I’m going to look at some guns tomorrow and see what I can get for a good deal. Seller has a 6.5” Triplelock 44sp, fixed sights and wearing 1980’s Target stocks. It hasn’t been over buffed and isn’t all washed out but it has been nickeled aftermarket at some time in the past including the hammer and trigger.

I normally do not buy refinished S&Ws, preferring original finish even if there’s little to none left. But I’ve always wanted a New Century and this could be an opportunity to acquire a shooter grade gun to use and enjoy.

Considering my description and assuming sound mechanical shape, where would you guys be a buyer price wise?

A key question for establishing value you need to determine is whether it was originally nickel plated from the factory and re-nickel plated OR originally a blue gun that was refinished with nickel plating?

Is there a tiny B preceding the serial number in the extractor shroud under the barrel? Use a magnifying glass! If no B, the gun originally had a nickel plated finish at the factory when shipped.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I just stopped by the Academy gun counter, and they had no Triple locks, blue or nickel.

In my experience, my LEO used revolvers of years past started live in blue and then nickeled when the blue wore off. Your proposed TL will not be a high grade collecible gun. But, if the mechanics and bore are gun, it will be a pleasure to own and shoot. IMHO, it would be preferable to have a TL that was and remained in 44 caliber. A 455 would be worth a little less, especially refinished.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

I briefly perused the completed auctions on Gunbroker.com. A well-worn triple lock that was engraved with the owner's name and came with a period correct holster sold for ~$850. I think that is probably low ballpark for a refinished gun.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

I’m thinking I won’t go anywhere near $850. I have always wanted a triplelock and haven’t been able to afford one so far. But most of the reason I haven’t found one I could afford is because I don’t generally like refinished guns or fixed sights. So unless it’s just going for giveaway money I’m probably going to pass.

I don't think anyone, knowing what they have, is going to sell a Triplelock for less than $850. Maybe one with cut barrel, poorly reinstalled sights, overly buffed and badly refinished, with incorrect stocks. Anything in original configuration with proper stocks even if refinished is going to be north of $1k. Almost any functional N frame these days is upward of $1k.

If I read your post correctly you're going to look at one this week. Take pictures please, even if you don't buy it, and post them back here. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA

I think photographs are necessary to determine the quality of the refinish.

If a decent refinish, it might be worth over $1000–for someone who doesn’t mind refinished firearms. If heavily buffed, poor sideplate fit, etc, is evident, then worth under $1000, perhaps significantly less than $1000. But, having said that, an N frame revolver worth less than $500 these days would likely only happen if someone was marketing something that they didn’t know what they really had.

I doubt it’s known what the seller really has. It’s a small time auction house in an obscure location that my dad does business with often. Their descriptions and photos are lacking because they don’t usually deal in firearms and don’t have the knowledge of non model marked stuff. We’re going down in the morning to look everything over and see if we can get a bargain.
The company generally does onsite farm and land auctions and draws a crowd. But for merchandise auctions such as the one tomorrow they usually have very low attendance, hence our hopes that we might get a deal. Maybe not but the only way to find out is to go and see.

Well it was worse than I thought from the pictures. The left side was pretty decent, hammer pin was still rounded and the markings were intact. The right side was a whole other story. Side plate washed out horribly, up by the bug screw the frame was 3/32” low and everything was rounded off like an old bar of soap. I wouldn’t have been a buyers even giveaway prices.

It sold for an even $1000.

There was a decent original finish Victory 2” with nice checkered service stocks but it was very last to sell and I had to go. I presume it went high like most everything else.

Some of these local auctions can be worse than big name auction houses like Rock Island Auctions. At least with the gun auction houses, there are usually more firearms than bidders, so one can fold several times and still eventually walk away with something.

The ones hazardous to one’s wallet is when an estate auction has 10 really mediocre firearms up for auction and you see 20 old pickup trucks and each of those rednecks has a full wallet and is determined to walk away with something.