Old Colt D.A. revolver.

[Slinger]

I've have an old Colt revolver I got from a friend. I can find very little information about the gun. It has a nickle finish on it that appears to have been done later in the guns life. It does have some military inspectors stamps on the side plates. The but of the gun looks like it had a lanyard loop on it but that was removed or broken off. The gun no longer locks up tight and doesn't always advance the cylinder when the trigger is squeezed or the hammer is drawn back. Does this gun have any collector value or should I turn it in at the next police gun buy back?

 

[KodiakBeer]

It's a New Army or Navy revolver, or a civilian variant of that model. They were made in the 1890's early 1900's period. It's not .38 special, but a ".38 Colt" - this is the revolver responsible for the military going to the 1911 and the .45 acp because of the miserable results of the cartridge when used in the Philippines.

I don't think it has any value because of the finish and the missing original grips, but somebody would buy it to restore or just for display. It deserves a better death than a police buy-back!

 

[6_gunner]

Definitely don't throw that away at a buyback!!!

The condition may be rough, but its still an antique and its still a Colt. It may not be worth as much as it would be in original condition, but there are many people who would gladly take it off your hands for more than you would get at any buyback.

If it were mine, I would probably invest the money to have it restored.

 

[Cosmoline]

Probably not much collector's value, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have *any* value. It's worth something as a fixeruper or at least as a parts source.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Probably not much collector's value, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have *any* value.

Absolutely! It's worth more than he'd get in any police buy-back. I'll bet if he put it up right in this site, he'd get fair offers from Colt collectors.

 

[dfariswheel]

I'll add that these old guns were NOT for use with the .38 Special cartridge.
These were built to fire a now obsolete Colt .38 Short or Colt .38 Long cartridge.

Because of the way the cylinders were made, most of these will even chamber the .357 Magnum.
Don't shoot .38 Special or .357 in these old guns.

As for the gun itself, it was the Colt New Army & Navy Model. This was the world's first double action, swing-out cylinder revolver, and was made for the US Army and Navy, and as a commercial model.
There were various models of these as Colt put the gun through a rapid improvement program.
The models were the Model 1889, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1901, and 1903.

To date yours, check the index here:
http://proofhouse.com/colt/

 

[Slinger]

Thanks for all the information. What would a fair price be for this gun if I were to post it here on THR?

 

[KodiakBeer]

The collectors can give a much better answer than me, but I'd guess $150 - $200. I'd want to see a lot better pictures and know what the bore looks like, etc. Also, the markings would tell the buyer if it's definitely a military issue that's had nickeling added later, or a civilian model that came nickeled. I'm sure a civilian model with decent factory nickeling would hold more interest than a military issue that was nickeled later.

I think it's cool because I'm a 1911 guy - it would make an interesting conversation piece because that revolver led the military back to the .45, and then a bit later to the 1911 .45.