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I inherited two firearms, and am wondering what they are worth.

2K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Kevin D 
#1 ·
The first one is an L. C. Smith double barrel shotgun, SN 171933 with an F stamped underneath it.

It is an reasonably good condition. There are no cracks in the stock, it is very tight and fully operable.

The second is a .38 Cal Colt revolver. On the bottom of the grip is is stamped US Army 1901 No 175846. I also have the holster for it, which is in pretty good condition.
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Others will chime in on their value to a stranger or a value for insurance purposes. As items passed on to you, you should consider them priceless and plan on passing them on to your descendants. Learn the stories behind them and write these down for the family.

I have very few items that were my ancestors. Most are of little $ value, some are worth a few thousand, yet I will never part with any of those items.

PS. Do not shoot the shotgun. It has Damascus barrels made to only fire black powder. It may explode if modern shotgun shells are fire in it. The pistol is probably not modern .38 special caliber. You have two nice guns there but I do not recommend that either be fired.
 
#3 ·
Well twobit, I appreciate your comment, however this is a little different situation.

These firearms were given to my father by two of his cousins, shortly before they passed away. My father subsequently passed away in 1990, and they came into my possession.

I am now 58 years old and have no children. We have already given some operating firearms that I do not have any use for to my nephews and I gave a couple to the son of a former employee.

I actually display the handgun and have no intention of selling it anytime soon, if ever. As for the shotgun, it has been in various closets in the homes that I have lived in for the last 20 years. I have no desire or intent to display it. I was cleaning out the closet last week and ran across it. If I don't do something with it, it will be sold at a yard sale when I die. If the value is not very much, I wouldn't bother doing anything with it, but if there is any sort of value to it, I might sell it and give the money to my older brother, who is in ill health, as that would be a better fate than staying in my closet until I die. Then, at least someone who would like to have it would be in possession of it, rather then it being in the back corner of my closet.

You are correct in that though they are both operable, neither firearm should ever be fired again. The handgun actually uses black powder cartridges, which I don't think are even produced any longer. (never bothered to try to find any) The shotgun, as you note, is not capable of firing the modern shells without risk of destruction or injury.

I remember my father telling me, way back in the 60's about people finding old Damascus barreled shotguns and firing them with modern shells, only to have the barrels come apart.
 
#4 ·
Kevin,
I understand your situation better now. Many times a family heirloom is passed on to a young person who only sees quick dollars. ********* or AuctionArms might give you an idea of the current values, as I have seen many guns of this type and age for sale on those two auction sites. I think the shotgun was sold originally as a working man's gun (neither super cheap or super expensive). Many people buy them on the auctions for wall hangers and pay several hundred dollars for them. The pistol might be rare and might be worth more than the shotgun. If you have not visited gun auction sites, do so. They are very good places to find values. If I was not trying to save up for a summer vacation, I would make you an offer on the shotgun, but I cant buy any more guns at the moment. Your on a good site to find out info. Welcome to the forum.
 
#6 ·
I just bought an L C Smith 10 gauge hammer gun with damascus barrels from 1913. I have every intention of taking it out for turkey with proper low presure loads . The action is tight and the bores are in excellent condition. Just because an old gun has damascus barrels doesn't mean it is automatically no good for use. It all depends on condition and how it checks out. That being said, I have no idea how much play is in the gun in this post or what condition the bores are in so it should not be used unless deemed safe by a competent smith. The one I just bought is in much better looking condition and I paid $480.00. I can't see this one bringing anymore than $300.00 tops where I am.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I appreciate all of your responses.

I can tell that it is a well made shotgun by the very close tolerances in the fitting. I can also tell that it is not a high end shotgun by the lack of any engraving or any sort of embellishment. I think that twobit had it just right as a "working man's gun", but not a cheaply manufactured shotgun, by any means.

I also understand that it may be capable of firing some low pressure loads if found to be in good enough condition, but I have no intention to do so.

I never expected that it would be a high ticket item, in fact, for a long time, I thought that it might be worth less than $100.

I was able to find some info on the handgun and the prices that I saw were in the $300- $350 range, some saying a good bit more with a decent holster, since they are very rare.

As I said, I display the handgun, so I am not interested in selling it at this time, but I might look into selling the shotgun since all it does is sit in a closet.

Thanks for your gracious replies.
 
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