1851 colt revolver

[jack404]

Sir i'd not sell it until a full inquiry has been done to prove provenance ..

with these age pistols provenance can be 50% of the value people low ball you in the business, i do too . but that if its as you say will be worth far far more than the lowball

as for oneshot , your indecision may make some folks think bad things , but i know its confusing , if you need money badly and this is your only way sell but know what you may be selling not a idea


and for oneshot , do you accuse everyone of being a scammer this fast ? too quick my friend way too quick unless you got neon radar built in .. and a bullet proof jaw and unlimited lawyers ..

BH get a expert get a value and decide then when you have facts , its in this unknown time you can make mistakes from lack of facts

i'll wager the low ball offer came from someone who know you dont know what you have , cause they know when you know they'll be out of range .. price range ..

get a expert get facts , then decide , but a panic offer will never sit well

[jack404]

and yes you can ship outside of england , its a hassle you'll need a agent to make it easier but i buy weapons from the UK often and ship there as well ..

[dcriner]

I think you should slow down and organize yourself. First, get a bonafide, written appraisal from someone who has credentials. If they're legit, you will need to pay $50 or more for a written appraisal. Don't get it appraised from someone who may want to buy the gun. That appraisal will allow you to sell the gun for its real worth, either in the U.K. or the U.S. Right now, you are a loose cannon.

Otherwise, put the gun away in a safe place, and keep it.

[BrickHarbor]

Thanks guys.

Well, yea I do need the money and 1500 is a lot to someone who's unemployed which is not helping in the matter of me wanting to keep it to research more etc..

The person who I've had the offer from works in / owns an antique shop in my home town and he's the only person who's physically seen the gun.
He told me that it was also illegal to send them abroad and 2 days ago he offered me £500 and today he has upped it to 1500 and given me until tomorrow to make my decision.

I only found this on Sunday and the last few days have been mayhem, researching the thing and trying to contact people about it etc..

In England the highest valuation so far has been £4000 but that's just from viewing a photograph.

As it stands, I haven't got a clue what to do as I need the money but I don't want to let it go for potentially a fraction of what it could go for.

[jack404]

I have two recommendations ,

A Mr Alan Cook of Antique Arms Uk +44 (0) 1932 228 328

and John slough and son's in hereford I i've met these folks and they again where honest but expencive on fee's 07775 643762

either of these places will be able top give you a decent idea , ask for a insurance and replacement valuation so they dont get a idea your selling , then once you have them appraise it then ask would they respent it ( sell it and what would they expect to return to you

Slough would be a good place to sell it as they have a office in the USA and can do whats needed for a transfer and sale in the USA

but they'll ask 10-15% of the sale price ( if you want a reserve put in it )

john@johnsloughoflondon.co.uk is his direct email and let him know you know jack the aussie "from the teams" , and thats the best intro i can offer ..

[BrickHarbor]

Thanks jack.
Hereford is only 25minutes away from my house, I shall send an email later on or give him a call in the morning!

[oneshot onekill]

FYI... I'm generally a VERY trusting person. However, I'm also pretty savvy at certain things... Having been bitten only once by a guy named Pavel on a Randall knife about 10 years ago coming out of Russia where they have little knowledge of Randalls (Only for $180.00) has prompted me to learn how scams work on things like this. It's the Internet, for crying out loud! Anyone can post anything. And collectors are an easy mark when that "Holy Grail" comes around from someone with less than 20 posts, from overseas, who doesn't know anything, and is considering selling said "Holy Grail" for a fraction of what any half-wit with a search engine would pay for it.

Granted... I may be way off base here and far too paranoid and if I am I apologize. But when I smell even the hint of something sideways, I will always withdraw and warn others to tread very carefully. I'd hate to see someone get stung.

OP... Truly, nice looking piece if it's really yours. Don't be in a rush to let it go. It's money in the bank. You've been given the names of some reputable sources to assess your pistol. Take the time to do the leg-work. You won't be sorry.

Cheers,
John

[jack404]

one shot , a lot of folks dont know what they have , or know what to believe ...

i bought a set of duelling pistols Marston's

the expert had offered the gent $3000 and stated thats a high price but i really want em ,

the gent made a post online and asked similar questions

he ended up getting what they where worth , just over 20 grand 20 years later they are worth almost double that now ..

we've had a number of Uk folks here who do not know what they have , thats a side effect of gun control and not the folks fault

sorry you got took too that sucks , but i try to treat every one as i wish to be treated , until shown they are not what they say .. we aint seen that , just a gent asking about what he dont know ..

and i hope we can help

[oneshot onekill]

Yes, I'm fully aware that some people truly don't know what they have. But for every one of them there are fifty scammers. All I hope is that I gave people reason to pause before trying to contact this guy through a PM or outside the forum to try to buy this thing (You know someone did).

Cheers
John

[BrickHarbor]

Well John I can assure you I'm 100% genuine, I can even post a photo with myself holding the gun, with the time / date etc just to show that I'm a genuine person.

But like I said I haven't a clue about this gun and I've looked at auctions and some of them have sold for under 1000 and over 20,000 so obviously I haven't got a clue what to go by as I've never been in possession of anything like this before.

And I'm going to take what Jack has told me and get in contact with the person who is close to my home and see what he says about it.

[BrickHarbor]

And no one had PM'd me or tried to contact me what so ever.

[jack404]

if you dont sell it , i may ...

[Hammerslagger]

I responded first to this thread and have stayed out of this for several reasons.

Several members have given of their time and given good expert, valuable advice.

I am a suspicious and cautious person. Some of my suspicions were aroused by BrickHarbor's original post, and reflected in the unusual brevity of my #1 response. I am not being insulting; just plain spoken.

Here are a couple of links to one of the world's foremost auction houses based in the UK:
http://www.christies.com/about/press...releaseid=4890

http://www.christies.com/departments...rmour-7-1.aspx

If you are real, they will likely be interested and have the research power equaled by few experts or auction houses..

Best of luck.

[jack404]

i really hate Christies , too many folks i know have been dudded by them

example and i have court doc's to back this up

gent sells a napolionic war weapon , gets passed in so he removes the resrve as suggested and its sold at 1/10th the value to a collector who then sells it to Christies at about 50 cents in the dollar ( all this in 3 days)

Christies then sell it at a record value and as its a house sale , its all good , or is it ??

i've seen this too many times from christies , it started in the arts side and now its everywhere .. find a place that works to make its name not on lawyers to hide facts like Christies

sorry but i know too many in our hobby ripped off by some big outfit Christies at the head of that list ( though the sydney folks are OK i've seen them pull some less than honourable acts recently too)

[BrickHarbor]

What did I say in my origional post to make me seem suspicious?
I have no idea about guns and I went from the word colt to what I now know about it...

[BrickHarbor]

Also Christies valued it at £800 from the photograph I sent them.

[jack404]

BH steer clear of Christies , unless your as big a shark as they are ...

[BrickHarbor]

Yea I will Jack, thanks.

If this doesn't prove that I'm genuine then I don't know what will... http://t.co/huYjOzsb

[jack404]

your ok , i've already looked a bit harder than that

but i cheat .

no hutch network is secure .. even greek owned sections

[BrickHarbor]

Haha brilliant. The photos are also posted from a friends twitter as I don't want people I know that I have it haha.

[jack404]

but the ip link does go back to hutch 3 g and you have your GPS active ... just a tip ..

i'll rephrase ... hutch has their GPS system active and broadcasting its users to the nearest cell

[Jim K]

I asked for more info and pics because I have seen too many fakes and forgeries to entirely trust anyone or any gun sight unseen; usually what appears too good to be true, is. BrickHarbor didn't inspire confidence when he failed to provide further pictures, and then talked vaguely about anonymous experts and assurances that the gun had been a special order. (Of course it was, if genuine, but who was so sure?) The absence of a cylinder scene and the cylinder pitting seemed odd in a gun other wise so good. Even the fact that the casing appears to be genuine doesn't mean the gun is.

The engraving is minimal, and not the type of engraving I would expect to see on an English gun of that period. It looks more like American engraving. The grips, though, do look to have English checkering, though such full checkering is rare.

But I am ALMOST convinced the gun is genuine, and very valuable, though I hesitate to set a figure in dollars or pounds. One thing is sure; the dealer who told BrickHarbor that shipping the gun out of the UK would be illegal and then offered a ridiculously low price is unscrupulous.

Jim

[jack404]

One thing is sure; the dealer who told BrickHarbor that shipping the gun out of the UK would be illegal and then offered a ridiculously low price is unscrupulous.

1000% correct

[BrickHarbor]

Ah thanks Jack, you've been such a great help!

Sorry Jim, I've been so swamped with things I genuinely forgot to post up more pictures. I'm going to bed in a minute as its near 5am but I will put more up tomorrow. Any specific photos you would like?

[jack404]

No worries

i'm in the trade, and sadly its not as honest as one would wish ... and just too far away to do more , but if what your told dont make you happy or want you a second opinion , happy to help that way too

i've had a good look at the few pic's and have my own idea's on it

good luck with john