The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, announces an extraordinary addition to its artifact collection: Al Capone’s Colt 1911 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Famously claimed by his family to have been called “Sweetheart” by Capone for saving his life on multiple occasions, this artifact is among the most significant belongings directly tied to the infamous criminal once named Public Enemy Number One.
The firearm, authenticated as a Colt 1911 manufactured in 1912 by the Office of Colt Historian, comes with a letter of provenance from Diane Capone, granddaughter of Al Capone. The pistol’s lineage after Al Capone’s acquisition is well-documented. Originally left to Al Capone’s wife, Mae, it was next passed to their son, Albert “Sonny” Capone. Sonny, an avid marksman and competition shooter, made modifications to his father’s “Sweetheart” pistol. After Sonny’s death in 2004, the pistol came into the possession of his daughters Diane and Barbara. Capone’s pistol was sold at a 2021 auction, the first time the gun left the Capone family. In 2024, it has found a new permanent home in The Mob Museum’s artifact collection.
Upon hearing the news, Diane Capone said, “It is a great pleasure to learn that The Mob Museum has procured and will be displaying my grandfather’s favorite handgun. He said that ‘she has saved my life on more than one occasion,’ and he referred to it as the ‘Sweetheart.’ My sister Barbara and I are delighted it has found a permanent home in such a remarkable museum.”
According to Chicago organized crime historian John Binder, “The Capone family has only sold Al Capone-related personal items once, and at the time they sold the only two handguns that belonged to their grandfather,” which included the “Sweetheart” 1911 pistol. He added, “The [2021] auction contained the only known large grouping of authentic Capone personal items in existence.”
After many meetings with Diane Capone, Binder credited her as “a woman of the highest integrity,” and having previously reviewed the provenance of the firearm, he remarked that he “firmly believe[s] that this gun is authentic.”
The family lore that Capone called the Colt 1911 his “Sweetheart” and that it saved his life on numerous occasions has not been independently verified. The account of the pistol’s significance passed through three generations of the Capone family to Al Capone’s surviving granddaughters.
Coinciding with the Prohibition Era, Al Capone’s nefarious activities included bootlegging, gambling and a host of other illicit rackets, all of which were marked by profound violence, exemplified by the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Nearly a century later, the Massacre remains one of the most infamous gangland slayings in American history and continues to symbolize the brutal and lawless nature of the Prohibition Era, which fostered Capone’s notoriety.
“His dark legacy has made him one of the most recognizable figures in the history of organized crime, capturing the public’s fascination for the past century,” said Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits and programs, The Mob Museum. “This gun had a special importance to Capone, and the Museum’s acquisition of this highly significant artifact complements existing exhibits, such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall housed on the Museum’s third floor and furthers our ability to tell a comprehensive story about the nation’s most well-known organized crime figure.”
The artifact was made available to the Museum through the considerable generosity of a private contributor who expressed a strong desire that the historic firearm be accessible to the public via the Las Vegas nonprofit institution.
Additional support for the acquisition came from the Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation.
The exact date for public display will be announced in the coming months. For more information about The Mob Museum and its latest exhibits, please visit themobmuseum.org.
ABOUT THE MOB MUSEUM
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, provides a world-class journey through true stories—from the birth of the Mob to today’s headlines. The Mob Museum offers a provocative, contemporary look at these topics through hundreds of artifacts and immersive storylines. Numerous interactive exhibits include a Crime Lab, Firearm Training Simulator and Organized Crime Today exhibit. The Museum is also home to The Underground, a Prohibition history exhibition featuring a speakeasy and distillery. The Mob Museum has accumulated numerous accolades, including being named one of Tripadvisor’s “Top 25 U.S. Museums” and a 2024 “Travelers’ Choice” Award recipient; one of Las Vegas Weekly’s “Twenty Greatest Attractions in Las Vegas History” and “Best Museum” of 2021, 2023 and 2024; Vegas Magazine’s “Best Historical Museum” of 2024; one of National Geographic’s “Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas;” USA Today’s “Best Museum in Nevada,” 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards for “Best Las Vegas Attraction” in 2021 and 2022, “Top Five Best History Museums in the United States” in 2021 and one of its “12 Can’t Miss U.S. Museum Exhibits;” named “A Must for Travelers” by The New York Times and one of “20 Places Every American Should See” by FOX News. The Museum is a two-time winner of the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is open daily; visit the website for admission rates and operating hours. For more information, call (702) 229-2734, visit themobmuseum.org, or download the Museum’s free mobile app.
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