Colt Archive Auctions in 2009

[Buckspen]

I have created a database in Microsoft Excel of all the guns in the three Colt Archive auctions at Greg Martin in 2009. I have included the auction number, date, model, serial number, caliber, barrel length, grips, finish, and several descriptive fields. There were about 1100 guns sold and they ranged from the most common Colts to the most exotic. This will be most helpful if you have the three auction catalogs that covered these sales, but even without them, I think this will be an interesting tool for collector's. Just for instance, there were several experimental Pythons in .22 LR and a couple of New Frontiers in .44 Magnum and a couple of the extremely scarce 1861 stainless steel percussion revolvers, the very first (#LW1) Cobra revolver and many, many more interesting guns
If you would like to have a copy of this spreadsheet/database, send me a private message on this forum with your e-mail address and I will sent it to you.
For folks interested in the .22 caliber single actions, I am also working on getting the photos and descriptions for all such guns in the auctions into a three-ring notebook printed form. My contact at Greg Martin/Heritage has promised to send the photos I need to complete this project. I hope to have it done in the next couple of months.

- - - - -Buckspen

[Kanatak]

Buckspen, that must have been a tough project to tackle... thank you very much for your generous offer. PM outgoing now.

I was quite interested in those auctions and followed each one. I regret terribly not taking advantage of those once- in-a-lifetime opportunities. Your database will be a useful tool for years to come. I see those auction guns popping up all the time. Thank you sincerely for taking this project on.

Were you able to locate all the Greg Martin catalogs that you needed?

Thank you again.

[Kanatak]

Buckspen, thank you for the spreadsheet... an amazing piece of work that I will find quite useful and enjoyable. I only have the Part II (March 29, 2009) Greg Martin Catalog, however, your data for Parts I and III can be used without them. A truly wonderful source of information on these Colt Archive guns.

I want to add that I was able to open Buckspen's spreadsheet using Microsoft Office Excel Viewer. I was not able to open it using Microsoft Excel.

Guys, this is a thorough and interesting compilation of data on each of the Colt Archives pieces. I think you too will find it useful.

Thank you again Buckspen!

[Buckspen]

The Excel spreadsheet was created using the latest version of the program, Excel 2010. Older versions may not be able to open it. I started out putting all the data in Microsoft Access, but eventally found out that it was way more powerful than I needed and most people would not be able to use it. So, I exported all the data into Excel and made some changes. I think it turned out well and I hope that you guys will have fun using it.
I was able to find a couple extra copies of the second (March) and third (June) auctions. I've never found another copy of the first auction catalog (January). I've asked on several gun forums and haven't turned any up and queries to Greg Martin/Heritage Auctions have not worked either.
I would very much like to do a book on all three auctions with photos and descriptions. This would be dependent on GM/HA providing the images and finding a publisher interested in producing the book. I spoke to the representative from Blue Book Publications at the recent Colt Collector's Association show in Kansas City, and he said he would talk to his boss about it, but nothing has ever come of that. It would be a lot of hard work, but I think it would be worth it since so many collectors were unaware of the auctions.

- - - Buckspen

[broknaxl]

Wow!! What a great and generous offer. You meet the nicest people in the Colt Forum!!