Howdy
It all depends. A few years ago a S&W factory letter only cost $30. Quite a bargain when you consider that Colt letters start at $100 and go up from there. I have lettered a few Smiths. Not to increase their value, just to get to the bottom of something unusual about the gun.
I have also bought a few Smiths that a previous owner had lettered. Usually when somebody letters a gun, and then sells it, the letter goes with the gun. No, it does not usually add anything to the value, just as a box and papers really does not add anything to the value. But it is nice to have a letter if the gun is unusual.
When I bought this antique New Model Number Three a few years ago, the previous owner had lettered it and the letter came with the gun. It proved to be very interesting, documenting where the gun had been shipped, how much it cost when new, and it also documented that the gun had been factory refinished in 1965.
I have a couple of other collectable Smiths that I would like to letter, but have not yet gotten around to it. For a normal run of the mill Smith, I would not bother lettering it.
I can see maybe for insurance purposes, maybe. But does a letter of prominence add any real value (not that it is ever going to be sold)?
Sorry to be a schoolmarm, the word is provenance, not prominence. Provenance means "a record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality". It does not necessarily add to the value, unless the gun can be positively connected to a prominent historical figure. If I had the New Model Number Three that Bob Ford used to assassinate Jesse James, and could prove it, that would add greatly to the value of the gun.
