Colt Walker 1847

[exec9mm]

What would be a good way or auction house to sell a nice genuine Colt 1847?

[mm6mm6]

I'll give you $100 sight unseen right now!

To be truthfull, I highly recommend www.GunBroker.com

I sold my father's entire collection there by myself. I started every auction at a penny and I never had a reserve. If you truly have an original 1847 Walker and you wish to sell it for the highest price possible, I recommend a 14 day auction starting at a penny with no reserve.

Many people get nervous that they will only get a penny for the gun. This is unfounded. Thousands upon thousands of collectors scour GunBroker. Be sure to take many, many pictures with a quality camera. And give a full written description. If it's truly an original then it's an antique and no FFL or C&R license is required by the buyer. Just a photo copy with their payment of a State issued picture ID that they are 21 years of age and a letter stating they are able to purchase the gun legally.

With a no reserve auction, you get people bidding. Everyone gets interested because they are simply bidding against each other instead of against an unknown reserve. They see the current bid and decide they will be higher.

When I sold my dad's guns, I sold most of them for OVER the 2007 Blue Book of Gun Values prices. A particular Colt .380 sold for $3125 when the Blue Book said just $1000. What does that tell you? The fair market will set the price for you. There can be no complaint when it sells because with no reserve, it will sell for exactly what is was worth...to a particular buyer.

And the really nice thing is that you get the money instead of splitting too much with a gun shop or live auction house. Yeah, GunBroker takes their cut, but it's a small cut compared to everyone else out there.

Good luck!

[JudgeColt]

Do you mean the reissue or an original from 1847? You do not say. "Genuine" surely hints at an original 160-year-old gun, but then a recent Colt Blackpowder Walker reissue is "genuine" as well, but in a far different context. Assuming you are discussing a "genuine" reissue Walker and not the "genuine" Holy Grail, the suggestions of the previous poster are good ones.

On the other hand, if you have somehow come into possession of the Holy Grail of gun collecting, a real, original Colt Walker, I do not think any of the online auction sites would be appropriate. While not all original Walkers are accounted for, most are and fakes abound. Any Walker that would appear now would almost certainly be a fake. Before it could be sold, such a gun would need authenticating by experts. Sales by the major auction houses carry that authentication and the backup of the auction house should it turn out to be a fake. Those things make potential buyers feel more secure in bidding.

I assume I wasted my time discussing an original Walker, but one never knows just what "genuine" means. The first poster apparently thinks it is the Holy Grail since he makes a facetious offer of $100 on a $100-$300K+ gun.

Clarify please just for the record.

[exec9mm]

Thanks, for the advice, I'll check them out.

[exec9mm]

It is a true 1847 that was sold at auction in 1972 and has been stored away since. Has been checked as authentic. One with serial # in the 1000 series sold to private parties and not the rangers.

[flusher]

I have sold hundreds of collectible items on Gunbroker and would never never start them at one penny.
Start them at a figure you would want to get or start them much lower with a 'reserve'.

[Revolver]

Pics would be nice

[45stops_em_quick]

Pics would be very nice.

[bogusbill]

Give us a darn picture!

[Gunsmoke]

Let me put it this way:



And on a serious note:

Whitneyville Walkers are -as already mentioned- not your average Colt on the must have list. And they are appreciated as such.

I have somewhere an auction add on a Colt Walker. I will try to dig it up.

Edit: found it:

http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/ad...p?itemID=13171

As for selling this gun on an internetauction site:

It's your gun, but I doubt it very much if the real highrollers will bid on a six-figure gun on an internetauction. It is my opinion that such an original gun should be auctioned through one of the major auction houses like Christies to get the worldwide attention a gun of such provenance deserves.