ROY ROGERS' SILVER-DOLLAR STUDDED CAR

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V13 2010 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 13, Number 29, July 18, 2010, Article 19

Inspired by our discussion of Buffalo Bill show show-thru coins, Larry Saryan writes:

Here is more on cowboys (and cowgirls) and coins: Roy Roger's car studded with silver dollars.

After sitting stuffed and mounted for more than 40 years in a museum, Roy Rogers' horse Trigger and dog Bullet will be TV stars once more. Rural cable network RFD-TV bought Bullet for $35,000 on Thursday and Trigger for $266,000 a day earlier at an auction in New York City.

RFD-TV owner Patrick Gottsch said the Omaha, Neb.-based network will begin airing old Roy Rogers movies on Saturdays starting November 6. The movie cowboy's son, Roy Jr., will introduce each film, as Trigger and Bullet stand in the background.

"The goal is to introduce Roy Rogers to a whole new generation of kids," Gottsch said.

Trigger and Bullet were part of a Christie's auction of items from the now-closed Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Mo.

On Thursday, more than 1,000 items hit the auction block, including the Rogers family dining set, which sold at $11,875, triple the presale estimate; Trigger's flower-bedecked straw hat, which fetched $2,750, compared with the $500 to $1,000 estimate; and the hand-drawn music and lyrics to "Happy Trails," which sold for $27,500, compared with the estimate of $500.

Elkies, the auctioneer, said it was the "most colorful, emotional and sentimental" sale she had experienced in her 20 years at Christie's. At the end of the auction, the audience broke out spontaneously in a rendition of the Roy Rogers theme song "Happy Trails."

Roy Rogers bonneville Beginning with a stock 1964 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible, Nudie removed all traces of the original interior material and carpeting, replacing it with exquisitely hand-tooled leather. Then came the application of hundreds of genuine collectible silver dollars, along with chrome-plated pistols, horseshoes, miniature horses and rifles...

Nudie worked out the mechanics of six-shooters to the point where the pull of a trigger on the gear shift works the gears, other pistols open the doors and two more pistols on chrome stands replace the front seat arm rest. Still another pistol sounds the horn and two more open the doors from the outside.

Two derringers are also employed replacing the emergency brake release and the other works the directional lights. In all, Nudie has used 14 guns in Roy's western car...Natural-stocked rifles are mounted on the rear of the car, one on each fender and one mounted on the trunk lid... the trunk of the car is emblazoned with the name ROY ROGERS.

For an extra front-seat rider, Nudie has placed a fabulous silver saddle between the bucket seats, decorated with rhinestones and 150 silver dollars.

To read the complete article, see: WHAT WOULD ROY ROGERS RIDE? (moreintelligentlife.com/blog/what-would-roy-rogers-ride)