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Colt Factory-engraved Revolver, ca. 1885

Value (2020) | $25,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
It was my great-grandfather's. It's kind of an artifact of the Old West-- he was a sheriff and police chief in Crawford, Nebraska.

APPRAISER:
I noticed this photograph here. It says that he was the first police chief, in 1885?

GUEST:
About 1885, don't know the exact date.

APPRAISER:
Okay, this is a picture of him here in his uniform, and with his badge. And then he, here he is in the same studio, with his family and his badge.

GUEST:
Behind him is my grandfather, who used to tell me lurid tales of law enforcement in the Wild West.

APPRAISER:
Wow.

GUEST:
But my grandmother would always say, "Don't believe a word of it."

APPRAISER:
We have a Colt factory-engraved single-action, .45-caliber, five-and-a-half-inch barrel. It's got quite a bit of finish in the protected areas. You can see the blue. It was originally all blue in finish.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
When we see engraved guns, we like to see all the finish. For an historical weapon, we like to see use. And this shows a lot of use without any abuse. It also comes with the original holster. The gun appears to be engraved by Helfricht, who was a Colt engraver at the turn of the century. The great thing about it is, you got a factory letter on the gun.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
And it shows, by serial number, the caliber, the barrel length-- which is five-and-a-half-- blued, shows rubber grips, and it does say it was factory-engraved.

GUEST:
Is it easy to get those letters? The archivists?

APPRAISER:
Yeah. A couple of hundred bucks, you contact them. It takes a few months, but it's... Especially for something this special.

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
It was shipped to Hartley and Graham in New York, 1885, and we noticed in the letter, it calls hard rubber grips. And it has custom pearl grips on at the moment. Hartley and Graham was a retailer, so these grips fit perfectly, and they have your great-grandfather's initials on the base of the right grip. On the other grip, they have a beautiful steer head. It's our belief that Colt shipped them the gun, and they replaced the grips at the time before they sold it. When your grandfather received it, this is how he received it.

GUEST:
Now, there's damage in the grips. Is that...

APPRAISER:
There's damage there, and it does detract from it. The most important thing is, you have a family document and you have a Colt document. Do you have an idea what you think it might be worth?

GUEST:
A few hundred dollars, maybe.

APPRAISER:
Uh-huh. Well, we could sell it in our gallery for $25,000.

GUEST:
You're kidding.

APPRAISER:
No, I'm serious.

GUEST:
That's hard to believe.

APPRAISER:
(chuckles) It's a great thing.

GUEST:
That's awesome.

APPRAISER:
Very few engraved single-actions.

GUEST:
$25,000?

APPRAISER:
Yeah.

GUEST:
Wow.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Brad Witherell
Arms & Militaria
Witherell's
Sacramento, CA
Update (2020)
$25,000 Retail
Appraised value (2006)
$25,000 Retail
Featured In
Tucson, Hour 2 (#1108)
Vintage Tucson 2021, Hour 1 (#2504)
Event
Tucson, AZ (June 17, 2006)
Category
Arms & Militaria
Period
19th Century
Form
Photograph , Portrait , Revolver
Material
Metal

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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