[Hawk Eye Tom]

In this day , one can get Fake Grips/Stocks
Fake Hang Tags
Fake Boxes
Fake Owners Manuals
Fake Box Labels
Fake Box Sleeves
So , is it possible that the forgers could come up with a FAKE COLT LETTER showing what ever info they want a said gun to be ?

 

[Oyeboten]

I think it would be fun to see a 'fake' Colt Letter, which describes an S & W Revolver having been 'Shipped To'...what Stocks, Caliber/Cartridge, Blue or Nickel or whatever, Barrel Length, and so on.

Otherwise, I think I have read references to there being 'fake' Colt Letters out there. Where, for any especially valuable original provenance being referenced, if one is a prospective buyer, it may be a good idea to obtain a Fast-Track affirm of that detail from Colt, before taking the plunge, based on an accompanying 'Letter'.

 

[ssgunnip]

They have already come up with them. I am sure others will chime in with their experiences.

 

[Hawk Eye Tom]

DANG ...... I guess if there is a buck to be made , they can fake anything . My favorite is the" authentic plastic bag" for putting the revolvers in . It was a plane "ziploc" bag .

 

[elliotf]

The older letters were easy to fake as they did not have the raised Colt seal. I think they changed in the early 1980's but not sure of exact date.

 

[dfariswheel]

There have been fake Colt Archive letters at least as far back as the 1960's.

In a famous case a West coast man was generating talk in the collector community by buying Colt Detective Specials in a certain serial number range. These were all pre-war guns, and what was generating the talk was that he was paying well above market values for them.

Unknown at the time, was that the same man was also selling Colt "Fitz" Detective Specials with authenticating Colt Archive letters listing them as genuine Colt factory Fitz guns.

Things came apart when a buyer lost his letter and applied to Colt for a replacement. The new Archive letter listed the gun as a standard production 30's DS.
The owner contacted a friend who'd also bought one and he contacted Colt. When he too found his Fitz Colt was a standard production gun, the authorities were contacted and the seller wound up in prison for fraud.
He never said how many of these fakes with fake letters he made up and sold, but they're still out there, the owners still unaware they have a fake gun and letter.

It's a little more difficult today with the embossed paper, but making an embosser is no big problem.
Bottom line, if you're paying some large money for a rare Colt, insist on buying your own letter from Colt.

 

[Old-Colts]

The older letters were easy to fake as they did not have the raised Colt seal. I think they changed in the early 1980's but not sure of exact date.

Hmmmmm, I recognize those two letters!

The latest of the older style letters that I have is dated August 17, 1982. The earliest of the new style letters is dated October 17, 1983. So, they changed somewhere in between.

Bill

 

[ohiobuckeye]

Yes, fake letters do exist. I encountered a couple over the years that were debunked by Kathy Hoyt. One was for a "genuine" 22 magnum Diamondback, which I checked before buying, fortunately, so it's still out there. Last known to be in western Kentucky.

 

[pecosriver]

All of my letters have a rampant colt as a watermark.I don't know when they started that,but it's impossible to fake.

 

[Rio]

I seem to remember a number of fluted 1860 armies coming on to the market a few years back with letters saying they were sent to the governor of Ohio around the start of the WAR (1861-65 War). Might have been OK but it just seemed strange at the time.

Rio

 

[elliotf]

I always spend the $35 for a re-letter just to make sure. Well worth the money.

 

[Cruiser RN]

ANYTHING CAN BE FAKED. That being said the only Colt letter I would trust 100% is the one I get for myself.If provenance is that big of a factor reletter the gun for yourself