Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

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dabretty
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Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by dabretty »

I've had several firearms that I've suddenly inherited, that I have no use for. I just really want them out of the house, as I have young kids and inadequate storage space in a safe for them. Thanks to other discussions on this site, I've started to go down the gunbroker.com path, and I plan to sell most all of them there. Most are rather unremarkable, from what I can tell.

However, there appears to be one "classic" in this bunch. A 1967 Colt Cobra Agent .38 Special with a 3" barrel. A similar listing is here (with no price listed, unfortunately):
https://www.gunsamerica.com/917396024/C ... l-1967.htm

From poking around the web just a bit, it looks (?) like this revolver could be in the range of $2k or more. It is in excellent condition. I highly doubt that it has been fired in the last 20-30+ years, which I suppose is probably considered a mixed bag.

Looking at gunbroker.com, I'm a bit leery about listing an item like this on there. The reason being that this firearm appears to be quite unique and I'm not sure that there's adequate traffic on that site with interested collectors, to truly fetch whatever its fair value may be. This could be an incorrect assessment, I realize.

For those on here that are familiar with this type of firearm, what would you do? I would obviously like to fetch a reasonable dollar for this, but I'm not just not "into" the firearm crowd enough to know what to do. Thanks.
PoppyA
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by PoppyA »

I think your fears about the gunbroker site are unfounded. You will get plenty of interest on Gunbroker if in fact it is a unique aka collectible gun. Many big time Colt collectors follow that site. I personally know many of them. Just make sure you give an accurate description.

While 2k is a pricy gun to many people, in the world of collectible guns it is a drop in the hat. Gunbroker sells many collectible colts on their site that bring far more money than that.

Wether or not the gun has been fired in the last 20-30 years makes no difference. What matters is condition, & sometimes obscure details that only the true collectors know. The more original, the better. Original paperwork & box will enhance the value.
Last edited by PoppyA on Sun Dec 05, 2021 1:25 am, edited 2 times in total.
Topic Author
dabretty
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by dabretty »

Excellent points. While I'm not unfamiliar with firearms, I just have no idea of the values. I appreciate your input!
PoppyA
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by PoppyA »

If you have a gun shop near by, I would stop in & ask if they have a current copy of the Blue Book of Gun values. That should give you a range of values.
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ClevrChico
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by ClevrChico »

I was in a similar situation and sold the firearm on my megacorp's employee classifieds in under a week for top dollar. There was no middleman and no dealing with the general public.

It had been several years since it had been fired, and it's a 90 minute round trip drive to a range to test. So I sold it as "it should work, but you can return it if you're not happy".
TT
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by TT »

delete
Last edited by TT on Tue Feb 06, 2024 3:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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pshonore
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by pshonore »

I would check with a local FFL (Federal Firearms Licensed) dealer to learn about firearms sales in your state. State laws vary widely as to who can sell and transfer a firearm. Gunbroker.com is one place to look for a local FFL.
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illumination
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by illumination »

FWIW, your gun is not worth quite that much. $800 or so would be my guess for a "retail" sale on the higher end, maybe up to a $1000 if it was in exceptional condition or had something unusual about it. I honestly think it would be hard to get even that unless the condition is just amazing. Unless it was mint in the box, or something extraordinary, its hard for me to see it being worth anywhere near $2,000, but I'm not an expert. It being the "first year" makes it more valuable.

Here's a sold one that the asking price was $895
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns- ... =101536282

The Colt Anacondas and Pythons are what collectors are going nuts over. It's the big frame guns.

Gunbroker would be where you could get top dollar, but you probably need a FFL holder to sell, depending on state laws. My state you can sell locally without any sort of license to a private party, but obviously check your local laws.

My guess is a local gun shop would give you like $400 if you're lucky.

Personally, I'd keep it. I bet it keeps up better with inflation than precious metals.
mr_brightside
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by mr_brightside »

the issue with guns like these is they are worth a lot to the 'right' people

take it to a local pawn shop of course and they'll offer you $225...

research higher end firearms auction houses and that would be the way to get it in front of the right collectors

Gunbroker is generally pretty legit but all the usual caveats etc. plus you can't just ship a firearm like a loaf of bread. strict federal - and possibly local / state - laws apply

the other way is educate yourself about large / high traffic local 'brink and mortar' gun shops. most decent sized gun shops will do consignment sales for around 20-30%. so if it sells for ~$750 you'd net around $550 -$575. the other nice thing is the shop will take care of the background checks on the prospective buyers which offers some 'peace of mind'...

but another vote for keeping it :happy you can buy a nice locking case for security. guns like that are a piece of history like a typewriter, record player or juke box.

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West of Chicago
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by West of Chicago »

A few years ago, I sold a number of items on consignment through Simpson Ltd. (https://simpsonltd.com) in Galesburg, IL. They specialize in selling collectible firearms and have an extensive online catalog.

They charge a 20% consignment fee, but I got top dollar for my items and they handled everything, including the photography and copy for the listing on their site. Every few weeks I got a check and a detailed list of what had been sold. IMHO, much easier than dealing with Gunbroker.

Good luck!
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Sandtrap
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by Sandtrap »

Likely an easiest "first step" (only a lst step) would be to take it to various "firearms" stores in your region and ask them if they could sell it on consignment for you, how much they would ask for it, how much would you "net" from it after their cut, etc.
Then. . .go from there as other's have suggested.

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andypanda
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Re: Selling (Inherited) Firearm, Possibly Classic?

Post by andypanda »

Is it a Cobra or an Agent? What does it say on the barrel?
Is it an Agent with a 3" Cobra barrel on it?
What's the serial number or range?

I just went through my old gun references and didn't see a 3" Cobra Agent. But what do I know, the only Colt revolvers I have are Pythons. :)
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