I spend a lot of downtime looking at Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and Colt (mostly Colt, I like them the most) revolvers--getting a better feel for the market. While Colt revolver prices are on the rise, the prices of old Smith & Wesson revolvers are on the rise, too, with N-frame .357s commanding the highest premium.
Prices aren't inflated specifically because a particular revolver is a Colt, but like with Smith & Wesson, certain models have cosmic pricing. Diamondbacks and Pythons fetch the big money, as do rare models like the Viper and Magnum Carry. And interestingly, the Diamondback and especially the Python are some of the most common Colt revolvers for sale, maybe second and third most common after the Police Positive.
My father and I speculate that the internet is primarily responsible for driving up the prices of all kinds of used equipment--specifically cars, guns, and cameras in our discussion. Word gets around that older stuff was really good, and the flood of interest (demand) lifts all boats (price). Many of you talk of scoring excellent deals on old revolvers in the past, and during the early days of the net, I'd find superb deals on 1980s and early 1990s BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes almost weekly. Those days are obviously dead.
With guns being sold on the internet (one market), all of us enthusiasts now have to compete with each other. Prices can only go one way. It's really a shame that Smith & Wesson and Colt don't make revolvers like they used to.
