SA Army

jlodots

May 05, 2004 05:32

I have a local dealer who has had serious medical issues for many months--he wants to begin selling off his collection. One of his guns is a Colt SA Army with SN69xx. This gun was manufactured in 1874, and shows use, although all numbers match, and it is in nice overall condition. The end of the barrel is rounded due to holster contact, but it works properly, and appears to have been well taken care of over the years. When this dealer obtained the gun, inside the barrel he found an old, rolled-up hand-written note, saying it belonged to "Kid" Smith, who, it was claimed, was the youngest surveyor of the Dakotas and points west. The gun has "KID" carved into the walnut handle, and the carving appears quite old. Since the gun came from the pre-Custer era, and has some amount of "history" the dealer wants what I consider a high price. In your estimation from my description, what ballpark of values is reasonable? Thank you.

randal j. logan

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  Throckmorton

  May 05, 2004 07:10

  I'd like to take a ballpark guess then see what the knowledgable folks have to say,if ya don't mind.
  fourty five hundred?
  
  Throckmortons' the alias,cas is the game.

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  Herschel

  May 05, 2004 07:18

  Buy the gun, not the story.

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  nmyers

  May 05, 2004 10:01

  Even if the story is true, I doubt that many people have heard of Kid Smith, & even if he were famous, it doesn't sound like much "provenance". Like Herschel says, buy the gun not the story.
  
  Few old Colt SAA's found today are in the same configuration as when they left the factory. Only an expert can tell if it is all original, or how much it has been modified or refinished. That will have a great effect on the value. At the very least, someone selling a high dollar SAA should have a factory letter with it. It doesn't sound like the current owner has made any attempt to establish what, exactly, it is.
  
  Without expert advice I would not spend a lot of money on ANY gun, certainly not an SAA. If you can take high quality digital photos, we might be able to give you some amateur advice, or at least give you the names of a couple of experts.
  
  On the other hand, if the price is < $1,000, even a cheapskate like me would probably buy it; even refinished, it should be worth that.
  
  Neal

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  4C_Ranch

  May 05, 2004 14:07

  First off, virtually all of the first 7000 SAAs made were shipped to the US Army and would have the "U.S." stamp on the left side of the frame. Make sure that number is correct. That revolver would be in the Custer range if so. If it is a US revolver in good shape it would be worth 2500-12000 or so depending on condition and lack of alterations. The only way to be really sure is to have John Kopec, noted military SAA authority, examine the gun. I believe this costs around 200 dollars and you have to ship him the gun. I did it once before with a Custer era gun. I have to tell you he is pretty hard on them in his letter, but its the only thing that really carries enough weight to increase the revolvers value if it is a military gun.

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