Al Capone's "sweetheart" gun is up for auction again — and it could sell for over $2 million

A pistol that the notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone nicknamed "sweetheart" is once again up for auction. This time, prospective buyers can place bids in South Carolina on the weapon that Capone's family members credit with routinely protecting his life, after a Greenville-based auction house acquired what is now considered by some to be an iconic collectible.

The winning bid for Capone's pistol is expected to come at an exorbitant cost. Richmond Auctions will host a round of bidding on the gun next month, estimated that the final price will land somewhere between $2 and $3 million. Their auction on May 18 will take place less than three years after it sold for just over $1 million at another auction in California. Bidding starts at $500,000.

The .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol was manufactured in 1911 and became one of Capone's most prized possessions when he rose to infamy as a seemingly untouchable Chicago crime boss during the 1920s. According to the FBI, Capone's legacy includes a litany of criminal accusations involving gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, bribery, drug trafficking, robbery, racketeering and murder. It is believed that Capone, who was sometimes known as "Scarface," was behind the brutal St. Valentine's Day massacre in 1929.