Sir Sean Connery’s 007 pistol from Dr No up for auction

A handgun used by the late Sir Sean Connery in the first James Bond film will go under the hammer at a Hollywood auction house next month.

The semi-automatic Walther PP pistol, which alongside the smaller PPK helped define the 007 image, is estimated to sell for between £114,158 and £152,237.

Sir Sean, who died last month in the Bahamas at the age of 90, used the deactivated model during his debut as the fictional spy in 1962’s Dr No.

His performance set the jobbing actor and former milkman on a path to Hollywood stardom.

One of two used during production, the gun has been identified by the original film armourer, Bapty, which held it in an archive until an auction in 2006.

Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said: “We were deeply saddened to hear the news of Sir Sean Connery’s passing as we were preparing to unveil our upcoming Icons & Idols Trilogy: Hollywood auction line-up featuring the Dr No prop gun and Sean Connery on our catalogue cover.

“The silhouette of 007 holding this gun would go on to become the James Bond franchise’s most iconic image and one of the most recognisable pop culture references of all time.

“We are honoured to include his Walther PP pistol as our auction’s headlining item along with hundreds of other historical memorabilia from Hollywood’s greatest classic films and television series.”

The gun features in a sale of 500 pieces of Hollywood memorabilia, which also include a helmet worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun and a black leather motorcycle jacket worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator

Stars including Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sir Michael Caine, Daniel Craig, George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan and Harrison Ford paid tribute to Sir Sean following his death last month.

Julien’s Auctions’ Icons & Idols Trilogy: Hollywood takes place on December 3.