I have an old .38/44 Outdoorsman, from the late 1930s, bought by my Dad in 1942, and never out of family hands since. It is in great shape, but the original box is kind of rough. Is a Letter of Authenticity from Smith going to substantially increase the value? otherwise, why pay $75 for the letter?
JMHO, a serious S&W collector may pay more for the gun, but
you're probably going to get what you get for the gun,
letter or not.
If the box were in better shape, and the pistol was LNIB,
with original paperwork, that might increase sale value.
IME, folks are cheap,and they are going to nitpick every
defect, in order to get the best price possible. I doubt
anybody's going to say "OH, you have a letter from
S&W! Well, then, THAT changes everything . . .".
I can't imagine a situation which would make me want to part with
such a nice family heirloom.
to a collector, or serious buyer, the letter may have some worth since it proves when the pistol was made. for some pistols depending upon how collectable it is, it may be very important to it's value. it all depends upon the pistol and the potential buyer.
They have value if there is something of note about the original owner. If you have one of the early, 41-mags, that was delivered to Elmer Keith, a letter proving that will greatly increase the value. Otherwise, they are interesting.
Dallas is right on, am glad this is not a price hunting expedition. I feel the letter is for my benefit, am completing the paperwork to get a letter on one of my SAA right now, I know the pistol spent it’s life on a Texas Ranch so will be interesting to see where it was sold. I will keep the pistol and letter together until time to pass all the firearms on to friends and family.
Dallas is right on, am glad this is not a price hunting expedition. I feel the letter is for my benefit, am completing the paperwork to get a letter on one of my SAA right now, I know the pistol spent it’s life on a Texas Ranch so will be interesting to see where it was sold. I will keep the pistol and letter together until time to pass all the firearms on to friends and family.
i kind of thought about it some, and maybe a letter from S&W might be a novel addition to the pistol when you pass it along at some time to one of your heirs. it would provide a little bit of some of the pistol's history and backstory.
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