firearm values?

[twobirds]

Greetings:

A friend of mine has two flintlock pistols and has asked how to establish a value for them. One appears to be an original German(?)holster pistol, and the other may be a British sea service. Thought the Brit has Tower lock markings, Crown w. GR below, and proof marks, I suspect that it may be a repro. Is there an easy way to establish values for these guns?

twobirds

 

[mazo kid]

I would suggest looking at a few on-line auction sites to get an idea of value for the German pistol. With out seeing pictures, it is hard to put an approximate price on it. If the British pistol is a repro, there are those on the same auction sites, as well as pictures so you can see if they are the same. The repro pistol seems to go for ~$80-$250 depending on buyer demand. I personally won't pay much over $100 for one, but if someone wants one bad enough they push the price up.

 

No one can give you an appraisal without seeing the guns first hand. Pictures won't do it. All you can get online is a "ball park" guess.

 

[mykeal]

...Is there an easy way to establish values for these guns?

You used that nasty word, 'easy'.

The easy answer to your question is, "No."

Establishing a value, and often even authenticity, is rarely easy. I suggest a professional antique appraiser with experience in firearms be consulted.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

In addition to the good advice already given I would suggest taking your friend's guns to some gun shows.

Your profile states you are in East Texas. If Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston is not too far away from you these towns have some big gun shows. Should be lots of knowledgeable folks to help you out with advice.

How you present the guns to folks at a gunshow for a free appraisal may influence the information/dollar value advice you get. Some folks will not give you good information thinking they can buy the guns cheap even when you tell them upfront you just want information. However, like this forum, most folks are glad to help you.

Having very high quality close up digtal pictures or having the gun in hand helps tremendously in evaluating the dollar value and what the gun really is.

 

[Zonie]

After going to hundreds of gun shows I have found that no one will give a fair appraisal of a gun of any kind there.

I'm not knocking the other people that attend these shows, just saying what I've observed.

Every single one of them is there to buy your gun for half or less than it is worth.
The only time you will find out what they really think it is worth is after they have bought it and hung their price tag on it.

That price tag by the way is also not what the gun is worth.
It is always at least 33 percent more than what they know the gun is worth and they are counting on discounting it just for you to a "good deal" and still selling it for more than what it is actually worth.

IMO, if a person can post photos of the gun on this web site they will probably get a much fairer guess as to a guns actual value than they would ever get at a gun show.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Zonie, absolutely no offense intended. I have to disagree about a blanket condemnation of all gun show table holders or attendees who do buys in the aisles.

I agree the original poster can get a very good ball park value here on the forum if he can post very high quality close up pictures.

When someone asks me at a gunshow what something is worth I try to clarify with them if they are just curious, want a retail or insurance apprasial, want to sell the item now or are just thinking about selling, etc. If they are ready to sell I tell them what I would pay if it is something I want. If not interested or not knowledgeable on a particular gun (which is a lot of the time since I only buy stuff I like personally) I try to direct the person to someone in the show who can help or make an offer to buy.

I do not make offers of half or less than half something is worth at retail.

Sure, lots of guys will buy anything they can make money on, give lowball offers, etc., but that is capitalism in action. There are also lots of guys like me that do gunshows for fun and because that is where we find a few good guns.

Just one example of many, I recently took a nice Civil War Remington .44 revolver to a gunshow for a friend. He had it priced at $1,650. Had two offers of $1,500 on the first day. One offer from a table holder, one offer from an attendee. No sale.

Later I took the Remington to the table of a nationally known antique gun dealer I know and like. He offered $1,200 for it.

Anyway, again, no offense intended. Can we agree to disagree? :v

Also, I am still curious why the original poster's friend wants to know the value?

 

[mykeal]

Sorry, Zonie, but I have to agree with Robert on this one.

A gun show is an open marketplace, and one has to expect that the buyers and sellers are trying to find what the market will bear on that day and for that gun. The buyers want to pay as little as possible and the sellers want to sell for as much as possible. If one is buying or selling he'd be pretty naive not to understand that and in that case probably shouldn't be there.

But someone seeking an appraisal can get an honest opinion from many, if not most, of the sellers. The key is the word 'appraisal'. The owner needs to make it clear he's not selling at the show. Some dealers will still lowball the estimate, but many will be fair in their evaluation. At least in my experience.

The reason I suggested getting a professional appraiser involved was it sounded to me like this gun was not the kind that you'd find trading at most gun shows, and thus the level of expertise to properly evaluate it was likely not there either, so even if the dealers were fair in their evaluations, the expertise might not be sufficient to realistically evaluate it.

 

[twobirds]

Sorry I have been away a few days. Thank you all for your input. You have confirmed what I suspected...that there is no easy way (by website or book) to establish a value for these guns. I doubt that my friend will take them to a gun show for appraisal. Since he is, by profession, a professional (land) appraiser, he realizes the value of such. He just asked me to find out if there is an easier and cheaper method.

The reason my friend wants to get an idea of value is that he is considering selling the two pistols (times are getting hard!).

I may try to take some photos of these pistols and post them in a separate thread to see if y'all can help identify them for us. I'm reconsidering my initial thought that the Brit pistol is a repro. Maybe I can get good enough photos of the proof marks, etc., to help.

Thanks again for your considered opinions. :hatsoff:

twobirds

 

[FishDFly]

Check you PM, it might help.

Where in East Texas are you.

RDE