Looking for a value on the saa gen 1

1861 Views 60 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Mr.Sixgun, 2 d ago

Midnightsun

Discussion Starter · 6 d ago

5

I’m new to this forum and hoping Mabey some of y’all can help with a value on this pistol. It’s been in my family several generations and Im not very knowledgeable about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated

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azshot

· #2 · 6 d ago (Edited)

It's great you have the letter showing it was shipped "soft", meaning it was planned to be engraved all along. That is a second best for an engraved gun, first being factory engraved.

It's hard to tell if this is the original finish though, or if it has been re-finished at some time. The serial numbers look buffed and a couple other areas, in your photos anyway.

Value is somewhat difficult - you ask 3 experts and you'll get 3 different ideas. Mostly a "range". I'm not going to do that, don't know enough. But it's fairly valuable with that letter, even if redone sometime in the past.

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saintclair

· #3 · 6 d ago

There are no background punched dot on the engraving on the cylinder. That is not what I would expect.

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Mikebiker

· #4 · 6 d ago

The gun is a very good one. What I see is a very nice crisp gun that shows no real signs of being refinished except for the color of the plating. Original period nickel had a yellow cast and some of it would have turned cloudy by now. The cylinder has no turn line and there is no wear to the edges of the gold which typically wears quickly. This also says it is a recent refinish. I have no history of the gun as to where and how long ago you got it. It could be a clue. It looks like a professional refinish of what was most likely a very nice gun to start with. The engraving is typical new York style with well done scroll work and a fair amount of inexpensive filler. The gold was a thing a bit earlier but by this time had faded in popularity. Better close up pictures would help in establish the actual condition of the gun. Mother of Pearl was a very common grip on the New York Nickel guns.

Value is hard on this one as it has several factors. A most likely refinish Lowers it. A shipped soft helps it. The age of the gun and caliber are also good things. The condition is very good. The possible refinish is extremely well done. These older guns have come way up in value but this one has things that may be good on sale day and some that may hurt it a little.

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johngross

· #5 · 6 d ago

It's a very nice looking revolver but certainly refinished. The finish is too new and shiny, plus gold can wear off very easily yet it shows no wear. I also don't see the ethched panel or barrel address. But as I said, looks nice!

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Midnightsun

Discussion Starter · #6 · 6 d ago

azshot said:
It's great you have the letter showing it was shipped "soft", meaning it was planned to be engraved all along. That is a second best for an engraved gun, first being factory engraved.

It's hard to tell if this is the original finish though, or if it has been re-finished at some time. The serial numbers look buffed and a couple other areas, in your photos anyway.

Value is somewhat difficult - you ask 3 experts and you'll get 3 different ideas. Mostly a "range". I'm not going to do that, don't know enough. But it's fairly valuable with that letter, even if redone sometime in the past.

Mikebiker said:
The gun is a very good one. What I see is a very nice crisp gun that shows no real signs of being refinished except for the color of the plating. Original period nickel had a yellow cast and some of it would have turned cloudy by now. The cylinder has no turn line and there is no wear to the edges of the gold which typically wears quickly. This also says it is a recent refinish. I have no history of the gun as to where and how long ago you got it. It could be a clue. It looks like a professional refinish of what was most likely a very nice gun to start with. The engraving is typical new York style with well done scroll work and a fair amount of inexpensive filler. The gold was a thing a bit earlier but by this time had faded in popularity. Better close up pictures would help in establish the actual condition of the gun. Mother of Pearl was a very common grip on the New York Nickel guns.

Value is hard on this one as it has several factors. A most likely refinish Lowers it. A shipped soft helps it. The age of the gun and caliber are also good things. The condition is very good. The possible refinish is extremely well done. These older guns have come way up in value but this one has things that may be good on sale day and some that may hurt it a little.

it’s been in my family 3 generations I’m in my 60s now but it started with my grand pa he was border patrol in the 30s in Texas and said it came from Mexican general then passed on to my dad he took it to somebody that looked close at it and said it had only been fired one time so that was colt test fire and as long as it’s been in my family it’s never been messed with just kept in a sock stuck back in the dresser

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BABYSITR

· #7 · 6 d ago

Welcome from Southern Illinois...that's a real nice old revolver...get these guys some better pics, there is a bunch of SAA knowledge here

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FL Moore

· #8 · 6 d ago

Welcome to the forum from Virginia !!

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Midnightsun

Discussion Starter · #9 · 6 d ago

10

Mabey these might help

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Mikebiker

· #10 · 6 d ago

We are looking at pictures and I will say fairly good ones, but still pictures. I can not find a smoking gun to say anything is wrong except the hammer appears to have no knurling. The crescent ejector head is the first year for civilian guns. The good pictures of the cylinder do show some wear to the edges of the flutes and a turn line. the edges are crisp and no damage is seen. The nickel portion of the gun looks wrong to me. The nickel looks thicker then what was applied in the early 1880s. It looks like it has filled in the engraving just a bit. Notice the gold is very thin and shows all the polishing underneath it. The nickel fills in the small voids and kind of softens the engraving. Original nickel from this period was very thin more like the gold. Later it became thicker and had more of a blue tint to it. The fact that it has been in the family does not rule out a refinish. It could even possibly be a Colt Factory refinish from the 1930 or Later. Their work is basically factory with the finish and techniques of the period in which it was performed. If possible gently pull the grips and see if there any numbers under them and on the front of the cylinder. These would be bin numbers to keep the parts together but since this one was hard to mix up they may not have been used. A hands on examination would be needed to determine the true identity of the finish. The value would be affected by this. At a Rock Island auction the range could be 5,000 to 20,000 dollars.

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azshot

· #11 · 6 d ago

I still see some signs of refinish, but there is wear on the gold cylinder which would be proper for a gold plated gun this old. It's a paradox.

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mrcvs

· #12 · 6 d ago

As others already stated, a letter stating the finish is “soft” is a good one—second only to factory engraved. The revolver was destined for engraving, but at the distributor.

As others already stated, it’s likely this revolver underwent a refinish. I’m addition to that already mentioned, the breaks in lettering of the barrel address tells us it’s a later refinish. It would not have left Colt’s like that.

As for value, I’ll take a stab at this, but the value is whatever this would hammer at at auction.

IF this revolver had factory engraving, and had the original finish, the value would be $30,000 to $50,000. If refinished and engraved much more recently, the value might be $3500 to $7500. One is paying for the aesthetics of engraving applied to a much earlier revolver. So, being refinished but having early engraving applied at the distributor suggests that the value given by Mikebiker is about right. I see this easily cracking $5000 but reaching $20,000 might be a stretch, but you never know. $10,000 to $15,000 before any buyer’s premiums would seem about right.

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rabun creek

· #13 · 6 d ago

I totally agree with mrcvs. The gun most definitely has been "whizzed" (polished and refinished). The engraving is not sharp in any areas that I see, although someone did a good job of keeping every area fairly even. Still, a nice gun for what it is. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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Midnightsun

Discussion Starter · #14 · 6 d ago

I really appreciate all of y’all’s input.I wish I knew more of the back story on this pistol. I do know grand pa aquired it in the mid to late 20s around Presidio Tx while being with the border patrol. He said it belonged to Mexican general. As long as grand pa had it he never had it refinished.Then it was passed along to my dad. Before my dad retired from the bureau he took it to the ballistics guys and they said the pistol had been shot one time. If the pistol has been refinished it would have taken place before grand pa acquired it in the 20s. I’d like to see it go to a collector I don’t have the proper interest in it other than sentimental reasons but the pistol being stuck in a sock hidden in a dresser doesn’t do it justice. So I’ve started to try to find out a ballpark value

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Mikebiker

· #15 · 6 d ago

There is no way for anyone to determine a gun has been fired one time. Not to cast doubt on you Father and grandfather but handed down stories are not a reliable source of history. Helpful but not fact filled. Even though the guns were shipped soft and final polished by colt they would have needed a little touch up polishing after the engraving. I still think this one has been replated at some point. I tend to agree with MrCVS on the value. I gave a broad range as this gun is a bit of a wild card. 8 to 10 Thousand would be a fair expectation. If I was selling outright I would ask 18000 and settle for 12000. Documentation that your Grandfather was with the Border Patrol may help. The part from the Bureau does not help and sounds kind of weird. Any documentation of the gun being in your family since the 20s would help.

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Tall

· #16 · 6 d ago

Letter resized. cropped and rotated to be right side up.

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Rick

· #17 · 6 d ago

IMO, refinished and engraving "freshened." I see hammer and chisel on cylinder but ngraver on barrel and several other areas. Engraving is not a typical pattern that I've seen on other NY engraved guns. I've owned 3 and they had patterns that looked almost identical to each other but none resembled this.
If we didn't have the owners history I'd be inclined to think this gun had some original engraved parts and some other parts added and engraved more recently. Is there a partial serial on barrel under ejector housing?
Even with the questions I have I'd think this gun would fetch $5500.00-$7500.00.

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Tall

· #18 · 6 d ago

Yes obvious signs of buffing on the serial numbers indicates a refinish. Image rotated to right side up.

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Mikebiker

· #19 · 6 d ago

I do not think the engraving has been recut. As I said earlier that recent nickel plating is thicker and tends to fill in details much more then the original did. In some of the pictures I do see chisel marks in the engraved nickel parts.

Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is usually the most correct. In this case the simplest explanation is that the original period nickel had turned dull and started to lake off. Period nickel is known to do that much more often then modern nickel. So the gun was carefully polished and replated. In the beginning the gun was a thing of beauty and as age accrued it became less so. It was restored to it's former state of well being before the time when original patina and finish were valued as they are today.

I also think the glare in the picture distorts the serial numbers.

GRI

· #20 · 6 d ago

2

Nice gun. This said, there are issues with the gun indicating it is not the original finish. However, you asked for a value. For insurance, $5,000. Never sell it. I will point out the gun exhibits holster wear prior to plating, most noticeable on the tip of ejector rod housing. The gun was used.

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