Help Identifying gun.

[Miltonite]

A guy on another forum I frequent posted this:

Look what I found! help!!
don't want it. don't know nothing about it. i've spent one hour wiki-ing, googling and generally confusing myself. i'd like to know enuf about it to take it to a pistolsmith and sell it. can i even sell it?? what do i do with it? ideally before turkey day and the urchins are in the house...

Facts on barrel are:
Colt D.A. 38
COLT'S PT.F.A. MFG CO.
HARTFORD CT USA
PAT. AUG5 84 NOV6 1888

Facts on some thingy that i pull away to open the chamber
684
(that number is also on some other thingy inside the barrel once it's open. the chamber opens to the left and spins freely either direction)

on the butt of handle is
99
54

and etched on the butt as well is my dead step-grandfather-in-law's name.

Any clue as to model number and ballpark price he could get?

 

[SpeedRacer]

It's made by Colt, and it's old. That means it's probably worth something.

 

[buddy_fuentes]

I was at the gun show in Gonzales several years ago and a guy had eight or ten old Colts on his table and they were priced from $2000 to $3000. None were in great condition.

I inherited an old Colt .32 that is very close to the one you have and I traced it down to 1912, I think. I found a Colt collector on the internet and he checked the serial number.

I would check it out before selling because it may be worth a few thousand.

Good Luck, Buddy

 

[dwr461]

I would need to see a close up of the markings. If the cyinder has no slots on it that would help too. It doesn't look like it does. A Model 1889 New Navy Colt would have no cylinder slots, be either 38 or 41 caliber, have a serial range under 31,000.

The patent dates for that model are August 5, 1884 and November 6 1888. Two or three digit assembly numbers were stamped on the cylinder release, the crane, the frame inside facing the crane, the cylinder breech, and inside the grips. These are nearly always confused by the novice with serial numbers.

R.L. Wilson Colt an American Legend page 207.

Dave