Colt SAA 1906 value help

[possom813]

My neighbor has asked me to help him sell a few of his guns because his kids have no interest in them.

Most are easy enough to find a value on, this one is a bit harder though. Some sell for 2k, others for 15k, and I'm not well versed enough on these to know the differences.

Just looking for a solid value on this one

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Here is a very good website for Colt SAAs. The prices will be a lot higher than you would get selling at auction or to a dealer, but the descriptions should tell you how much things matter. Note that "modern" is a legal term and means 1899 or later in the US, so yours counts as modern.

In the UK we can have revolvers totally uncontrolled in any way if owned as a "curio or ornament" and chambered for cartridges no longer available through normal channels of trade - and I have lots. It works up to 1939 for us, but for no Colt SAA unless I come upon one of the rare .44 Russians. Think of the hammering armed crime is taking from all this!

http://www.leroymerz.com/catalog/sell/colt-single-action-army-revolvers

This is the kind of gun many buyers will want to shoot, so the bore condition is important. Your revolver doesn't have very good finish, but the screw-heads appear unabused. That sprinkling of rust looks recent and shallow. It would benefit from painstaking cleaning with bronze wool, available from www.brownells.com (http://www.brownells.com) , which won't damage the finish, before oiling. If you leave it, the rust will eat deeper. On the other hand the finish is too good to use any chemicall rust remover.

[Bent Ramrod]

I see SA Colts in that condition at Gun Shows priced at about $800-$1100 or so, depending on caliber, factory letter, etc. They don't seem to move very fast, though. People who want a shooter tend to buy repros at half that price.

There are those who aver that there's "nothing like a Colt." They are all over the Internet but few seem to show up at these tables with cash in hand. An auction site would be the best way to smoke one of these enthusiasts out.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

It would help if you mentioned the caliber and bore condition. It looks like a great candidate for a rework by Doug Turnbull. In the pictures it looks pretty sad. I saw a new Colt SA 45 caliber in a gun shop Thursday for $1600.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

What caliber? What condition is the bore? Is the revolver fully functional with all four "clicks?"

Not an expert on Colts, but I do waste a lot of time over on Gunbroker. The Colt SAAs that are worth a lot are either pristine or associated with someone. A lot of high prices being asked and not a lot being sold. If your friend wants to sell it I might suggest taking some high quality pictures and listing it on Gunbroker or some other auction sight. Don't bother with a reserve and have the opening bid be the lowest you could stand to let her go for.

A while back, I saw a seller with a collection of 1st and 2nd Gen Colts listed on Gunbroker. Everyone one of those guns looked like they had been in either a flood or fire, maybe both. A few had been badly refinished with some of those bake on finishes that look like truck bed liners. I got in contact with the seller about getting 1 or 2 as a restoration project for Turnbull, but he wouldn't budge from his $2k+ opening bids. I watched those guns get relisted over and over until I forgot about them.

A quick search of the current auctions going on at Gunbroker show a number of post 1899 Colts in similar condition as the OPs. Opening bids are around $1,500 and up with zero bids. The only post 1899s with bids are guns that started off as penny starts, or fairly low opening bids of $500. Not saying that is what the OP's is worth, just getting a feeler for what people are actually willing to pay.

[B. Lumpkin]

It would help if you mentioned the caliber and bore condition. It looks like a great candidate for a rework by Doug Turnbull. In the pictures it looks pretty sad. I saw a new Colt SA 45 caliber in a gun shop Thursday for $1600.

Does the shop ship? If so, can you PM me their contact information?

[bouncer50]

Like other have said how the bore is and caliber. Does it have matching number. I bough one a few years ago a 1905 in 38-40. It was nickle plated not original but a nice nickle job a replacement barrel for 300.00 dollars. What they ask for a gun and What the get for it is a opinion of valve. I would say the value would be 700.00 to 1,200.00 depending on bore ,caliber, matching number, deep pitting on the metal. Most Colt collecter want the best example 80 percent or more original bluing and their willing to pay top dollar.

[smkummer]

Calibers in possible order of desirability are: 45 Colt, 44-40, 44 Russian/special, 38-40, 38 Colt, 32-20 and then 41 Colt. This makes a difference on pricing.

[bedbugbilly]

My suggestion would be to go here . . ..

http://www.coltforum.com/forums/forum.php

Post some good clear photos and give all the details that you can about the revolver. Include chamber and bore condition and show a good close up of the serial number as well. Condition is everything and the more you can show the true condition of the revolver and the caliber, etc., the more someone with experience with selling and buying Colts can tell you.

If you have "documented" background on the revolver . . . i.e. "provenance" that might be a factor in determining value but if it is a run of the mill Colt with no documented information, well, it's a run of the mill Colt SAA.

I'm in no way "knocking" the Colt shown, but it doesn't appear to be in the best of shape so a realistic estimation should provide you with a price range to be looking at for selling purposes. I don't know the "situation" of your neighbor, but if it's a "family heirloom" - his children may not be interested now but things do change. Grandchildren come along, people get more sentimental about their family connections, etc. and it would be a shame to sell it now and regret it later.

Good luck!

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Does the shop ship? If so, can you PM me their contact information?
Lumpkin, I just called the shop. When we were there last week they had a Colt SA in 44SPL & one in 45LC. They were $1600. They have sold the 44SPL but they still have the 45. They do not ship. By the way, the shop is Turner's Sporting Goods in San Bernardino, Ca.

[possom813]

Sorry for the late response, real life happened again.

It is matching numbers

There is no pitting

.38 wcf

Bore looks good, no pitting or othere issues.

It locks up tight on each hole, i didn't count the 4 ckicks, but nothing felt "off". No slop.

His situation is that his kids are grown, no interest in anything he and his wife have built, except money, they don't bring the grandkids around.

He's getting on in years and has a handful of older guns, most are a lot nicer than this, and he's asked me to help sell them.

[smkummer]

Let me know if you come up with a asking price for this gun. I may be interested as I have a same vintage Bisley in the same caliber.

[Char-Gar]

It would be worth about $5.00 to me, but only if I knew of a fellow who would pay me $10.00 for it. That handgun is covered with pits underneath all that "patina". It is a paper weight or a trot line weight as far as I am concerned.

Sure they are folks who would go into convulsions wanting to buy that, but I am not one of them.

[376Steyr]

If you haven't already, please warn your friend to not to try to "improve" the value of the gun with a vigorous application of steel wool to the patina.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Calibers in possible order of desirability are: 45 Colt, 44-40, 44 Russian/special, 38-40, 38 Colt, 32-20 and then 41 Colt. This makes a difference on pricing.

For the most part that seems about right. But in the UK I could own, buy or import a .44 Russian with no legal controls or registration whatever if it was made up to 1939 - as I do for my S&W Model 3 and the interchangeable-cartridge German ordnance revolver. Dealers I have found who would export seem to have a different view on relative value.

I'd agree that the .41 Long Colt, although it must be uncommon, should come bottom of the list. Apart from restricted availability of ammunition and components, Colt in making the change to inside lube in the 1890s, didn't reduce the groove diameter enough. I think they only wanted to use the same machinery as the .38-40.

[rockrat]

Depending on price, I might be interested in the gun too. Just bought an 1892 in 38-40.

[bouncer50]

For the most part that seems about right. But in the UK I could own, buy or import a .44 Russian with no legal controls or registration whatever if it was made up to 1939 - as I do for my S&W Model 3 and the interchangeable-cartridge German ordnance revolver. Dealers I have found who would export seem to have a different view on relative value.

I'd agree that the .41 Long Colt, although it must be uncommon, should come bottom of the list. Apart from restricted availability of ammunition and components, Colt in making the change to inside lube in the 1890s, didn't reduce the groove diameter enough. I think they only wanted to use the same machinery as the .38-40. The 41 Colt did use the same size bore as the 38-40 about 401 to 402 size even some times larger. The 41 Colt was never know to be accurate because of the smaller bullet in the larger bore. To me it would be dead last in a caliber i would buy.

[historicfirearms]

That gun is in poor condition. I saw one similar for sale last year at the gun shows for sale at $750. It was at several different shows for most of the year before the seller stopped bringing it around. I love old guns but would not be interested in that one because of the condition. I disagree about not trying to clean it up a bit. No collector wants it anyway, and a shooter would be easier to find if it looked better.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The 41 Colt did use the same size bore as the 38-40 about 401 to 402 size even some times larger. The 41 Colt was never know to be accurate because of the smaller bullet in the larger bore. To me it would be dead last in a caliber i would buy.

That was for the inside lubed bullet, all the one diameter, which I think was about .386in., and hollow based. You might or mightn't find a really soft flat based bullet working quite well. The early ones were intended for a bullet which was the right diameter bullet for the larger bore, but it was a heel bullet, with all the ills that implies, especially for the handloader. Like the .32 rimfires and Long and Short Colt, either gun would be safe with either cartridge, but with a slight loss of an accuracy level which wasn't that good to begin with.

[robertbank]

It would be worth about $5.00 to me, but only if I knew of a fellow who would pay me $10.00 for it. That handgun is covered with pits underneath all that "patina". It is a paper weight or a trot line weight as far as I am concerned.

Sure they are folks who would go into convulsions wanting to buy that, but I am not one of them.

This. If the serial number led you to Gen. Custer or President Grant....well then

Take Care

Bob

[GOPHER SLAYER]

This. If the serial number led you to Gen. Custer or President Grant....well then

Take Care

Bob I believe those two fellows were dead before the pistol was made but I get your point.

[rondog]

$500 max, IMO. Condition and caliber matter to me.

And I hope your friend leaves his greedy, selfish "children" nothing. "We don't want your stuff, just the money"? Sorry, got none left.....

[Ballistics in Scotland]

$500 max, IMO. Condition and caliber matter to me.

And I hope your friend leaves his greedy, selfish "children" nothing. "We don't want your stuff, just the money"? Sorry, got none left.....

That is more than we have heard from the OP. People often find it a lot more satisfying to find bad than good in others. They are entitled not to want guns in their homes, and it is entirely possible that the OP's friend is making plans of which they know nothing.

This gun, if the bore and chambers are good, looks like a prime candidate for restoration without spoiling original condition. Doug Turnbull has been mentioned, and an evening looking at one of his jobs is better than television, but it is doubtful whether it would pay off in terms of investment. It isn't difficult for the amateur, who traditionally doesn't cost up his time and doesn't mind a lot of hand polishing, to do a good restoration of a gun like this, if he does mind rust bluing or even Brownells' electroless nickel plating. Colour case hardening? Well, maybe. It takes more research and more trouble, but it could be done.

[robertbank]

I believe those two fellows were dead before the pistol was made but I get your point.

Yup but think of the value their ownership would add to say nothing about the conspiracy theories on the reports of Custer's death. You could get book royalties as well. :>) Did he really die at the Battle of the Little Big Horn ORRRRRR....

Take Care

Bob

[Ballistics in Scotland]

A posthumous order by a George A. Custer would already have been noticed, especially since the records have been combed for the almost certainly fictitious five Buntline Specials allegedly presented by Ned Buntline to five western lawmen. I don't believe the end user's name would usually be in the files, and there isn't even an order for five long-barrelled SAAs anywhere at an appropriate time.

[robertbank]

A posthumous order by a George A. Custer would already have been noticed, especially since the records have been combed for the almost certainly fictitious five Buntline Specials allegedly presented by Ned Buntline to five western lawmen. I don't believe the end user's name would usually be in the files, and there isn't even an order for five long-barrelled SAAs anywhere at an appropriate time.

Ummmm but if. and I say if, with some hesitation, would it not have been prudent for the government to hide the unfortunate setback of the loss at the Little Bighorn. A change of name by Custer would certainly have been made eg Witness Protection Program. The fact his ego might step up and cause him to have his name inscribed on the gun would just be a signal to his relatives that he was still among them.

Work with me there are possibilities.

Take Care

Bob

[B. Lumpkin]

I'd give $500 for the SAA in the OP right now. Just tell me where to send the cash, lol.

[possom813]

I'd give $500 for the SAA in the OP right now. Just tell me where to send the cash, lol.

I've been offered $1,000 for it. He's holding off, hoping for more.

My apologies for not posting more often, real life is a pain in the rear.

[B. Lumpkin]

I reckoned that would be the case, lol. There is what people think the SAA should sell for, and then there is the reality of what they actually sell for.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

In my opinion, a working Colt in almost any condition is worth at least as much as a new Cimarron or Taylor's Uberti.

[B. Lumpkin]

Heck, a parts gun will cost as much as one of the fakes, lol.

[robertbank]

The top end Ubertis are probably better made than anything Colt produced or produces for that matter. The real horse still sells well though but I am not seeing the value for a working gun. They come up for sale every so often up here and sell for ridiculous prices. You never hear of anyone actually shooting them though.

Take Care

Bob

[B. Lumpkin]

Some buy them as investments, some buy them to shoot, some buy examples of each. Colt's SAA revolvers I bought NIB 5 years ago have already appreciated in value by $600 That is for a good condition Colt SAA that has been fired quite a bit.

Buy a top end fake and see how much it appreciates after 5 years of use. The build quality, while it should be numero uno, seems to be irrelevant in the SAA market when comparing the fakes to the genuine article. The only fakes I have seen go toe to toe with Colt in the used gun market are the ones produced by U.S. Firearms (the guys known for the failed zip gun).

People are always willing to buy a genuine Colt SAA for $500, but for some odd reason they never want to sell one for $500, lol.

[robertbank]

The Ubertis are not top end fakes they are quality built revolvers made on modern CNC equipment. I buy a Uberti for a third of the price to shoot. I suggest this is why most of us buy handguns for. I don`t buy them for investment purposes.

As investments the Colt is as good of investment as some but as for the purpose it was made for...well you pay a lot for what you get. I do appreciate the nostalgia value for those who see the gun as a part of history, hence their investment value.

Take Care

Bob

[B. Lumpkin]

There is no doubt that a Uberti is a quality revolver. They are still fakes, or to be more polite about it, clones.

I buy my Colt's to shoot. I shoot them a lot. They are still worth more than I paid for them even though I have shot and carried them. That's why I buy them. Yes, I can buy 3-5 fakes for the price of one Colt. The fakes will lose value, the Colt will remain relatively steady and stands a very good chance of increasing in value. That is why a revolver that is over 100 years old, is not rare, and has a terrible complexion problem is still worth $1000 plus...as seen on this thread, lol.

[Wayne Smith]

Humm, I seem to remember a story - that when Colt decided to drop the Peacemaker for the first time they got rid of all the jigs, gauges, and equipment to make them - and Uberti bought the whole lot. Wasn't there, can't swear to it - but if true, who is making the genuine Peacemaker?

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The antique Colts which cause me some annoyance are the cap and ball ones. Because they are Colts, good ones fetch prices far ahead many rare antique firearms - which they aren't, being made and surviving in such great numbers.

It also seems a pity that Colt had their own modern cap and ball revolvers made for them in Italy. I'm sure they were as good as the best the Italians marketed under their own names, but no better.

[B. Lumpkin]

Colt did themselves and their customers a disservice with the cap and ball revolvers.

[robertbank]

It also seems a pity that Colt had their own modern cap and ball revolvers made for them in Italy. I'm sure they were as good as the best the Italians marketed under their own names, but no better.

Would could describe them as the same as since they would have been made on the same equipment, and the parts from the same basket. The roll stamps would of course would be the difference.

If I had the patience and clearly I doubt I do, I would get into the cap and ball game. For some reason I always felt there would be a good chance I would blow myself up. Not sure why but sometimes it is wise to listen to your inner self.;-)

Take Care

Bob

[Bent Ramrod]

I heard that the new Colt C&B revolvers were assembled and finished in this country from Italian forgings and castings. Colt's SAA jigs and fixtures were probably melted down in a scrap metal drive during WWII. The Italians didn't start making replica revolvers until Val Forgett went over there in the late '50's and started enlisting manufacturers for Navy Arms. The country was getting revved up about the centennial of the Civil War and people wanted shootable period revolvers.

Legend has it that Val took a pile of money over to India, which had just passed some kind of draconian gun law. He bought all the English made double rifles from the ex-Maharajas, who just wanted to get rid of them before they were confiscated. He then imported them into this country, sold them for a tidy profit, which he used to start Navy Arms Co.

The "second generation" cap and ball Colts from the late '70's-early 80's time frame were very good; much better fitted and finished than the Italian versions. The "signature series" that came out in the '90's were much, much worse, at least the specimens I've seen. The only guy that seemed enthusiastic about his job for those guns was the guy who ran the buffing wheel.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I believe that was a Mr. Bell who did that and used the money to start Bell Corp which made obsolete cartridge cases. I think the company went broke. Colt reintroduced the SAA in 1956 using the same old machinery that had been in storage since WWII started. By the 1970s the machinery was so worn out they had to shut down production until a redesign and new equipment could be made. One of the new features was the elimination of the cylinder sleeve. It was replaced with a pin.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Legend has it that Val took a pile of money over to India, which had just passed some kind of draconian gun law. He sought all the English made double rifles from the ex-Maharajas, who just wanted to get rid of them before they were confiscated. He then imported them into this country, sold them for a tidy profit, which he used to start Navy Arms Co.

I don't think it was about gun law, so much as money. A lot of people don't realise that a lot of India was literally hundreds of princely states, of all sizes from substantial nations down to a few square miles, bound by treaty only to not exceed their allowance of internal beastliness. Some were enlightened and humane places, and there must be elderly Germans and Japanese with bad memories of the armies they financed and supplied, entirely of their own free will. I'd a lot sooner have been a Hyderabadi peasant than a South American one. The late 1950s is about the time the wheeling and dealing to get them to accede to India was complete, and India started to wriggled and turn on the privy purses etc. the princes had been promised. Things have turned around a bit since. A lot of the former princes have found business opportunities flow their way peculiarly easily, and if the people call one private citizen "Maharaj" and a politician "Hey, you", it is nobody's business but their own.

[flyingmonkey35]

Sorry, only worth about $1. Dollar. Have to just sell it to me😂

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