A solid gold pocket watch presented to Buffalo Bill Cody by Annie Oakley in London in 1889 is one of several outstanding timepieces up for auction on www.SoldUSA.com. The other watches include two others presented to Buffalo Bill, one presented by Theodore Roosevelt to the Marquis De Mores in 1884, and one presented by Will Rogers to C.M. Kidd Russell in 1919. In all, the historical collection is valued at $100,000.

William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) was a famed Pony Express Rider, army scout and buffalo hunter. However, he is best known for his Wild West Show which brought the Old West with cowboys, Indians and trick shooters to the world. Buffalo Bill's show was performing in London during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1889 when his famous female sharpshooter, Phoebe Ann Moses (Annie Oakley), presented him with this gold watch. Heavily embellished and engraved with the words, "Presented to W.F. Cody, 'Buffalo Bill' by 'Little Missy' Annie Oakley, London 1889," the watch was one of Cody's most cherished possessions.

Annie Oakley was a crack shot from her youth. Reportedly, she could shoot the head off a running quail at the age of 12, and at the challenge of Kaiser Wilhelm II, she shot the ashes off his cigarette.
W.F. Cody earned his nickname because of his skill as a hunter. His Wild West Show was a huge spectacle with hundreds of actors, buffalo, elk, cattle, bronco riding, roping, marksmanship, Indian attacks and trick riding.

Article Posted: 2003 

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A young W.F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody. (Photo courtesy Jeffery Kraus collection, http://www.antiquephotographics.com/.)

Early photo of Annie Oakley with her many medals for marksmanship. (Photo courtesy, the Lisa Gable collection.)