Antique gun appraisal

[Antigonus]

Evening all!

A coworker of mine has a rifle from 1878 that he received as an heirloom and has no idea how much it's worth. He took it to Gun World in Del City and they told him $4,000 but I've heard a lot of negative feedback about that place so I'm wondering if anyone on here knows a better place to go for a more serious appraisal. I don't think he's looking to sell it, he just wants to know if he should insure it or what. Thanks in advance for the assistance guys.

 

[dennishoddy]

Gunbroker.com is one place to see if any are on sale, and what they are selling for. If you had more info about manufacturer, caliber, condition, some of the members might be able to help.

 

[Antigonus]

Well I wouldn't expect anyone on the forums to be able to give a good estimate without seeing the piece in person. I'm more interested in finding out a good place to take it into so he can get a good appraisal.

 

[jmike314]

Didn't the guy from OA use to do appraisals?

 

[Lurker66]

I recently had some art appraised. Didn't cost much. He mainly graded condition but took the price out of a book. Then wrote a letter for the insurance company. I'm assuming getting a gun appraised is about the same process. Other than the letter, which didn't matter much, the appraised value was just added to my homeowners.

Keep us posted on how this works out. If ya can.

 

[dennishoddy]

Well I wouldn't expect anyone on the forums to be able to give a good estimate without seeing the piece in person. I'm more interested in finding out a good place to take it into so he can get a good appraisal.

If there is an honest description of the condition using the NRA specs, and the rest of the info is correct, I'm betting members of this forum can come close.

The gun only needs a close and personal inspection if its going to be at the point of sale.

Its your choice. I'd suggest Sothebys for a real appraisal.

 

[AKguy1985]

Or rock island auction company, or james d julia auctions. They are always selling the high end guns.

 

[Hoov]

Have him bring it by OAS. Tue-Sat. We do that quite a bit.

 

[fustigate]

For a rough order of magnitude estimate, write down the SN and go to a bookstore (they haven't closed ALL the Barnes & Nobles, have they?) and find one of the gun price books that's not shrink-wrapped. This is helpful because the books sometimes have info like how many of that model were produced and what the production years were.
... and then go to a good gun store and have someone give an estimate