My brother has a friend in need of a antique dealer. His friend has recently inherited a nice collection of 1800s Colt and S&W revolvers most still with original paperwork. He has no IDEA what he has and is not interested in keeping them. They need someone with some knowledge and HONEST to help with the sale of these pistols. Does anyone know of any antique firearm dealers in the Winston-Salem, NC area?
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
HELP!?
- Thread starter S Newton
- Start date
In his position, I would not go to any local antique gun dealer, and specifically would not go to a general antique dealer. He would probably not get 10 cents on the dollar of actual value. Nor should he try to sell through an on-line auction unless he can get precise appraisals and knows exactly what he has and what it is worth.
Tell him to contact several of the big gun auction houses like:
Rock Island Auction Co. (RIA) - info@rockislandauction.com
Amoskeag - www.amoskeagauction.com
James D. Julia - www.jamesdjulia.com
There are others which do not have web sites. There are also nationally recognized dealers who will buy outright, but IMHO a good auction house with nationwide sales is the best way to sell those kinds of items.
One way to get more names is to get copies of the NRA collectors' magazine, Man at Arms (54 East School St., Woonsocket, RI 02895), and The Gun Report (110 S. College Ave., Aledo, IL 61231. Both sell single copies. They have numerous ads for antique gun dealers and gun auction houses.
Best of luck to him.
Jim
Tell him to contact several of the big gun auction houses like:
Rock Island Auction Co. (RIA) - info@rockislandauction.com
Amoskeag - www.amoskeagauction.com
James D. Julia - www.jamesdjulia.com
There are others which do not have web sites. There are also nationally recognized dealers who will buy outright, but IMHO a good auction house with nationwide sales is the best way to sell those kinds of items.
One way to get more names is to get copies of the NRA collectors' magazine, Man at Arms (54 East School St., Woonsocket, RI 02895), and The Gun Report (110 S. College Ave., Aledo, IL 61231. Both sell single copies. They have numerous ads for antique gun dealers and gun auction houses.
Best of luck to him.
Jim
Flayderman's Guide To Antique American Firearms is a pretty good guide for the approximate general value of your firearms. 9th editiion is the latest. It contains a wealth of information that will at least give you a "jumping off" point in determining the value of what you have.
Flayderman's comes out at irregular intervals, so prices are not current. If going the book route, first use Flayderman's to identify the gun, then use the Blue Book to get an approximate retail value, then use Google or another search engine to check on-line sales and auction sites for current SALES figures (not what was asked, but what was gotten). Then if there are gun shows in the area, take some of the guns to the show (comply with the safety rules of course) and see what similar guns are bringing.
Jim
Jim