Missouri Regiment Colt Pistol & Staff Sword

Appraised on: July 23, 2011

Appraised in: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Appraised by: Christopher Mitchell

Category: Arms & Militaria

Episode Info: Junk in the Trunk 2 (#1621)

Originally Aired: November 5, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 4  

Appraisal Video: (2:29)

GUEST: It's an engraved .41 caliber Colt double action that has a matching sword, and it was a presentation to a great-uncle for his service in the Spanish-American War. My dad took the time to get the letter from Colt Manufacturing to authenticate it.

APPRAISER: This is a Model 1860 staff and field officer sword-- that's the pattern, it's not the year it was made. This sword was made in the 1890s. Underneath the guard, there's actually a really wonderful presentation to a Mr. Vining, who I'm assuming is your relative, from the members of the Union National Bank, and then it's given in 1898. Normally when you encounter this particular pattern of sword, they're not very elaborate. Take away this gold gilding that we have, the sheet silver grip, these very fancy mounts, and this wonderful box that it came in, another $200 or $300. But because it is so deluxe and in relation to the gun, this is probably worth around $2,500. So it's worth a tremendous amount more. Now, the pistol is a Colt. It's the Model 1877. It's commonly referred to as the Lightning. It comes in two calibers, .38 being the Lightning, .41 being the Thunder. Now, this is an extremely deluxe pistol. This pistol actually isn't given en suite with the sword. If we go back and we look on your factory letter, the gun was actually purchased and delivered in 1894, four years before the sword was given to him. I think he bought the gun himself. If we take a closer look at the back strap of the pistol, unlike the sword, this doesn't have a presentation or a "presented to" on it. It just says "Lieutenant Vining's." But this pistol was very, very expensive when he bought it. We have very, very deluxe factory engraving, pearl grips. They carved floral work into the grip to even more embellish the gun. And then the cylinder itself is actually gold washed. It's in wonderful shape, and I think in a retail situation, you might expect this gun to bring as much as $20,000. So $22,500 total for both. Now, if he moved on and did something very meritorious or if he was in the Rough Riders or if he participated in the charge at San Juan Hill, then that would affect the value.

GUEST: Very cool, very good.