44 Double Action Auction Results (Guns Added)

[glowe]

Followed this chromed 44 DA that sold today. Interesting and sad for the buyer as far as I am concerned. Item was titled as: "SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION FRONTIER REVOLVER". Description: SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION FRONTIER .44 CAL - 6 SHOT REVOLVER - 4 INCH BARREL - SERIAL NUMBER 26797 - GREAT OLD WEST PISTOL - VERY GOOD CONDITION.

After reading the post, I hit the watch button. If you noticed the serial number it is apparent that the gun is not a rare Frontier, but rather a 44 Russian standard double action, one of 55,000 rather than one of 2000 (incorrect should be 15,000 see note below). Auction price after buyer premium was $1450.

 

[cgt4570]

An obvious refinish with grips nearly worn smooth. In my opinion, that hammer price was about double what the gun is worth.

 

[mrcvs]

Do you have a link?

 

[glowe]

Two things must have converged to get this much money. First, the auction house misidentified the gun and second the bidder believed them.

SMITH & WESSON DOUBLE ACTION F... Auctions Online | Proxibid

 

[DesmoEd]

Notice they never listed it as being 44-40 just .44 caliber which could be either caliber...and the term Frontier could be used as in old west gun and not necessarily a model designation.

Hate to sound like a lawyer but whomever bid it up should have known better just based on the poor nickel job alone.

BTW, didn't they make 15,000+ 44-40 Frontier DA models?

 

[glowe]

Notice they never listed it as being 44-40 just .44 caliber which could be either caliber...and the term Frontier could be used as in old west gun and not necessarily a model designation.

Hate to sound like a lawyer but whomever bid it up should have known better just based on the poor nickel job alone.

BTW, didn't they make 15,000+ 44-40 Frontier DA models?

The frontier is normally not capitalized unless it is in association with the model name, and it was very clear that the auction company thought the name was as stated. Honest mistake? Probably so, but too bad so many of these companies don't know what they are selling.

You are certainly correct that there were 2000 NM3 and 15,340 44 DAs made, thanks for catching that mistake. That only make the price paid worse, since the true 44 DA Frontier, chromed with no checkering left on the stocks even more overpriced if it was the buyers assumption it was correctly described.

 

[Kinman]

Sorry to see people burned, I recently probably paid too much for a .44 Russian 1st Model that IMHO was beautiful but had been back to the factory in the '50s for a refinish. I will be receiving it in the next few days. I have always thought they were very neat revolvers and missed out on one of Dave Carroll's auctions a year or so ago. I decided to step up to the plate and pay the piper and came away the winner this time. One of two pieces I do not plan on spending very much time at the range with, breaking my standing rule of only owning stuff that I shoot.

 

[model3sw]

A misrepresentation in the description caption of any item offered by legitimate auction house, whether honest mistake or other, qualifies for a return and FULL refund (including shipping fees) .,. period !

 

[deadin]

item offered by legitimate auction house

The operative word here seems to be "legitimate". The seller here is strictly an "on-line" dealer selling through Proxybid and Invaluable.
I'll leave it up to the reader whether this qualifies as "Legitimate". It seems to me that it's just another "wannabe" with no real storefront or showroom.
Check out the BBB on this seller.

 

[glowe]

All the more reason to educate yourself before bidding. There is so much information available out there that would have identified this gun as a incorrect refinish, well worn stocks, wrong model ID, etc. that multiple red flags are obvious to those who take the time to determine what they are bidding on. It does not bother me that the auction house is small, online only, etc., since I have purchased some of my absolute best buys with these types of auction houses, but I made sure of what I was bidding on first. Call the auctioneer with any questions that are not completely answered in descriptions and images.

One that comes to mind was purchased at a small online auction company. It was an early Model 1905 Target revolver. Description stated 4" cut barrel Model 10, 38 Special revolver. Title was worst, it said 38 Model Revolver, no name, no ID, and I do not know how it even came up in my normal search methodology. Two fuzzy images were added. I could make out that it was a target 5" square butt S&W and knew the serial number, so called the company and asked what the gun said on the left side of the barrel? They looked at the gun and 32 Winchester was stamped, so I bought it for maybe half-value and even though the seller now knew it was a 5" S&W 32 Winchester Target Model 1905, they never changed their description.

 

[DesmoEd]

Gary you are absolutely right

Looking at the pics of the pistol in question how could anyone label that pistol as being in "very good condition"?

 

[Kinman]

This is one of the pictures from the Gunbroker auction I ended up winning. According to the stamp on the grip frame it went back to the factory in July 1956. It should arrive tomorrow, I plan on getting a letter on this one. I have always admired the design.

 

[S&WsRsweet]

This kind of thing is one of the main reasons I became a contributing forum member..I've said it before but it's worth repeating .The experts here can be a uninformed buyers best friend but are definitely rip off artists ( of which there are many in the gun world I now realize) But y'all are their worst nightmare .So thanks all you guys who share information so freely that I am sure much if it was learned expensively with us all.If you have ever been saved by information gleaned here think about becoming a contributor I feel it's the least I could do.

 

[glowe]

I wanted to add the latest two S&Ws I was following. One was actually a real Frontier, 44 Double Action and I was surprised that it sold for almost $2400. I have not seen a 44 DA selling for that price in other than as-new condition, so wonder if demand is rising. I cannot tell if the finish is all there or I am seeing some bare metal??

The second was just too much. Looking at the images, it was obvious that a S&W Model No.2 was up for sale. I don't need any more, but had to watch it due to the identification and the description. Here is what the Auctioneer said about the gun.

Smith & Wesson No. 2 Navy .32 Percussion Revolver

DESCRIPTION: Remington No. 2 Navy six-shot percussion revolver in .32 rimfire. The revolver has a 6" barrel and is in good condition with use & age wear. SN:39483. (7)

It sold for $475 to an onsite bidder.

 

[Kinman]

From the pictures you sent I can see roll marks leading me to believe the finish is still in good shape or completely missing, which I doubt considering the condition of the rest of the piece.

 

[DesmoEd]

The nickel .44 looks dull and frosty like uncleaned old nickel. You can see a slight loss on the front edge of the cylinder/flutes and muzzle. I'd expect that to be an $1800 pistol but the grips, if they fit well, and short barrel may have pushed it up a little higher

 

[Kinman]

Its dangerous for me to see any of these old pieces come on the market, I'm always hoping they will loose interest in the collector crowd because I'm not in the market to sell one. I paid over $2K for a 4" 1st Model that came up on auction recently, I'm very happy with it and was not put off by the fact that it had been back to the mothership 7-56 in the least.

 

[H Richard]

I wanted to add the latest two S&Ws I was following. One was actually a real Frontier, 44 Double Action and I was surprised that it sold for almost $2400. I have not seen a 44 DA selling for that price in other than as-new condition, so wonder if demand is rising. I cannot tell if the finish is all there or I am seeing some bare metal??

The second was just too much. Looking at the images, it was obvious that a S&W Model No.2 was up for sale. I don't need any more, but had to watch it due to the identification and the description. Here is what the Auctioneer said about the gun.

Smith & Wesson No. 2 Navy .32 Percussion Revolver

DESCRIPTION: Remington No. 2 Navy six-shot percussion revolver in .32 rimfire. The revolver has a 6" barrel and is in good condition with use & age wear. SN:39483. (7)

It sold for $475 to an onsite bidder.

Gary:
That's a good looking "REMINGTON".
I have a few fairly scarce items, and for that reason when I decide to part with them I'll have David Carrol list them. They get a true and honest listing and his listings are watched by many buyers.