Welcome to the forum and quite an entrance. That is a very cool old revolver and be very careful if you try to clean it. The rust and corrosion can be lessened using brass or copper wool and lots of oil applied with GENTLE rubbing. If you get too aggressive you can damage the remaining original finish.

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James Redfield
LM #497

I've decided to just keep it oiled well and let it penetrate the rust, not going to shoot it, and I'll decide whether to keep or sell it somewhere down the road.

How does 1 place a value on this? I'm by no means in a hurry to sell it, it holds no sentimental value (other items of my dad's do however), and I'd like to try to place an approximate value in my notes for future reference.

Again, thank you all for the info, advice, and sharing with me. It's been neat seeing all the history this sight offers.

The ultimate value is determined by the condition of the item. The condition is determined after the item has been cleaned up to the best of one's ability. The published values to which we (anybody with a copy of Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition) have immediate access are about three years out of date, but the only game in town (other than the prices realized lists from the various auction facilities---and dealer's catalogs). Those values are sorted in accord with several levels of condition (each of which is defined in the book). To give you at least a feel for the value, they range from $600 (poor condition) through six additional condition levels to $5,500 for "Exc+"---Excellent+. Just think of that as pretty spiffy. The value to be derived from investing time and effort in cleaning things up can be judged by the change in value accompanying a change in condition. The book shows $900 if you move from Poor to Fair--$1,100 from Fair to Good---$2,000 from Good to Very Good---and so on up the line.

I imagine the book can be had for perhaps $30-$40--thereabouts. Once armed with the knowledge available therein, you're good to go.

I have no idea what the definitions of the lower conditions are. In my resulting blissful ignorance, I'm inclined to say the grips are worth more than the gun----and I have no idea what the grips are worth. If I saw them advertised at $1,000, I wouldn't be surprised. I doubt I'd be willing to pay that for them, but that's because of the blissful ignorance I mentioned before---I just don't know any better.

Bottom Line: Knowledge is power.

Ralph Tremaine

"The value to be derived from investing time and effort in cleaning things up can be judged by the change in value accompanying a change in condition." The key word is "cleaning". Cleaning is OK but 'scrubbing' or anything like sanding or polishing will detract from the value but qualifies as "a change in condition". Making it shiny is not what is intended. Remove the loosened gunk and crud of 100+ years and call it a day. Nice NM#3 Target.

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Mike Maher #283

The photos I posted are probably about as good as it will get aside from what rust may loosen and come off with wiping it with a rag. I keep it oiled well and will wipe it down occasionally, I've disassembled it and cleaned the cylinder and ejection components to get them smooth and check function. I don't plan to polish or use anything aggressive. I'm afraid it's as good as it will get in the photos without damaging the patina it's gained over the years. As much as I'd love it to be pristine and well maintained, it's definitely had some years of neglect as the finish shows.

This is in the middle of the S&W models I collect - all single action models, but I am far from the most up to date on current sale values. I do agree with the previous general comments and in particular I would personally value this gun at a bit less than $1,000 given its condition and not be real hot to go after it, other than the fact it letters to an individual and the interesting tidbit Gary has already posted. With some luck, following that potential lead, if it works out and one can make a very likely attribution to that individual and his life turns out to be as interesting as that info hints and a photo and some other period paper could be put with it - then it would go to $3k - 4k from my point of view. Earlier in my collecting career, I would have spent all yesterday and today on research and maybe be PMing you to try to get it on the lower end of this range hoping that my research (which from my experience will likely take 6 months to a year or more) would pay off. Given my age and other factors, including that California history is less interesting to me than Texas or New Mexico (but that is not to minimize that early California history is super), I personally don't have the time and energy to bet on the come. Not everyone will look at the value like this, but I think a significant number will. And as I mentioned, if you got linked into present day descendants, one of them may value it at another 2 or 3 times what it would be worth to a collector like me. Then there is also the satisfaction that this artifact goes to its perfect long term resting place; another thing that I personally find a sort of grail. I think that gun can clean up be be quite attractive as a historical artifact (as opposed to a high condition collectible). If you don't have a good feel for the process of cleaning without creating damage, it is best to let someone with experience do that. I totally do not recommend "restoration" in any event.


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