How to get a ACW era Spencer Appraised?

[Ozark Iron John]

How do you guys estimate the value of a good old gun?  My uncle's wife grandpa kept a 1865 Spencer 50 Cal. Rim Fire (SN 40xx). It is blue with traces of case color, sharp cartouche.   It is an earlier model gun without the stabler cutoff.  How should I tell him to go about getting it appraised?

[Ozark Iron John]

Dang. You all are a talkative bunch.  Let me swing this'n bye ya one more time.

Who had I ought to talk too about getting a real antique Spender rifle appraised?

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy

Sounds like a nice piece!

Need more info:

Barrel length (20 or 22 inch) from muzzzle to breech face.

Chamber top markings: Spencer or Burnside

Is it 56-50 0r 56-56? (22 inch with Spencer markings probably 56-56 Civil War gun)

Digital pictures of finish, cartouches, sights, etc.

Any added markings or initials

type of extractor (side blade or center Lane type hook on bottom of chamber)

Bore condition, number grooves, chamber condition.

Alll variables make a difference.

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[Two Flints]

Ozark,

I wanted to stay away from answering your question.  I've seen original Spencers listed for sale over a wide range of prices from about $1,200.00 to over $7,000.00 depending on condition, history associated with it, and what the market will bear.  If you visit some of the auction sites on the Internet, you could probably get a "feel" for what yours is worth.  Do you want to sell it?  Or do you just want to know its value?  Sorry that's the best I can do...maybe one of the SSS members who owns an original will get involved with your question.

Two Flints  

[Ozark Iron John]

Thank you.  That makes perfect sense.  We are doing just that kinda thing in fact.  I just thought my CAS friends might be able to provide me some more in depth kinda insights.

My Uncle wants to keep it.  He loves it.  He wants to know so he can get it insured.  He can't believe he's got it, he thinks it is an authentic Civil War era gun.  Apparently they've got some type of history about it.  He said he thinks he knows where it came from during the war.  Her grgrandpa was an Indiana soldier and they think that he might've taken it as a trophy from a killed CSA soldier in Tennessee.  I didn't tell him, but I thought that was probably BS.

I'll try to get more details and maybe a photo or two of it.

[Two Flints]

Ozark,

Try this site. 

http://armscollectors.com/srs/lookup_spencer.php

You need to type in the Spencer serial # and maybe it can tell you the Unit is was assigned to.  Let us know what you find out.

Two Flints

[Ozark Iron John]

http://armscollectors.com/srs/lookup_spencer.php

OH MAN!  My uncle is going to freak out!  He'll probably be able to trace this back to his wife's GrGrandpa's service record.

        CO E 72ND IND VOL INF -

I figured the war trophy story was just crap.  Could the old man have just kept it?  Or is it still the gov'ment's?

[Sloan Dodgy]

A couple of things - many of the firearms auction houses offer free appraisal service, like James Julia at http://www.juliaauctions.com and J.C.Devine at http://www.jcdevine.com  The only problem is the risk of shipping it all over the place.

The other thing your uncle needs to see is info about Wilder's Lightning Brigade, which included the 72nd Indiana and fought hard at Chickamauga in 1863.  See http://www.thehistorynet.com/acw/bllightningatchickamauga/ for a good write-up.  Congratulations on a great piece of history!