The revolver used by Jack Ruby to kill Oswald in 1963, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy will be put up for auction next month in Las Vegas. Along with other pop culture items, collected over the past 25 years by South Florida property developer Anthony Pugliese.

Arlan Ettinger, president of New York-based auction house Guernsey’s, said the collection of 850 lots could fetch more than $5 million when it goes under the hammer at The Palms Resort and Casino on March 15 and 16.

“This collection is as good as it gets,” said Ettinger, with “The Maltese Falcon” resin statuette sitting on his desk alongside the gun used to kill Kennedy’s assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and the “Braveheart” sword from the Oscar-winning film.

“Most collections have one or two great things and then things trail off from there,” he said. “This collection, there would have to be 100 items here, any one of which would be a star attraction anywhere else.”

other items in the auction, include the Wicked Witch of the West’s hat from “The Wizard of Oz,” the jacket worn by Beatle John Lennon in the “Imagine” video, the wedding dress worn by pop star Madonna in her “Like a Virgin” video, a “Superman” costume worn by Christopher Reeve, a Federal Bureau of Investigation badge that belonged to the bureau’s founder J. Edgar Hoover, a wig worn by Elizabeth Taylor for “Cleopatra,” and the leather jacket worn by actor Brandon Lee when he was accidentally shot and killed while filming “The Crow.”

More info www.guernseys.com

Posted: 02|29|08 at 11:02 am. Filed under: US News.