Colt SAA 1st Gen Value

[sierra1911]

A friend has a Colt SAA 1st Gen which he bought decades ago. He took it to an 'expert' who confirmed that it is a real 1st generation but has been 'reworked'. The expert told him that back in the 1940's there was a company that reworked old Colts, sanding the barrels until all scratches, etc. were removed and then reblued them. The expert told that because of the rework, his gun is only worth $1,000 and to enjoy shooting it. The expert then offered to buy it for $1,000.

The gun currently has one small scratch on the barrell and the bore is in good shape.

Is the $1,000 in the ballpark or a lowball number for the expert to try and buy it cheap? Friend isn't interested in selling but would like to know approximate value.


I'm attempting to load pictures....

[Winger Ed.]

If an 'expert' will buy it for $1,000, that means its worth a few times that.

Check out gun broker, they come up here & there, and see what they're going for.

[DougGuy]

He could get several times the "offer" price just parting it out. I'd suspect the "story" about the polished barrel as well, considering the source of such opinion.

[lefty o]

looking at the pics, there is no doubt its been polished and reblued at least once in its life. hurts the value signifigantly. its probably worth 1/2 what it would be if it was just worn.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Nice looking SSA. Definitely worth more than $1,000. You should get a letter from Colt, and depending on what the letter reveals it may be worth several times that amount.

[sierra1911]

Thank you for the replies. I've passed the information along to the owner.

[reddog81]

Were the pictures taken down?