[PinPat]

Hello everyone, I'm in Quebec city, Canada so please forgive my English mistakes. My father has this collection of old guns which was started by his grand father and now he wants to get rid of it. I've searched the web for information on how much these could be worth but haven't found much useful info. Maybe some of you guys could help me identify which one are the most valuable. Most of them seem so rare they are sure worth something even though their condition is far from great... Anyways here is a link to see some of the pictures I took of the guns:
http://s258.photobucket.com/albums/hh250/pinfire_pat/

Thanks in advance for any advice or comment!
Patrick

[Jim K]

I can't comment on the swords or bayonets, but the gun collection, while interesting, is not worth very much. In the U.S., none of those guns, with the possible exception of the Lefacheaux, would bring more than $150 or so in good shape and probably less than half that in their present poor condition. The H&R appears to be partly disassembled; I suggest you see if it can be put back together before trying to sell it.

Since I have little knowledge of Canadian law, I suggest you find out the legal status of the guns before offering them for sale. I am reasonably sure that even in Canada the percussion pistol would be an antique, but the cartridge guns may be considered in the same category as modern revolvers.

Jim

[1 old 0311]

Look at www.gunbroker.com You will be able to compare prices there.

[AZ_Rebel]

Mon ami:
You will have the added problem that quite a few of these guns are classified as "Prohibited Weapons" under Canadian Law instituted under Bill C-68. This makes their eligability for export questionable and their sale in Canada restricted to only those collectors eligable to own firearms in the "Prohibited" as well as "Restricted" catagories.

Jim, in Canada Black Powder "muzzle loading" pistols are not exempt from restrictions as they are in the US.

[SDC]

Ditto; in order for a handgun to be considered "antique" under Canadian law, it has to have been built before 1898, AND it cannot be chambered in any of the 22 rimfires, 32 Short Colt, 32 Long Colt, 32 S&W, 32 S*W Long, 32-20, 38 S&W, 38 Short Colt, 38 Long Colt, 38-40, 44-40 or 45 Colt. Some of the guns you show were available in different calibres, so they could be considered either "prohibited" or "antique" depending on that specific revolver. An original blackpowder pistol built before 1898 is an antique, but a copy of that same gun built from a modern kit would be either restricted or prohibited, depending on the barrel length.

[Vaarok]

The German "swords" are in fact WW1 German bayonets, worth between $50 and $150 US each. Better lit photographs would help determine value, because the paint that appears to be on them could either be original WW1 camouflage, or some post-war somethingorother.

If you want to sell them, I'd be interested.

[PinPat]

Thanks for the replies.
We know for sure all of these guns are older then 1898 except for the flare gun. They are all original and not copies. My brother says the Hopkins Allen XL8 in .38 caliber is a very rare gun but I haven't been able to verify this. Most of these guns have been registered for some 30 years and my dad said he is tired of paying for it.
The more I read about selling these the more complicated it seems to be because of customs (for the US), legal status and stuff. Maybe he should just bring his old gun safe to local antique shops and see if they have anything to offer. I'm just afraid he won't get a fair price that way.

[PinPat]

Typo....Make it .44 caliber for the XL8

[SDC]

The flare gun is exempt from registration and the other assorted hassles anyway (signaling devices, slaughtering devices, etc., are expressly exempted), but the XL No 8 is one of those that can be either "prohibited" or "antique"; when it's in 44 rimfire, it's an antique, but when it's in 44-40, it's considered prohibited. Going by what I can see in the rest of your pictures, you've got a mix of things here;
the Hopkins & Allen Dictator would be an "antique", unless it's in 22 calibre, then it would be prohibited;
the Young America would be "prohibited", because it was only made in named calibres, and the barrel is shorter than 105mm;
the 11mm pinfire would be an antique;
the H&R with the detached hammer would be prohibited;
the side by side percussion pistol would almost certainly be an antique, but they would likely want it sent in for examination before they agreed to de-register it;
the "old bullets" are for a .577 Snider rifle;
the 5mm/22 pinfire with the folding trigger would almost certainly be an antique, but again, they would likely want it sent in for examination before they de-registered it;
the Lefaucheux pinfire would be an antique;
the top-break .44 is almost certainly Spanish, and would be restricted;
the Lee Arms Red Jacket would be an antique, because it's in 32 RF and was built before the cut-off;
the Hopkins & Allen Blue Jacket 1 1/2 would be prohibited, because it's a 22 rimfire, and has a barrel shorter than 105mm;
The Merwin & Hulbert "Smith & Wesson Model" (a copy of the then-popular S&W No. 1), would be prohibited because of its calibre and barrel length;
the XL No 8 would be either antique or prohibited, depending on the actual chambering (and it looks like it's a centrefire, so it would likely be prohibited);
the S&W No 2 Old model would be an antique, because it's in 32 RF and was built before the cut-off;
the "pirate shotgun" looks like a conversion of a flintlock pistol to, first percussion, and then, tape-primed percussion ignition, and would also be an antique, but I'm sure they'd want to see it in person to confirm this;
and lastly, the flare gun is a "non-gun" under Canadian law. I hope this helps.

[Jim K]

Why do I suspect that Canadian crooks pay even less attention to those complex rules than U.S. crooks pay to our gun control laws?

Jim

[SDC]

Because you've got more sense than the people that WRITE these laws? :-)