1 of 1000 Winchester 1873 value?

pbgunrunner

OK, one of the guys at our local gunshop is helping a widow at his church dispose of her late husbands guns. This one has us stumped as far as a value! Its a Winchester 1873, .32 cal, marked "one of one thousand" and lightly engraved. Its been well used, if I were rating it as a modern gun I'd put it at 70%. Any clue as to its value and a good place to sell it? Thanks for all of your help! -pbgunrunner

Pics should be here:
http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n216/pbgunrunner/

temblor

Look in the members list and try to contact BertH & onlywinchesters.
They are both very knowledgeable about Winchesters.
If that is an original 1873 "One of One Thousand" it is very valuable in any conditition. Don't let her (or you) sell it until it can be verified as real or fake.
These guns were often upgraded by people with the engraving,etc. to make them look like an original.
At a minimum a factory letter to verify the gun is needed. They should still be availible from the Gun Museum in Cody, Wyoming at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
My Blue Book of Gun Values ( that is a few years old ) says values can range from $30,000 to $200,000 depending on condition, and I'm sure values are even higher now.
If it checks out, it may be smart to look into one of the high dollar auction houses selling it for more exposure.
Keep it under lock and key just in case it checks out.
Hope this helps, and good luck to her......[^]

Bert H.

That is NOT an orginal "One Of One Thousand"... instead, it is somebody's pathetic attempt at making a fake.

For starters, all but just a few of the original "One Of One Thousand" rifles were .44 caliber (44 W.C.F. a.k.a. 44-40). The remaining few examples were .38 caliber (38 W.C.F. a.k.a. 38-40). All original "One Of One Thousand" rifles were made with superior deluxe checkered/carved stocks, the engraving was deeply chase cut (that rifle looks like it was engraved with an electro-stencil pencil), and the barrels have platinum bands at both ends. What that widow lady has is nearly worthless. It is chambered for the least desirable caliber, the stocks have been harshly sanded and are extremely undersized, and the steel surfaces have been ruined by the crude amateur attempt at engraving. It is nowhere near a 70% gun... at best, it is 5%. It has essentially zero collector value, and is not even a good candidate as a parts gun (to many of the parts have been ruined). Estimated value is <$300

temblor

I'd have to agree with Bert H after seeing the pictures.
When I originally posted the pictures weren't there yet and I didn't catch the part about the caliber.......

Bert H.

Here are a few examples of what a "One Of One Thousand" should look like.

http://www.frontieramericana.com/iteminfo.cfm?ItemNumber=M1794

http://turnbullrestoration.com/2282.htm

v35

Additionally,I believe all one of one thousand rifles were fitted with a single set trigger. That gun hasn't one.
Take a look at NRA grading criteria for modern and antique firearms in one of the gun catalogs.
It will give you grading standards.
That one is rough.

only winchesters

Hello pbgunrunner: Well where to begin. The gun as a whole has little value since somebody wasn't thinking, nor were they very good.

The "markings" on the receiver don't appear to deep, looking at the pictures. They receiver might be salvageable. The barrel on the other hand all the "markings" just look too deep to remove. But it still has some value as a barrel. Even thou the stocks have been sanded, to someone who has a 1873 with a broken stock, they have value.

IMO the only way you will get any more than what Bert said, is to completely tear the gun down to pieces. Then sell off the parts. Unfortuneately some old Winchesters are worth more in parts, than as a gun, and this is a good example.

On the parts market you might clear $500. if the internals are in good or better shape. There are plenty of people for what ever reason are looking for parts, and sometimes they will pay a lot of money. I see this all the time when I sell Winchester parts.

Regards Dave

bobski

they should have called it a one 'in' one thousand. thats how long it would take to find a fool to buy it thinking its a real one.

only winchesters

Bob: your right! However just because one "sells" guns for a living certainly doesn't mean they are an expert on every gun ever made. I see it everyday as I browse through the Winchester listings, most don't know anymore than what's stamped on the barrel, (gun). They look up the serial number to find out how old it is in the back of the blue book. Heck maybe one out of 25 sellers has a choke gauge and actually tells you that the choke is still good on a shotgun. Give them an old SxS or O/U where they have to take the barrel off, forget it!! I've even seen, "looks like the barrel was reblued". The old rust blued barrels always out lasted the receiver blueing. LOL

I just hope the poor guy who died didn't pay a lot for it!

Regards to all!

Dave

bobski

or the widow wasnt as ignorant as she may claimed to be...!

heck, i hope it wasnt one of those deals where the guy spent all his money on horse racing and just kept telling his wife all the money was going into that gun to support her for when he died![:p]

JK

Why a person would take all that time to cobble up a pc that probably would have had more value if left alone is beyond imagination. Are there people out there that would actually be duped into buying this? I sure hope not because if so, we're in deep ****.
JK