THese two old (?) holsters just walked into my house this morning and I have no idea what they are, are worth (if anything) THey both hold a 44 DA Frontier nicely.

This first one has no marks of any kind that I can find: ADDED:: Oops, As I was putting it away I found the marks. They were hiding on the back flap under the toe of the holster. It's a "H.H.Heiser Maker Denver Colo. #712"




The next one is kind of gaudy but........




The only markings I can find are a "S. JEL" and what looks like another "E" or "T" on the other side of the horseshoe, just before the stud. There is a "C" lower down on the right hand leg of the horseshoe and it looks like the shoe may be covering up more letters. Right between the bottom of the shoe there is another "C" The holster is fully lined, so none of the studs are poking through.


Any help will be much appreciated..........

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

If they "walked in" did they knock or use the doorbell?
The Heiser has nice patina and is worth a few bucks, the other looks handmade to me but has the quality used look collectors want.

The Heiser is definitely worth getting checked out. Depending on where and when it was made, could be worth more than a few bucks.

It says Denver and as to age, all I know is that the guy that "collected" it died about 1950. His son (around 78 YO) brought them and about 7 pistols over today for me to see if he had anything worth while. I'm still working on the pistols.. Two Colt's C&B Civil War era. Looks like a 1849 Pocket and a 1862 Police. They've both been in heavy grease since the '50's and are a mess to clean up. (I'm afraid they're not going to come out in much more than Fair condition) The one I'm working on right now is some sort of a Remington New Army Cartridge conversion that has been extensively buffed, but it's an interesting conversion. (Probably not factory) I will post pictures as they come up.
(The other four were nothing to write home about. No Smiths except what I think is a Otis Smith Pocket pistol that's seized up.)

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

They are interesting holsters. the Heiser you can spot from 20 feet away with that laced edging. The other fancy holster is owner made and the letters are probably his initials, or name. As we say in the business " It has lots of OldWest character!" A little careful cleaning, but don't remove the patina on the leather or metal, can help make them presentable. If they were on my table at a good western gun show, I'd have $750 on the Heiser and about $350 on the owner made, and they would sell fast. Ed.