showing off an old Colt DA
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That's beautiful.
It doesn't look like a factory engraving of the period, and one of the pics show that the Rampant Colt (the horse on the back left side, top of the grip) has been buffed which shows signs of a refinish. I admit this could very well be an illusion as it might be washed out by the flash, however engraving over factory markings isn't something that Colt is known for.
That said it's still a beauty of a piece, perhaps a factory letter or some documentation on the Colt will prove some provenance on it.
It's going to be hard to give a good value as it's likely .38colt, IE not an antique by law. If it's been refinished that's going to drop collector value, and overall condition seems to be in the middle of the road. Should it be a pre-1899 serial number you'll get more in the US on this than you will in Canada as it's still an antique south of the border.
Hope that helps.
It doesn't look like a factory engraving of the period, and one of the pics show that the Rampant Colt (the horse on the back left side, top of the grip) has been buffed which shows signs of a refinish. I admit this could very well be an illusion as it might be washed out by the flash, however engraving over factory markings isn't something that Colt is known for.
That said it's still a beauty of a piece, perhaps a factory letter or some documentation on the Colt will prove some provenance on it.
It's going to be hard to give a good value as it's likely .38colt, IE not an antique by law. If it's been refinished that's going to drop collector value, and overall condition seems to be in the middle of the road. Should it be a pre-1899 serial number you'll get more in the US on this than you will in Canada as it's still an antique south of the border.
Hope that helps.
Yes there is. The ejector rod head.
They appear chipped on the rear toe of the left side and carry some cracks. MOP grips are meant for display and crack when worn while shooting over a period of time. Unfortunately that alone devalues them, they are however still pretty cool and worth anywhere from $100 - $200, especially if your initials are "CG" or "GC"
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I like this gun but i dont think its a factory engraveing job its just not up to the quality Colt produced also the fact the engraveing is overtop of the pony logo tells me the engraveing was done later. + theses DA were seldom engraved.
The grips being carved up hurts the value to UNLESS you can find out who had this gun my guess is someone who had the gun had all this done along time ago . Find the story to tie with the gun if he is intresting or well known then the value will go up.
If it were mine id have a gunsmith do a caliber conversion on it so it could be antique in Canada.
Value is hard to say it could go for +1000 in the USA or maby abit more or less.
Id buy it tho i like it but its just not worth alot in 38 colt up here.
In the USA its a antique up here its a restricted.
The grips being carved up hurts the value to UNLESS you can find out who had this gun my guess is someone who had the gun had all this done along time ago . Find the story to tie with the gun if he is intresting or well known then the value will go up.
If it were mine id have a gunsmith do a caliber conversion on it so it could be antique in Canada.
Value is hard to say it could go for +1000 in the USA or maby abit more or less.
Id buy it tho i like it but its just not worth alot in 38 colt up here.
In the USA its a antique up here its a restricted.
NorthCoastBigBore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
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If the engraving is well done, would that not be of interest to certain collectors? The pictures here aren't really enough for (me) to judge the quality but first impression, looks well done.
Is it possible to identify an engraver by his styles (subtleties in stippling, angles, depth, overall design or other telltale markings?) I have an article on engravers from the US 19th century somewhere, haven't read it in many years but I remember it was an interesting read.
I know with certain other types of art (i.e. NW Coast FN art) from a lay perspective at first glance they all look quite similar but the more you learn, the easier it becomes to pick out styles and separate artists... if that can be said of engravings then....
Is it possible to identify an engraver by his styles (subtleties in stippling, angles, depth, overall design or other telltale markings?) I have an article on engravers from the US 19th century somewhere, haven't read it in many years but I remember it was an interesting read.
I know with certain other types of art (i.e. NW Coast FN art) from a lay perspective at first glance they all look quite similar but the more you learn, the easier it becomes to pick out styles and separate artists... if that can be said of engravings then....
Indeed that would be of interest. You can guess at who did it based off of style, but it would take a professional to verify and even then a lot of the time it's an educated guess. What the OP should do is tell his friend to take off the grips, or look in the crane area for a signature (basically look in the protected areas if not there, you may find something and the signature would usually be found in a protected area). The high level engravers always signed their pieces, that could bring the value up considerably should it be one of the masters. Signature + matching style could very well = large payday in this case.
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That is of course assuming it's in the antique serial range.
For the record it's worth more (in a cost to profit ratio sence) with provenance showing it's in original caliber with original pieces, even with non factory alterations such as the engraving. Besides if the desire is to keep the engraving intact alteration would require bringing it in line to a larger caliber, which if done to the current cylinder and barrel could very well make it unsafe to fire. It would require removal of the barrel and cylinder and swapping in new parts to be done so as to not harm the original pieces while making a safe shooter, and leave it capable of being restored to original configuration. Then with just the frame engraved it'd look "funny" so you'll have to pay for matching engraving on the new parts.
This one can be hit or miss for the jackpot; if there's provenance from the Colt letter, a master engravers signature, or some kind of proof of "someone special" ownership it's worth more as is. If not, well then alteration could be considered, but as outlined by Starpuss in a few threads you actually end up losing money on altered New army navy after all is said and done. If the goal is to sell it and just get what you can out of it alteration could very well cost your friend some funds in the long run.
Its a 1889 DA Colt there all pre 1898. check the cylinder no stop notchs + the OP sent me pics with the SER # so i know its a 1889 colt for sure and for sure its antique by age.
In age just not caliber.
a caliber change to 41 lc could be safely done and keep the barrel and keep the cylinder you can just load smaller dia bullets in the 41 LC cases thats been done with a few 1892s it works good.
The gun has and Ex bore so id not touch the barrel its not marked 38 colt either.
Thats what "i would do" like i said so i could have and shoot it up here might not be the best thing for the OP if your wanting to sell it.
But im giveing him options as he may very well want to keep it if he knows he could have it as a perscribed antique in Canada.
The USA has enough guns eh LOL
then the gun would be worth more up here than in the USA unless the owner was famous.
Thats hard to prove i have a gun thats engraved John P Clum its very hard to prove who owned a gun without paperwork showing the owner had the gun tied to him.
In age just not caliber.
a caliber change to 41 lc could be safely done and keep the barrel and keep the cylinder you can just load smaller dia bullets in the 41 LC cases thats been done with a few 1892s it works good.
The gun has and Ex bore so id not touch the barrel its not marked 38 colt either.
Thats what "i would do" like i said so i could have and shoot it up here might not be the best thing for the OP if your wanting to sell it.
But im giveing him options as he may very well want to keep it if he knows he could have it as a perscribed antique in Canada.
The USA has enough guns eh LOL
then the gun would be worth more up here than in the USA unless the owner was famous.
Thats hard to prove i have a gun thats engraved John P Clum its very hard to prove who owned a gun without paperwork showing the owner had the gun tied to him.
Nice looking old Colt, just the same. Doesn't really look like factory Colt work to me either. Look for an engraver with a German surname, that work has a definite teutonic flavour to it with the deep leaves and all.
Haha, now how did I miss that? Well I guess I did have a few brew in me, just like at the bar get a few in a person and you might mistake the signs of an "older model" and take her home
. lol.Haha, now how did I miss that? Well I guess I did have a few brew in me, just like at the bar get a few in a person and you might mistake the signs of an "older model" and take her home
Its easy to miss the notchs are hard to see.
I only knew right away because i had the advantage of haveing the Ser # which is in the low 10.000s
Lee Enfield
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Republic of Alberta
It is definately not factory.
My (un?)educated guess is that it was engraved by someone using a pattern overlay.
A professional engraver would have encorporated the caliber markings, rampant colt trademark and the sideplate screws into a modified pattern instead of having to engrave over them.
It looks like a pretty good job from this distance though...
