Those are priceless and should never be sold.

Looks like I need to win powerball between now and the auction.

WhoopRAB said:

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Earle died in 2019 at the age of 86 and the Earle family has since decided to sell the collection.

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Every time I read something like this I take it as "the family couldn't agree on splitting things up so the only option is sell and no one gets any of it". Not saying that's the case, but it usually is.

That's a badass collection I'd do anything to keep in the family.

"Best Dollar Eighty I Ever Spent!"

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27262/lot/9/?category=list&length=12&page=1

I just joined this site to set the record straight regarding the sale of the Early West Gun Collection.
Jim Earle was my BIL. I knew of Jim Earle before he ever met my sister, because as a young teenager I had purchased his Cadet Slouch cartoon books from the MSC. I remember when James H Earle met my sister in Abilene. Jim was stationed at Dyess AFB.
Jim's two daughters, my nieces, are doing exactly what Jim instructed them to do before he died. JHE even prepared a notebook with detailed instructions on the best strategy to dispose of the collection. Liz and Susan are not fighting as some of you suggest. They are totally aligned.
Above all, Jim and Theresa were astute business people. They had to be to amass a collection like they did on his salary as a college professor. Jim and Theresa loved the chase and loved studying the history of each gun, but they both knew that the day would come when it was time to sell the collection.
I visited Jim and Thresa often, as I have been a football season ticket holder since 1975, when I left active duty from the US Navy. I was worried that the girls, as I call them, would overlook something valuable and throw it away. They both know all the details about Jim and Theresa's collection, which numbers some 2500 items. Jim also collected sports and boxing memorabilia, e.g., a belt awarded to Rocky Marciano and a bronze shoe worn by Babe Ruth, when Ruth played for the Boston Red Sox.
Susan is married to Jim Palmer, the HOF pitcher. Susan was a successful entrepreneur in her own right. Liz helped my BIL and Theresa, my sister, in managing their businesses. They are not money grubbers
You have no idea as to the stress of what these two women have gone through in the last two and one-half years. All auction houses are not created equal. Surprise, there are people out there who think they can cut a fast deal, because they think they are dealing with two hicks from College Station, Texas, who speak with a drawl.
Years ago, I was at a gun show with Jim and Theresa when we met another well-regarded collector. We discussed loaning the collection to a museum, and the other collector postulated that the collection would wind up in the basement. Museum curators are not into gun collections.
I would add that Susan and Liz are not going to tell any of you how to deal with your parents' estate, when that time comes, unfortunately, for all of us.
So, in conclusion, I would advise all Aggies to give it a rest. My nieces are doing a great job and I could not be prouder of them.