Forehand wadswoth worcester mass pats sept 24 oct 24 1861 pistol value?

Answer 1

First off, you've posted this question in the wrong forum, but it doesn't matter much because nobody is going to answer your question for free anyway. You can go to any one of the on-line appraisal firms and pay for an answer, or you can do the work your self, but this is going to take some leg work on your part. It's very hard to put a value on a gun right now. Everybody's broke and they're hurting for cash. You can check the "blue book " value of the gun, but there's a whole lot of people out there that are hard up for cash and are forced to let their fire arms go 'for cheap' right now. Unless you're in dire straights, it's a bad time to sell, and if you're just curious, it's a bad time to ask about a price. It's not worth what it was 2 years ago. Your local gun shop is pretty much going to 'low ball' you on the price because they need to make a profit to keep their doors open. If the gun isn't a 'hot item', they're going to offer you peanuts for it because they can't afford to tie up their working capitol in a gun that's going to sit on the shelf for a year....and this isn't exactly a hot item. You can get a pretty good idea of the current value with a little homework. Take a very close look at the gun. What sort of condition are the metal parts in? Is the blue or chrome color worn off in places? Are there rust spots or pits in the metal? Shine a flashlight down the barrel and look inside. Are there black dots in there that won't come off with a cleaning brush? Are there any noticeable bulges around the exterior of the barrel or rings around the inside? (Places where the reflection looks different and forms a band around the interior of the barrel.) Next look at the grip, is the wood cracked? What sort of shape is the finish in? Wood comes in different grades, are there any small knots? Is the grain very straight or very curly? Or are the grips ivory or pearl or bakealite?Take off the grip, heat up a pin with a match and Polk it into the back of the grip. If it smells like hair, it's ivory. If it smells like plastic, it's plastic.Now look at the sights. Are they still on the gun or have they been replaced? Do they appear to be the same age as the gun? Do they look like the sights on the other guns you've seen for sale on-line? Are there any extra holes in the metal where a sight may have been removed? All these factors are important to the value of any collectable firearm, and collectors are fussy. Google the model number of the gun and check the on-line AUCTIONS, write down the serial number because that will help determine the age of the gun. Compare your gun to ones of a similar year in a similar condition with similar features to find out what they're currently selling for. Don't go by the asking price at an on line dealer's site, every seller out there is looking for a sucker and most of those guns will still be there until the ad expires. You need to find out what the gun actually sold for. Search the auctions, bookmark the guns that are similar to yours and go back to see what they've actually sold for once the auction ends.Finally, if you're looking for a value for insurance purposes, or to settle an estate, you're going to have to spend the money and go to a certified appraiser, nothing anybody on line tells you or you find in a book is going to mean a thing in court.