BLOOMFIELD — History buffs and gun collectors will have a rare opportunity to bid on a Gatling gun, the forerunner of the modern machine gun and rotary cannon, invented during the American Civil War.

The crank-operated, multi-barrel machine gun, devised about 1862 by physician and inventor Richard Jordan Gatling, will be one of the many Americana items featured in the Jan. 23 Collector's Passion Auction at Nye & Company in Bloomfield.

There is much interest in the 1875 Gatling, mainly because it is very rare, said Nye & Company's director of business development, Andrew Holter.

There have been four similar models up for auction in the last 15 years, Holter said.

"If you see one a year, that's pretty rare," Holter said.

The Gatling gun is one of the best-known early rapid-fire, spring-loaded, hand-cranked weapons. A clip of bullets feeds a rotating wheel of barrels and at one time fired 200 to 400 rounds per minute. The inventor hoped the strength and power of the weapon would put an end to large battles and "show the folly of war," according to the History Channel.

The one in the current collection is in its original carriage, and other than some weathering to the barrels, the gun is in great shape, he said. It has the letters "NJ" stamped on its barrel, which may mean it was purchased for a New Jersey militia unit. It could fetch more than $100,000, Holter said.

A few Gatling guns saw service in the Civil War during the siege of Petersburg in Virginia. Civil War re-enactor Michael Belgie of West Milford said Union Gen. John Geary bought one.

Civil War Gen. Benjamin Butler also purchased one, which his troops used in the final year of the war.

The Gatling gun was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1866. It was first manufactured by Cooper Arms in Philadelphia, and later by the Colt arms company of Hartford, Connecticut.

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The gun may be purchased without meeting current state gun-buying laws and permits because it predates 1900 and does not use modern ammunition.

"It's exciting," Holter said of the gun, which was owned by paper manufacturer Jack Warner.

Warner's family owned a paper plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that invented a machine to make large paper bags still in use today. The family's fortunes were used to buy up American artworks, which make up much of the collection for auction.

Gatling guns have also made history when not in use. On June 22, 1876, Gen. George Custer declined to bring along three Gatling guns as he rode to Little Big Horn River. Historians said Custer did not want to be slowed down by the large guns in the rough country.

By coincidence, the gun auction coincides with the auction of a number of plains Indian items traced to Charles Francis Roe.

As a lieutenant, a few years out of West Point, Roe led the first column into the valley of the Little Big Horn, after the massacre of Custer and his command.

Roe went on to form a National Guard unit in New York and was a highly successful businessman.

The auction of Roe's artifacts includes a Crow gun scabbard, which was crafted of buffalo hide.

Charlie Potters, a historian who works for the auction house, said this auction is special.

"I have never seen anything like this," Potters said.

That speaks volumes, as the auction house stunned the world in 2015 when it auctioned a long-lost Rembrandt for $1.1 million. The bid came as a surprise, because it was initially believed it would fetch about $1,000.

Email: fagan@northjersey.com