Editing Thompson submachine gun (section)

==Collector interest==
Because of their quality and craftsmanship, as well as their gangster-era and WWII connections, Thompsons are sought as collector's items. There were fewer than 40 pre-production prototypes. The Colt Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut was contracted by the Auto-Ordnance Corporation to manufacture the initial mass production of 15,000 Thompson Submachine Guns in 1920. An original Colt Model 1921 A or AC, Model 1927 A or AC, Model 1928 Navy A or AC, properly registered in working condition with original components can easily fetch from US$25,000 to $45,000+ depending on condition and accessories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2024 |title=April 2024 Report: 21 Most Expensive Guns Sold on GunBroker.com by Total Dollars {{!}} Auction or Fixed-Price |url=https://www.gunbroker.com/c/article/21-most-expensive-guns-sold-on-gunbroker-in-april-2024/ |website=GunBroker.com}}</ref> For WWII, approximately 1,700,000 Thompson Submachine Guns were produced by Auto-Ordnance and [[Savage Arms]], with 1,387,134 being the simplified World War II M1 and M1A1 variants (without the Blish lock and oiling system{{sfn|Fitzsimons|1977|p=2488}}).

A Model 1921A believed to have been owned by [[Bonnie and Clyde]], but without historical documentation to substantiate this provenance, sold at auction on 21 January 2012, in Kansas City for $130,000.<ref>Rice, Glenn E. "$210K for Bonnie & Clyde Tommy Gun, shotgun" [http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/21/3383602/bonnie-and-clyde-gun-goes-for.html <u>The Kansas City Star</u>] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214035724/http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/21/3383602/bonnie-and-clyde-gun-goes-for.html |date=2013-12-14 }} 21 Jan. 2012</ref>