Reference material on percussion revolvers?

I've purchased a good number of replicas since joining this forum but want to start getting some originals but my knowledge is basically nil.

Any good reference material that anyone would suggest?

I've done some searching on the Net and there are some very interesting examples out there but I don't know what a fair price is for any particular handgun and in what condition.

I would want to have a max price around $2K, not willing to go higher at the moment. From looking at prices that some desirable (IMO) handguns have sold for I think I should be able to get some nice pieces in that price range.

Any info, reference material, websites etc would be appreciated.

Old-Duckman said:

I've purchased a good number of replicas since joining this forum but want to start getting some originals but my knowledge is basically nil.

Any good reference material that anyone would suggest?

I've done some searching on the Net and there are some very interesting examples out there but I don't know what a fair price is for any particular handgun and in what condition.

I would want to have a max price around $2K, not willing to go higher at the moment. From looking at prices that some desirable (IMO) handguns have sold for I think I should be able to get some nice pieces in that price range.

Any info, reference material, websites etc would be appreciated.

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BEWARE OF FAKES, especially replica parts artificially aged and used to replace damaged or missing original parts.
My late brother bought an original Colt Navy, mfg. in 1862, that had a general brown patina, but with all numbers matching and proof marks easily visible. Fairly tight action and functioned perfectly.
While going through some of his stuff in preparation for the estate sale, I was looking the gun over closely, and something about the cylinder just didn’t look right. Hard to explain. There was an area that looked like the metal had a slightly different texture. Got a flashlight and closely looked it over some more. Smooth brown patina finish. No file or machine marks. Still suspicious, I took the gun outside in the bright sunlight (which is often the very best light) and sure enough there was a problem that I could see when I angled the gun just right with the sun.
Apparently sometime years ago, I assume, someone fired the gun and blew the outer part of 2 adjacent chamber walls off. What I was seeing was a repair made by adding a lot of weld buildup to that part of the cylinder. Then someone very skillfully turned down the outside of the buildup to match the surrounding surface, and even more skillfully did a perfect job of reboring the holes in the two affected chambers. Chamber walls looked perfect.
Don’t know what actually blew the cylinder up, but my guess is some ignoramus loaded it with firecracker or smokeless powder a long time ago and ruined the cylinder.
P.S :
I should add that even old guns that have had parts replaced over the years are often still worth having.
Guns that are not 100% original are not totally “worthless”.
They are only “WORTH LESS”, if you get my drift.

No suggestions for reference material?

I appreciate smoothshooter’s reply but was surprised that no one suggested any reference material (like books or websites). Oh well, for those who might be looking for something along those lines I purchased “American Percussion Revolvers” by Frank M. Sellers & Samuel E. Smith. A quick flip through the book, seems like it will be quite helpful and informative.

Thanks for the help (please note sarcasm).

Old-Duckman said:

No suggestions for reference material?

I appreciate smoothshooter’s reply but was surprised that no one suggested any reference material (like books or websites). Oh well, for those who might be looking for something along those lines I purchased “American Percussion Revolvers” by Frank M. Sellers & Samuel E. Smith. A quick flip through the book, seems like it will be quite helpful and informative.

Thanks for the help (please note sarcasm).

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Well, I could have named a few but they are all old and out of print as I started collecting original guns back in the 1970's and my books on the old guns are mainly from that era or earlier. I am sure there are newer books out, likely with a lot of newer research info but I don't have any of them largely because I switched to collecting weapons from later eras. Only recently got a renewed interest in muzzle loading era guns again. I think the newest book I have is Civil War Pistols by John D. McAuley that was published in the 1990's and I got that mixed in with a stack of books on WWI and WWII military guns I bought at a militaria show. There is a lot of great knowledge on this site but you are most likely to get a quick result when asking questions on one specific item. Simply don't know what's available in newer books to recommend.

Old-Duckman said:

I've purchased a good number of replicas since joining this forum but want to start getting some originals but my knowledge is basically nil.

Any good reference material that anyone would suggest?

I've done some searching on the Net and there are some very interesting examples out there but I don't know what a fair price is for any particular handgun and in what condition.

I would want to have a max price around $2K, not willing to go higher at the moment. From looking at prices that some desirable (IMO) handguns have sold for I think I should be able to get some nice pieces in that price range.

Any info, reference material, websites etc would be appreciated.

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The Colt collectors website has some good info. Also, RL Wilson authored many books on antique firearms and is a widely recognized authority. Charles Pate is another. Haven and Belden are two more.

Bad Karma said:

The Colt collectors website has some good info. Also, RL Wilson authored many books on antique firearms and is a widely recognized authority. Charles Pate is another. Haven and Belden are two more.

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Thank you, I’ll look into those resources.

The Donald Ware book on Remington revolvers is really good.
Reference books that deal with technical stuff like serial numbers, models and variations, etc. are worthwhile buying. Books dealing with "value" and prices - interesting to look at but not (at least to me) very worthwhile.

Jim in Wisconsin said:

The Donald Ware book on Remington revolvers is really good.
Reference books that deal with technical stuff like serial numbers, models and variations, etc. are worthwhile buying. Books dealing with "value" and prices - interesting to look at but not (at least to me) very worthwhile.

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Agreed. Most are obsolete by the time they’re printed.