New and looking for help. Grandma’s Colt

1377 Views 40 Replies 27 Participants Last post by Cozmo, 4 d ago

1974kmiles

Discussion Starter · 5 d ago

2

I inherited my precious Grandma’s colt gun. I remember her using it to shoot snakes as they came down the mountain in WV. Grandma was a great shot👍🏻🤣. I have tried to get honest information and value but feel they were not being honest. I’m so glad a found this forum. Here is what a friend said about my gun.
It’s a Colt model 1873 SIngle Action Army Frontier Six Shooter Revolver 44 40 caliber serial number 248168. It works he shot it👍🏻
i Was told it was not worth much but I find that hard to believe. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Regards,
Kathy

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MarkInTx

· #2 · 5 d ago

Welcome to the Forum from (northern) South Texas!

That is a really nice looking 1903 Colt Frontier Six Shooter!
I don't make estimates on values because there is so much variation but the experts will be along shortly.
I can say with confidence that whoever told you "it wasn't worth much" was trying to pull one over on you.

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1974kmiles

Discussion Starter · #3 · 5 d ago

MarkInTx said:
Welcome to the Forum from (northern) South Texas!
View attachment 847071
That is a really nice looking 1903 Colt Frontier Six Shooter!
I don't make estimates on values because there is so much variation but the experts will be along shortly.
I can say with confidence that whoever told you "it wasn't worth much" was trying to pull one over on you.

Great, thank you for letting me know it’s 1903!
Regards,
Kathy

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ezb57

· #4 · 5 d ago

Welcome.
Gorgeous gun and worth plenty.

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1974kmiles

Discussion Starter · #5 · 5 d ago

ezb57 said:
Welcome.
Gorgeous gun and worth plenty.

Thank you. I’m clueless so I appreciate a forum like this.

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Todd

· #6 · 5 d ago

Real nice pistol and wonderful family legacy-gun.
It'll be enjoyable and educating to hear the smarter-set explain this one to you... and me on the side.
Are the notches on the butt your Grandpa's snake score?😄

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Ugly Hombre

· #7 · 5 d ago

Its a great gun and worth a considerable amount go to "Guns Iinternational" "Gun Broker" "Guns International" etc. and type in "Colt SAA 1903 .44 40" "Frontier Six Shooter" do a search to see prices. A great gun- don't ever sell it you might have to shoot a snake.lol

Welcome to the Colt forum!

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spud62

· #8 · 5 d ago

Welcome from east central Ohio. Experts will be here shortly to review your gun. You will be surprised how much it is worth. I’m no expert so stay tuned for the best to come. Edit, you should change the heading from semi auto pistols to single action army. You will get a better response.

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1974kmiles

Discussion Starter · #9 · 5 d ago

Todd said:
Real nice pistol and wonderful family legacy-gun.
It'll be enjoyable and educating to hear the smarter-set explain this one to you... and me on the side.
Are the notches on the butt your Grandpa's snake score?😄

I did t notice the notches. Too funny.

Todd said:
Real nice pistol and wonderful family legacy-gun.
It'll be enjoyable and educating to hear the smarter-set explain this one to you... and me on the side.
Are the notches on the butt your Grandpa's snake score?😄

I didn’t notice the notched. Now I have to count them.

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1974kmiles

Discussion Starter · #10 · 5 d ago

1974kmiles said:
I did t notice the notches. Too funny.

I didn’t notice the notched. Now I have to count them.

Ugly Hombre said:
Its a great gun and worth a considerable amount go to "Guns Iinternational" "Gun Broker" "Guns International" etc. and type in "Colt SAA 1903 .44 40" "Frontier Six Shooter" do a search to see prices. A great gun- don't ever sell it you might have to shoot a snake.lol

Welcome to the Colt forum!

thank you for the information‼

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Tranter45

· #11 · 5 d ago

There's a saying when deceased estates come on the market that "the vultures gather". I'm guessing whoever told you it wasn't worth much wanted to buy it - cheap. In other words - rip you off!

Not up to date on American prices but I paid about $4000 for a similar 1899 shipped CFSS.

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Hootch56

· #12 · 5 d ago (Edited)

Well, If it were my Grandma's it would be priceless. I'm not up on prices for these but safe to say several thousand.

Welcome to the best forum on the net Kathy! Don't let that person talk you out of it.

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Gator89

· #13 · 5 d ago

Beautiful old Colt.

If were my grandmother's Colt, I would not sell or trade it for its weight in gold. That is a priceless family heirloom.

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ezb57

· #14 · 5 d ago (Edited)

Reminds me of this 1879 .44-40 I got from an old woman here in California. San Luis Obispo is an old Southern Pacific cow town, and she told me the gun was used by her grandfather for shooting rattle snakes off the trains.
The .44-40 round was also commonly loaded in a shot load as the .44XL. On my gun the rifling was so faint, it really looked like someone tried to smoothbore it.
It started as nickel too.

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mrcvs

· #15 · 5 d ago

As you were already informed, your revolver dates from 1903. With the exception of the hammer screw and base pin, I think all other component parts are original. Grips are likely original as fit is perfect and West is commensurate with the rest of the revolver. There’s not much original finish, but no abuse, no evidence of buffing prior to a refinish, no pitting. It’s basically all there, the component parts that aren’t original are minor on a revolver with little original finish.

Your revolver is desiarable as it has a 4 3/4” barrel, the most desirable length, and the caliber is .44-40, which is a popular caliber and big bore. The Colt Frontier Six Shooter tells me that.

Value? In today’s market, anything under 2k has problems, major replaced parts, refinishing evident, etc. So, I think your revolver is worth at least that, and probably closer to $2500.

The trigger is more forward than it should probably be. Lever Action Bill on this forum can fix problems such as these which likely involve the trigger and/or hammer.

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mrcvs

· #16 · 5 d ago

One other thing—is that a hole drilled through the two rearing colts on the grips? If so, it makes the grips slightly less desirable, but since they are original to this revolver in all likelihood, I would leave them as is.

Since this is a family heirloom, you might be interested in ordering a factory letter.

https://coltarchives.com/archive-letters/

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Rick

· #17 · 5 d ago

IMO, 2500-3000.00

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FL Moore

· #18 · 5 d ago

Welcome to the forum from Virginia !! Very cool colt revolver don’t let them rip off your heirloom colt

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JimK

· #19 · 5 d ago

Welcome from South Texas and you have a nice gun, hope you don' sell it. Keep passing it down.

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inspcalahan

· #20 · 5 d ago

As others have mentioned, a family pass along is priceless. And it's a Colt to boot!!! Most often, it's a Model 10 or Grannpappy's single shot 16 gauge....

Value wise, even with grips appearing to have a small hole (that can be fixed almost beyond being able to tell very easily), I'd put it more north of $4k in todays market. Maybe over $5k even to the person looking for one. It's a first gen in a very "Old West" caliber and the preferred barrel length.

It's used but fairly well taken care of - the best kind.

Most much more modern and boring third gens are selling over 2k for a run of the mill blue 5 1/2" 45.

This one sold last summer for mid $4s and the prices/demand has only increased since then.

https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/86/28/1st-gen-colt-frontier-six-shooter-single-action-army-revolver

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