Hi, I have two very old guns that used gun powder, not bullets....?

Question

They are about 200 years old, and are in mint condition. I was wondering is anyone has any suggestions as to how I would go about selling them, or finding out their true value. They do not have any markings like serial numbers, or even a makers name. Help! I am stumped. Thanks!

Answer 1

Are they rifles or pistols?
Where do you live? U.S. or....?
You definitely need to find a firearms dealer with experience dealing in antique weapons. Without seeing these firearms in a 'hands-on' situation, NO one can give a proper evaluation of their marketable value, from photographs or otherwise, no more than a numismatist can give a value of an antique coin.

Answer 2

If these guns are indeed that old, they may have significant value. I mean in the thousands to 10 thousands. An appraisal by 2 or more places would be a good idea. Just be aware that an appraisal for 2000.00 might sound great but then after the deal is made, it is possible the appraiser knows they are worth many times that. Get the appraisals in writing.

The other thing to consider is they could be recent but excellent fakes. This can happen but if these were passed down through your family, they are probably the real deal.. I wish you luck but dont be too trusting or take any amount that sounds good at the moment.

I wish you the best on this. Maybe they will even have some historical significance. If they are pistols and identical in appearance, they may be dueling pistols, which generally are in good shape.

Answer 3

Two places which buy guns like you have and give you an honest appraisal of the value and offer a fair price are Dixie Gun Works in Union City, Tennessee and Track Of The Wolf. Both can be found on the internet. Dixie Gun Works address is www.dixiegun.com. I don't know the address of Track of The Wolf but they can be found by searching the name on one of the search engines. Both will tell you how to get an appraisal and how to sell your guns to them.

Answer 4

Take a bunch of pictures of each one, and then list each one on www.gunbroker.com. This is like ebay for guns. Knowledgeable gun buyers will start asking you questions about them and will ask for more pictures; answer the questions and post new pictures as well.

The bidding on gunbroker will reflect their true value. Set the reserve price as high as you want.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT simply sell them to the first person you talk to. Gun store owners, pawn shops, antique shops, etc. make their living paying next to nothing for very valuable guns. In fact I'll bet some of those people are e-mailing you right now... :)

Answer 5

the in demand gunpowder we use as we talk in bullets is particularly designed to create as a lot stress to push the bullet out without blowing the shell or action aside. the item is to apply the regulation of least resistance to stress the bullet out by making use of making that the finest way for the burnt powder in gas form to launch that is stress. If we've been to apply something as risky as nitroglycerine, it could blow out the shell casing and action because of the fact the stress could be so extreme that merely pushing the bullet out does not be a quickly sufficient thank you to releave that is stress. as we talk maximum industries produce sluggish burning powders to objective and get the main out of powder you put in. because of the fact the bullet is vacationing down the barrel the powder remains burning producing a sluggish quantity of stress at the back of the bullet. and likewise noone could spend that a lot money for a steel alloy barrel gun. Industries could circulate out of corporation attempting to sell and sell it. yet another difficulty too, in case you're finding to make the bullet swifter then i ought to enable you recognize that a super quickly bullet does not have sufficient time to escalate into the form it needs to do the main quantity of harm. the item is to offer the main quantity of stress on a particular element of the objective. This an identical thought to the creation of the .40 5 ACP. Slower, wider bullet equals extra kinetic power/ knock down power. It became a solid attempt nevertheless.

Answer 6

First off, there are like a total of three 200 year old guns in the world that are in true mint condition. Maybe four.

The chances that you have two more? I wouldn't bet the farm on that.

Try searching on gunbroker.com and see if you can find a match. If that fails, try listing them on the same site with a high reserve....see what bids come in.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but the chances are, if those are in "mint" condition, you have two replicas of some type.

Answer 7

boy i'd like to have one of them, write me ok, pricing??? probably a whole lot, i ain't never saw one, but for someone who is a big history buff, i would think at least 3000+ or more, these are very hard to find, and in mint state, i'd be doing some talking to that auction house in new york,,,,, i think it's called southerby's or something like that, they belong in a museum...... write me i'd love to see photos of them and give you an offer.............

Answer 8

200-year old firearms in "mint" contition are mighty rare.

I'd love to see photos of them.

Are you certain of their age? Could they be fairly new reproductions of 200 year old designs?

Like I said, I'd love to see photos.

Doc

Answer 9

Ok you might look up "Blunderbuss" antiques they are in Marylebone high street, London (West End) use international directory enquiries if you are outside the UK and email them a photo . they deal with all that kind of stuff.

Answer 10

you should go to a gun smith or antique specialts and find out how much they are worth you might be sitting on a gold mine.