Tom Wallace Star Tribune

Elmer Bankead holds what some believe to be the original Bowie knife. It was allegedly made about 1830 for James Bowie, whose portrait is on the wall. One of the many treasures found in the Buck Horn Museum in San Antonio, the knife is part of a collection on loan to the museum by Joseph Musso, Bowie historian and California-based cinematic artist. The knife's blade is 14 inches long with the owner's initials -- JB -- engraved on the it, along with a six-pointed officer's star on the cross-guard. The collection is valued at 1.2 million dollars.