT A golden gun that belonged to Nazi [Hermann Göring](http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19330821,00.html?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") is going up for auction. The Rock Island Auction Company in Illinois is putting the gold-plated Walther PPK, a semiautomatic pistol, up for bid in September. It has an estimated price of $250,000 to $400,000, [CNN reports](http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/05/news/goring-gun-auction/?sr=twmoney080516hln,goring-gun-auction0935PMN/AN/A&linkId=27336786 "undefined"). The gun was made in 1939 and has Göring’s initials in gold letters, as well as his family crest of a fist holding a ring. Göring was [Adolf Hitler](http://time.com/4432857/hitler-hosted-olympics-1936/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined")‘s right hand man. He was an ace fighter pilot for Germany during World War I and became one of the most powerful Nazi leaders in World War II. He oversaw Luftwaffe, the German air force, which bombed London during the Blitz, as well as other European cities. He was infamous for looting the treasures of Jewish people during the Holocaust. At the [Nuremberg trials](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/27/time-turns-90-all-you-need-to-know-about-modern-history-in-90-cover-stories/slide/1945-the-nuremberg-trials/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined"), Göring was convicted of war crimes and received a death penalty, but he committed suicide first. \[[_CNN_](http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/05/news/goring-gun-auction/?sr=twmoney080516hln,goring-gun-auction0935PMN/AN/A&linkId=27336786 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4441711/nazi-golden-gun-auction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4441711/nazi-golden-gun-auction/"},"headline":"A Golden Gun That Belonged to a Top Nazi Is Going Up for Auction","datePublished":"2016-08-05T22:03:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:48:51.802Z","description":"It belonged to Hitler's right hand man","url":"https://time.com/4441711/nazi-golden-gun-auction/","keywords":["Money","conflict","World War II","Guns","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefdfb61750c81398/6988a16aa988ca147b6b8fde/gettyimages-535787367.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rosalie Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rosalie-chan/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefdfb61750c81398/6988a16aa988ca147b6b8fde/gettyimages-535787367.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hermann Goering, Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, inspecting Austrian troops","caption":"Hermann Goering, Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, inspecting Austrian troops","creditText":"Photo 12—UIG via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4441711/nazi-golden-gun-auction/","name":"A Golden Gun That Belonged to a Top Nazi Is Going Up for Auction"}}]}] ```