Info on old Colt SAA

[LHS]

I'm looking for a resource (or resources) to help accurately judge the value of a Colt SAA. Does anyone know of any good books, forums, websites, etc for this?

I've looked around on the internet a bit, and while I can find the value for several Colts of similar vintage, all that I've found have been all-original. This gun has been reblued, but seems otherwise in great shape. It's a Colt "Frontier Six Shooter", 4-3/4" barrel, in what I am guessing to be .45LC or .44-40 (bore's too big to be .32-20, but I can find no caliber markings anywhere on the gun), with very worn hard rubber grips (checkered with pony). All the serial numbers match, and it's in the 160xxx range, which dates it to around 1895 or so based on my research. There is an obvious 'step' in the interior of each chamber in the cylinder, would that indicate .44-40?

A co-worker wants to sell it, but knows nothing about it, and SAAs aren't my area of expertise, so I don't know what to offer for it. I know the rebluing kills any collector value, but it's still a first-gen, pre-1900 SAA, so I figure it's worth something.

[LittleLebowski]

I'd post this at http://louderthanwords.us

[Tamara]

I'm looking for a resource (or resources) to help accurately judge the value of a Colt SAA. Does anyone know of any good books, forums, websites, etc for this?

Collecting Single Action Armies is a hobby unto itself. The gun cannot probably be correctly valued without a knowledgeable collector getting eyeballs on the actual piece (or at least a bunch of detailed photos.)

I'd go straight to the horse's mouth, as it were.

[LHS]

Thanks all, I'll take a look at those links and go from there.

Much appreciated!

[NEPAKevin]

IIRC, "The Book of Colt Firearms" is the book recommended as kind of a bible for Colt collectors but is not exactly a cheap read.

[Tamara]

IIRC, "The Book of Colt Firearms" is the book recommended as kind of a bible for Colt collectors but is not exactly a cheap read.

Just don't confuse it with The Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms by Rick Sapp, which is an error-filled mess.

[Jim Watson]

If it is actually marked "Frontier Six Shooter" it is a .44-40, they used that designation on no other caliber.

As one collector here said, "100% factory reblue is ZERO original blue." Value accordingly. I think Blue Book says a good reblue is worth about like the 60% original grade on their charts.

[LHS]

If it is actually marked "Frontier Six Shooter" it is a .44-40, they used that designation on no other caliber.

As one collector here said, "100% factory reblue is ZERO original blue." Value accordingly. I think Blue Book says a good reblue is worth about like the 60% original grade on their charts.

The left side of the barrel has a faded rollmark that says "IER SIX SHOOTER". The bluing looks factory new, but both rollmarks on the barrel (the manufacturer's info on the top of the barrel is a little more legible than the model name on the side, but still obviously faded) are worn partially away, so my guess it was refinished. Plus the bluing is very uniform, with no trace of color case hardening on the frame. Conversely, the patent rollmark on the frame is very crisp, though the serial numbers under the trigger guard and other places have some wear that's been covered by bluing. There's a thin ring around the muzzle crown where the original finish shows through.

[John Ralston]

Looks like the buff job for the re-blue wasn't done very well (lots of waves and it is uneven - some of the lettering is shallower than the rest). The grips are collectable, so don't mess with those. I would say it has no value to a collector (because of the re-blue), and only has value to someone who wants to shoot it.

[Tamara]

Looks like the buff job for the re-blue wasn't done very well (lots of waves and it is uneven - some of the lettering is shallower than the rest). The grips are collectable, so don't mess with those. I would say it has no value to a collector (because of the re-blue), and only has value to someone who wants to shoot it.

Yup, somebody killed that thing with a buffing wheel. I'm surprised they didn't proceed to chrome it like a bumper, which was usually the next step.

While its value to a hardcore Colt collector is shot, it'll still fetch high end custom 1911 money as it sits, (which strikes me as freakish, but that's the market for ya...)