Ivers Johnson Handgun

ttyler37

I have an Ivers Johnson handgun that I believe is a .38. It is very old with ivory grips with owls on them. I have a letter with the gun that says it was purchased just after the civil war. Can anyone tell me what I have and maybe a ball park on it's value. I am in Cincinnati and have no idea who is reputable for appraisal. This was given to me when my father-inlaw passed away. It belonged to someone in his family and his father used it to kill himself. I believe it is a black power gun.

jbw1776

Welcome[:)]

We have an expert or two here on these old IJ, H&R, etc. pistols, they will be along shortly to give you the info you seek, but first you need to give them a little something to go on.

Start by posting EVERY marking you, see on the gun. Name, numbers, etc. There should be a single screw through the side of the grips holding them on. Remove it and the grips (just pull off) and post the serial number you see on the frame under the grips.

As far as value, these rarely bring super high dollars, but no one can give you any sort of value without a good description of its condition; ie., nickel flaking, rust on barrel, etc. By far the easiest way to get the answers you are looking for is to post detailed pictures of the pistol. You can click here to learn how to post pictures if you aren't familiar with how to.

http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=188596

Ben

b.goforth

in order to properly identify your handgun we are going to definately need the information in jbw1776 ask for in his post. do not get you hopes up that this is a civil war era handgun. iver johnson started in business in 1871 as "johnson & bye gunsmith" changed to iver johnson's arms co. in 1883 and iver johnson's arms & cycle works in 1894. the first use of the owl's head grips was 1890. while iver johnson did offer ivory grips as an option i have never seen any with the owl head on them. there were some 1970's era white plastic grips that had the owls head.

when giving the information requested please be sure and include any letter code that may be with the serial number and any and all patent dates marked on it.
bill

ttyler37

Thank you both for your information. I will post pictures and serial number. It is definately ivory, I did verify that and it does not have cycle works on it. It is in mint condition and I have a letter from the original owner said he bought it in the late 1800's after being dicharged from the Union Army. It has a very black finish. I'll post pictures and serial number tomorrow evening.