One of our club members has an 1842 Harper's Ferry he would like to sell. It's all original smooth bore, no rear sight with lock date 1855. He brought it to one of our meetings ( when we still could have them) for show-and-tell. From what I can remember it was in pretty decent condition.
My question, he's asking $1500 for it, would that be worth pursuing? I think he's pretty firm on the price.
The 9th edition of, "FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS", says a 1842 U.S. Percussion Musket in "good" condition was worth $950 in 2007. It does not differentiate between the guns built at Harpers Ferry and those made at the Springfield armory.
$950 in 2007 would be worth $1221 in November 2020 because of inflation but because this is a collectible firearm and prices fluctuate depending on the market value, use that number only as a guide. Remember, condition is everything and Flayderman explains what his use of the word, "good" means in the following paragraph:
"Some minor replacement parts; metal smoothly rusted or lightly pitted in places, cleaned or reblued, principle lettering, numerals and design on metal legible, wood refinished, scratched, bruised, or minor cracks repaired, in good working order." He goes on to say, "...if the collector will bear in mind that the euphonious "GOOD" really indicates a fairly well worn specimen, he will be better able to guage value."
In "Fine" condition, the 1842 musket was worth $2750 in 2007. "Fine" condition would have the original finish with the bluing showing light discoloration on metal parts. The original stock finish would be present but aged, without heavy scratches, repairs or cracks.
