Interesting situation- refinish, or not, based on value and sale price
- Thread starter Chris_B
- Start date
If I were looking to buy such a pistol, its value would be as an example of an origianal classic. If I had the choice between the one pictured and a re-blue, no matter how good the job, I would be only interested in the original. Unless severly damaged finish, I cannot see how refinishing would do anything except lower the value.
Thank you for the opinion dahermit but I am not asking if you would buy it or why you might pass it up instead of buying it, rather, I am interested in:
what you feel the value is in the current condition, and
what value you feel would be lost when refinished
Sorry to confuse you with the long post earlier; I understand how originality is seen by many people, I was in the collector car hobby for many years and I understand what restoration does for originality
what you feel the value is in the current condition, and
what value you feel would be lost when refinished
Sorry to confuse you with the long post earlier; I understand how originality is seen by many people, I was in the collector car hobby for many years and I understand what restoration does for originality
these are the going prices for a 1903 on GunBroker..
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Se...e=0&Keywords=Colt+1903&Cat=978&CountryCode=++
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Se...e=0&Keywords=Colt+1903&Cat=978&CountryCode=++
Thank you Casimer. Gunbroker is one of the places I used to determine a value range for various conditions prior to my purchase.
I am not trying to determine what my pistol is worth o that I can have an idea of what I have and if I paid a fair price. I already know I did. I am not sure how I am confusing people with what I am asking.
I want your opinion on two things:
What do you think this pistol is worth right now based on what I've told you and what you see, and what type of damage to the value of the pistol would be suffered when I have it refinished?
That's all I'm asking
I am not trying to determine what my pistol is worth o that I can have an idea of what I have and if I paid a fair price. I already know I did. I am not sure how I am confusing people with what I am asking.
I want your opinion on two things:
What do you think this pistol is worth right now based on what I've told you and what you see, and what type of damage to the value of the pistol would be suffered when I have it refinished?
That's all I'm asking
A collectible gun is worth what a collector will pay for it. If it is refinished, typical collectors will no longer be interested in it. That is, it's no longer a collector's item, it's just a "shooter" that happens to be old. "Shooter" value is always less than collectible value, how much less depends on a lot of things.
In an extreme case, something as simple as polishing part of the gun to remove rust freckling could drop the value by several hundred dollars. For another example, if your gun were a U.S. property marked 1903 with a blued finish, refinishing it would drop the collector value by 50%.
In this particular case since the gun in question is already pretty rough, (might already be considered nothing better than a shooter--I say 'might' because I'm certainly not an expert on the particular pistol under review) refinishing might not hurt the value much. In other words, if the gun is ALREADY a shooter (no collector value) then refinishing probably won't hurt the value at all.
The only way to make sure, would be to consult with a knowledgeable collector prior to having the gun refinished. If there's something about the gun that makes it special (unusual marking or configuration) then it could still have collector value and if it does, that value will be diminished by a refinish.
In an extreme case, something as simple as polishing part of the gun to remove rust freckling could drop the value by several hundred dollars. For another example, if your gun were a U.S. property marked 1903 with a blued finish, refinishing it would drop the collector value by 50%.
In this particular case since the gun in question is already pretty rough, (might already be considered nothing better than a shooter--I say 'might' because I'm certainly not an expert on the particular pistol under review) refinishing might not hurt the value much. In other words, if the gun is ALREADY a shooter (no collector value) then refinishing probably won't hurt the value at all.
The only way to make sure, would be to consult with a knowledgeable collector prior to having the gun refinished. If there's something about the gun that makes it special (unusual marking or configuration) then it could still have collector value and if it does, that value will be diminished by a refinish.
Thank you John.
I can see that this will go nowhere, and that no amount of re-phrasing my words here or discussing the subject will convince anyone that I actually have an idea of what collectible and valuable things are and how to determine how to identify them.
Sorry to have wasted everyone's time
I can see that this will go nowhere, and that no amount of re-phrasing my words here or discussing the subject will convince anyone that I actually have an idea of what collectible and valuable things are and how to determine how to identify them.
Sorry to have wasted everyone's time
Why exactly did you post here then?
I understood your question, but you haven't provided enough information to make an informed estimate. If you're familiar with Colts, then you recognize that their prices tend to be sensitive to factors beyond their presentation condition. For instance, there are multiple issues and configurations of 1903, and the prices for these can vary considerably.
That's why I'd posted a link to current GB auctions. I'm not your personal research service.
Also Chris, when you post to a public forum, you have to accept that people aren't obliged to do your bidding. If you want an expert appraisal, find a firearms appraiser. Or at least post to a forum where people are likely to have some expertise in old Colt semi's - this is a gunsmithing forum.
I understood your question, but you haven't provided enough information to make an informed estimate. If you're familiar with Colts, then you recognize that their prices tend to be sensitive to factors beyond their presentation condition. For instance, there are multiple issues and configurations of 1903, and the prices for these can vary considerably.
That's why I'd posted a link to current GB auctions. I'm not your personal research service.
Also Chris, when you post to a public forum, you have to accept that people aren't obliged to do your bidding. If you want an expert appraisal, find a firearms appraiser. Or at least post to a forum where people are likely to have some expertise in old Colt semi's - this is a gunsmithing forum.
I am posting for the sole reason that I do not see a personal message function on this forum
I carefully and fully explained myself Casimer, in my initial post
And then I thanked you for your input when you replied. I can hardly be held responsible for your misconceptions regarding this thread; you misunderstood and I re-defined my intent for you in other terms, and still this was not good enough for you. Now you feel you must take it upon yourself to try to teach me a lesson in what a public forum is for? You are out of line
Please take your desire for a confrontation somewhere else
I carefully and fully explained myself Casimer, in my initial post
And then I thanked you for your input when you replied. I can hardly be held responsible for your misconceptions regarding this thread; you misunderstood and I re-defined my intent for you in other terms, and still this was not good enough for you. Now you feel you must take it upon yourself to try to teach me a lesson in what a public forum is for? You are out of line
Please take your desire for a confrontation somewhere else
If you are an expert on old Colt pistols (or have consulted one) then this makes perfect sense in light of the specific question. Otherwise it doesn't.
If you are an expert on these pistols then you should have said so as that changes the situation completely.
Click on a person's name (to the left of their post) and you'll see an option to PM that person.
The other way to PM is to look near the upper right corner of the forum webpage (anywhere in TFL, scroll to the top of the window and look over to the right hand side) and click on the Private Messages notation.
Thanks John- didn't see it. But you know very well what this was about, I don't see why you'd reply that way as you already know what's what here and what I was doing.
Casimer it's not required that you like me or what I say
But when I thank people and then apologize for wasting their time, I don't expect to be further taken to task and I'll be damned if I'm going to called to heel over thanking people and apologizing. You very conveniently left out the part where I apologize in your quote
Let it go or don't, but this is your problem, not mine
Any further problems with me or this thread should be brought to a Moderator with a request to ban me. I apologized once and that's all you get
Chris out
Casimer it's not required that you like me or what I say
But when I thank people and then apologize for wasting their time, I don't expect to be further taken to task and I'll be damned if I'm going to called to heel over thanking people and apologizing. You very conveniently left out the part where I apologize in your quote
Let it go or don't, but this is your problem, not mine
Any further problems with me or this thread should be brought to a Moderator with a request to ban me. I apologized once and that's all you get
Chris out