Author Topic: What is it worth?  (Read 583 times)

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Offline gwhilikerz

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What is it worth?
« on: November 11, 2008, 11:52:13 AM »
I just received a cap & ball revolver as part of a trade. It is a pietti  44 (I believe 1858 Remington repro). It has the top strap and the frame is brass. Looks like about a 7 inch barrel but I haven't measured it yet. It came with a shadow box that says " U.S. Civil War 1861-1865 ", flask, shot bag, shot, capper. I even got a bugle with it. Does anyone have any idea what it might be worth?

Offline Gatofeo

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Re: What is it worth?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2008, 01:26:33 PM »
Not a clue.
Search for it at gunbroker.com and see if anyone's selling one there, and what the bids may be.
Forget what the seller is asking, that's not indicative of value.

Frankly, I'm not optimistic that it's worth much. There have been a lot of commemoratives like this, and most of them were rather poorly made.
Brass frame revolvers tend to be more poorly made than the steel ones. I say "tend to" because there are a few exceptions out there, but generally speaking brass-framed revolvers are made quickly and without the attention to detail that steel framed revolvers get.
Pietta used to make revolvers of terrible quality. Just junk. Then about 5 or 6 years ago their quality came up considerably. Not quite as good as Uberti, but darn near. I haven't looked over any Piettas for a couple of years, so I don't know if their quality has held.
When your revolver was made may indicate its quality.
The quality of the accessories will also affect price.
A bugle?  :D  I have no idea how to put a value on that!
You'll have to search the internet to see what your revolver, accressories, box and bugle might be worth.

Just happened to think: Are you sure it is a working revolver? Many display revolvers like this have been made, that are completely inoperable. They're for show only. That would certainly affect value.

Let us know what you find out on its value. It's an interesting topic.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44."