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Colt 3rd Generation
pwillie
Member Posts: 20,253 ✭✭✭
While looking around a new gun store today, I ran across a Colt Navy(36 cal) and a Colt Army 44....All new in the box..Guy wants $549.00 a piece! What do you think they are worth? Thanks Willie
Comments
Here is a Colt Navy
http://www.GunBroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=378784176
Here is a 3rd Generation Colt 1860 Army.
http://www.GunBroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=378638043
There are 3 pages of black powder revolvers on the auction side, several 2nd and 3rd generation Colts.
W.D.
They would probably take 500 which is in the ball park for NIB. Depends if you are going to shoot it or look at it. If you want a shooter look for one that is not NIB for around 300.
$549 is not unreasonable for NIB condition; but any kind of handling marks or damage to the boxes would reduce the value some. $500 is a better price; but, $450 would be even better.
From what I was told on the internet...yea,I know...those guns will gather dust at that price.
If I'm way off base,pls enighten me,I"m by no means a colt expert.
Then, I bought a pair of '51 Colts - one 2nd gen., one 3rd gen. "Signature". They are both head and shoulders above the Ubertis in fit, finish and function. Both were NIB, and I bought 'em to shoot. They averaged out $500 each, including shipping, and I feel good about that. Auctions may start them lower, but they'll also go higher. $450-500 is an OK price IMHO. I don't see any particular value in the collector aspect . . . but I'm not a collector.
I had one,and when I asked around about it,was told that Colt stopped lettering them,which made them 'not quite a Colt' in the eyes of collectors and purists.I thought mine was well made,but was not worth near what my brother paid for it years ago,according to a very small almost hidden tag I found in the box.
From what I was told on the internet...yea,I know...those guns will gather dust at that price.
If I'm way off base,pls enighten me,I"m by no means a colt expert.
Colt doesn't letter the "Signature Series" because that issue never saw the inside of the Colt factory, nor were they inspected by Colt inspectors like the "2nd Generation" issues were. "Colt BlackPowder Company" was simply a licensee of Colt, located in Brooklyn, NY, and owned by the late Lou Imperato. Consequently, they are not considered "real" Colts.
They are now the Henry Repeating Arms Company, owned by Lou's son, Anthony.
quote:Originally posted by Mort4570
I had one,and when I asked around about it,was told that Colt stopped lettering them,which made them 'not quite a Colt' in the eyes of collectors and purists.I thought mine was well made,but was not worth near what my brother paid for it years ago,according to a very small almost hidden tag I found in the box.
From what I was told on the internet...yea,I know...those guns will gather dust at that price.
If I'm way off base,pls enighten me,I"m by no means a colt expert.
Colt doesn't letter the "Signature Series" because that issue never saw the inside of the Colt factory, nor were they inspected by Colt inspectors like the "2nd Generation" issues were. "Colt BlackPowder Company" was simply a licensee of Colt, located in Brooklyn, NY, and owned by the late Lou Imperato. Consequently, they are not considered "real" Colts.
They are now the Henry Repeating Arms Company, owned by Lou's son, Anthony.
Spider, you are only partially right. The entire "F Series" of the 2nd generation percussion Colts were made by Lou Imperato in his New Jersey Factory. When the Colt Company came under the control of their bean counters in 1981, the abruptly cancelled their percussion line without warning Imperato. This left him holding the bag with over 1,000 completed revolvers and well over a million dollers in parts, none of which he was allowed to sell. Of course, he sued and finally was given a contract to make what became the 3rd generation Colts and use the Colt name. However, there was an enormous amount of hard feelings against Lou and his company in the upper management levels of the Colt Company and they wouldn't lift one finger to help with the 3rd generation guns. In fact, some of their reps bad mouthed these guns "behind the scenes".
Lou got around this by not marketing these guns to gun collectors. His marketing efforts were to re-enactors and the "collectables" collectors. Of course this totally irritated die hard gun collectors to this day.
However, despite a few "culls" that got by their QC people, If you would place your average Signature Series revolver next to its 2nd generation F Series counterpart, it would be hard to tell one from the other. Both generations make the average Italian repo look poorly made.
In my personal experience, I have foound that the loudest bad mouthers against the 3rd gen Colt have never owned or fired them.
Some did have issues. When I bought my Walker new back in the day the first one was not quite right. Grips fit poorly as I recall and there may have been other issues. I sent it back and the second one was perfect. Still have it unfired in the box.
I would strongly suggest that you do not store any gun in its factory cardboard box. This is because the cardboard and their factory papers are not acid free, and they also contain free sulphur compounds. Long periods of storage in the factory carcboard boxes will not only severely discolor the silver plate or brass of the BS and TG's, and can ruin the case hardening colors and the bluing on the gun.