[Chipe]

So My father got this gun from his father who purchased it way before my time. My dad is in the market to sell this gun and has asked me to do so for him (as he does with everything he sells). He told me a little bit of info, well what he knows, about the gun. I have done some searching and am wondering if any of you could help me by telling me any more info on the gun. Anything will help. I beleive from searching its is a first gen peacemaker (am I wrong?)

It reads on the side: Pat Sept. 19, 1871. July 2, 72 Jan 19, 75
the serial number is 2702xx (no letters, just six diget number starting with this)
Here is a picture of this gun. It seems to be in very good shape for how old it is. But what do I know.
Anyone know a value of such a gun?
http://i526.photobucket.com/albums/cc342/chipe13/IMG_0749.jpg

Thanks for any info and help.

[rklessdriver]

According to Proof House the S/N dates to 1905. That is 1st GEN (1873-1940).

Colt SAA's are a very volatile market and opinion's on real value, often vary between collectors. Caliber is as (if not more) important than actual condition in some rare cases. As is it's history...

Have your dad do himself a BIG favor and get a LETTER from COLT!

That said even if its nothing special, it's still worth quite a bit (relatively).

If your dad wants to know the value for insurance purposes, talk to a couple of appraisers and round the value out from there. Do this every couple of years with a Colt SAA, as values are ALWAYS going up.

If he really wants to sell it. Talk to as many people, as will talk to him about buying it. I would personally watch the market for a year or so before selling (one of mine) and give people a chance to think about it for a while. Believe me if they are serious Colt collectors, they won't forget about you and likely will call you every week (if not every day) about it....

Selling a SAA like your fathers, IMO, is NOT a weekend project. Your going to get hosed on it's true value looking for a quick buck... Althou thanks to this phenom, I've bought some nice ones from folks like your dad who didn't know (and didn't really care) what they had over the years.

If your dad is serious about selling it PM me and I'll give you a phone number to my Colt collecting "mentor". He's as square as they come and will either
1)Give you a fair price (if I can't).
2)Point you to another collector who will.

Best Reguards
Will

[EnsignJimmy]

It is, indeed, a first-generation Colt SAA. It was manufactured in 1905, has the usual 7.5" long barrel, and has what look to be stag grips. The finish looks to be decent for a 103 - 104 year old gun, with only a little blue worn off through the occasional bit of holster wear.

Questions: The picture makes it look like the finish has become a plum color . . . is that correct? What caliber is it (should some markings on the barrel)? Finally, the grips look to be in very good shape . . . do you know if they're original to the gun? Finally, what shape is the bore in? From what I can determine, the gun's value would be in the $2500 to $5000 ballpark, depending on a whole bunch of factors. Probably not much less, and possibly a fair bit more. As with any item with a significant collector's market get an actual appraisal.

As has been mentioned, if your father is serious about selling it, invest in a Colt factory letter. (http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/historical.asp) They're pricey, but they'll tell you a lot of information about the original options the gun had. Information that the typical collector is keen on knowing.

[Chipe]

Yeah, the flash on the camera has changed the apearance of the color. Its a 45 cal ( but there are no markings on the barel, which I found odd). I am not sure about the grips being original or not. But the whole gun is in very good shape. I had no clue it was so old just from looking at the gun.
Thanks for the info

[SASS#23149]

If it's as nice in person as the picture shows,that is a VERY NICE Peacemaker.
can we see a few more pics..the other side ,etc.
I{m no expert,but I would think that is at LEAST 3000.00 gun,and one to be treasured in that shape.
I agree,DO get it lettered.

[Chipe]

How much do the letters usually run? I will post more pics when I get home from work

[Brian Williams]

A letter from Colt is about $100. If I had the chance to get one of my Grandfathers guns because my dad was selling, I would have all the money very quick.

[rondog]

There's a shop here in Denver with one in far worse condition than that, and I think the tag on it was $15,000. But I don't know the details AFA date, caliber, history, etc. I was amazed! When I was a kid, those were as common and cheap as surplus 1911's. Now they're priceless.

That's a beautiful gun and I'd consider it a priceless family heirloom, I wouldn't let it get away if I were you. JMHO.

[rcmodel]

It appears to me to have been refinished with a fairly recent hot-blue job, thus the purple tint in the photo.
Which will certainly hurt it's value considerably.

For instance, the frame & loading gate should be color case-hardened, or at least worn to a grey patina.

The hammer should also be color case-hardened and not polished like yours appears to be.

rc

[Hawk]

Its a 45 cal ( but there are no markings on the barel, which I found odd).
I'm no expert on early Colts but if there's no barrel markings, somebody may have gotten over enthusiastic with a buffer. Pics of some early barrel marking can be found here:
http://www.bar-w.com/saa-generations.html
There's also some servicable pics of olde case color.

A picture of the other side would help - I'm curious how the frame markings fared.

I'm not sure when the white hammer become standard - my guess is third generation. Could be a replacement hammer or somebody matching a 3rd gen - many times the hammers were simply tossed in the tank.

If you're looking to spend, rather than get, money a few places can restore markings and approximate the original finish. Verify collector value compromised prior to entertaining that option though.

Here's a link for the letter. 100.00 as of 2005 with "bumps" if they find interesting stuff.
http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/historical.asp
I'm not sure I'd bother with the letter if the frame has been blued.

[rcmodel]

Yep.

The stag grips are not period to the gun either.
100 year old stag grips would not still be in that condition, or color.

rc

[Jim K]

I agree with rcmodel, the gun apparently has been refinished, and very probably has a new barrel and cylinder as well.

Back in the middle of the last century, it was common to convert SAA's in odd or unpopular calibers to more desireable calibers (.45 Colt, .38 Special, etc.). Numrich sold a barrel and cylinder kit in those calibers. Most of their barrels did not have a caliber marking.

Needless to say those odd caliber guns would be very valuable today, but it's too late. A Colt letter would show the original caliber and finish, which was probably blue with a color casehardened frame.

Jim

[wcwhitey]

Jim Keenan is 100% correct in his information!

I am by no means a Colt expert but this info may be of some help. I was doing some research on a first generation SAA re barreled to .38 special. It had several similarities to your revolver. The gun was re-blued, barrel markings did not match but it did maintain the black powder frame, it was an 1884 revolver. After several calls to the Colt historians who were happy to answer questions I was told that their are markings on the trigger guard that will tell you if the refinish work was done by Colt. The most common marking was the asterand "*" on or near the trigger guard. What I was told was that two retro-fits were available post WWII on black powder frames. They were .38 special and .45 colt. It was common to have the guns retro fitted from an oddball blackpowder caliber to the low pressure .38 and .45. The parts (cylinder and barrels) were made available to the public so any smith could have done the work. I was lucky in that the one I was researching appears to have been sent back to Colt for the work. The Colt people also told me that they did not maintain any records of repair or retro fit work only the original manufacture and shipping info. In my case I did not order the letter once I was sure that the gun was reworked. Unfortunately in my case the value was considerably diminished by the retro-fit but being able to prove re-work by Colt I was told did increase it somewhat over a private gunsmiths work. That being said it is still more valuable than recent generation SAA's and the more you can tell about the revolver the better. Hope this helps, Bill

[rcmodel]

Might look and see if the barrel has left or right hand rifling twist.

Colt used left-hand, and hardly anyone else did. If it's an aftermarket barrel, it might have right-hand twist.

BTW: I believe all genuine Colt replacement barrels would have Colt markings on them.

rc

[wcwhitey]

You are most likely right rcmodel. The one I was referring too had Colt marking but from a different generation.

[Hawk]

When Colt's themselves did a refinish did they blue the frame as well?

[wcwhitey]

Yes, hammer trigger, all of it!

[DRYHUMOR]

You might contact these folks

http://witherells.com/

[rondog]

Personally, I still think it's a beauty and would consider it a priceless family heirloom, not matter how "correct" it is or what's been done to it. There's no way I could bring myself to sell something like that. But that's just me.