Do You Think The Colt Revolver Bubble Will Burst Anytime Soon?

[Joe_Pike]

I look at Gunbroker auctions quite a bit (real bored at work) and, like everyone else, have noticed some bizarre prices for Colt snake guns lately. For example, $41, 000 for a Combat Python a couple of months ago, almost $15, 000 for another Combat Python in an auction that is about to end, and I personally know someone that just recently sold a 2 1/2" Python for over $5,200. I sold a nickel Cobra in the box with 25 rounds through it less than three years ago for $465 (what I paid for it) and it took forever to get it sold, but there is one on Gunbroker about to sell for more than a grand.

I know that demand drives prices, but does anyone think the bubble will burst like the bubble with so many other collectible items or do you believe that prices will continue to rise?

If Smith & Wesson prices ever took off like this I'm pretty sure I would sell the few that I have since I have no real sentimental attachment to any of them.

[540mope]

That bubble won't pop...there will always be people willing to pay $5000 for a $1000 revolver.

[riflemen]

I have a unfired python, I would sell it for $10K lol...

If colt started making them again, that would put a cloth over it..

[Hunter0924]

I do hope it will at least back track a bit.
I really want a Python and Anaconda but at the current market I cannot afford one.

[Guv]

Stop buying overpriced Colts and spend your money on Rugers and Smiths.

[PzGren]

No.

What were you to replace them with?

[lamarw]

No, They have gotten the attention of those with money who have to have one in their collection.

The smart people will find them wherever they are stuck away and will capitalize on them by buying low from and selling high to 2 ignorant and eager parties.

[riflemen]

I think the new smith performance center line is full of better shooters than the colts, I remember a bunch of guys having issues with the colts after firing them a bunch, great gun to fire a few times but put a bunch of range time and they started to fail... Granted a very tight gun and a nice shooter, but not the end all of wheel guns by any means..

Now if you are a collector that is another situation, you have a safe full of guns you don't fire, handle them with white gloves, and wipe with teflon cloths whenever you take them out of the safe, then sure the colt revolvers are nice for that and demand a price that them guys can afford, BUT to say they are better shooters than say a sw vcomp 357 or a 686 competitor {both of which I own}, I don't see it and you can get a vcomp or competitor for just over $1000 each...

Imagine if smith stopped making revolvers what some of their low production pc guns would be worth, lol...


I always tell guys if you want a firearm that you can enjoy and keep as an investment buy a smith revolver or mid to high grade 1911, you can shoot them forever and they don't lose a ton of value... With very few exceptions is this true, you can buy all the sigs {with the exception of the 210}, taurus's, glocks, para, ect ect ect you want but in a few years when your 238 is replaced with a 241 and your night sights are dimming, the gun wont be worth what a new set of night sights cost!!!!
I know this from experience sadly, now this wont apply to everyone, some guys just buy a gun to beat up, carry, get their moneys worth and toss away in the safe when they buy their new gen 9. That is fine, I have a few of them too, but when you get into owning 50-100+ guns, then you start to think about this stuff, a safe full of glocks from days past {minus the few that have risen in value} will not hold their value compared to smith revolvers and 1911's.... But of course you need to like them too, otherwise there are much better investments out there, like taco's, hotdogs, and spray cheese...

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by riflemen

I think the new smith performance center line is full of better shooters than the colts, I remember a bunch of guys having issues with the colts after firing them a bunch, great gun to fire a few times but put a bunch of range time and they started to fail...

A new Scion FR-S has comparable power, performance, and handling to a 1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, and is the unquestionably superior car in every respect relating to reliability, fuel economy, build quality, practicality, operating costs, and creature comforts.

This is completely irrelevant to a rich collector who will pay 15-20x as much for the Dino. It's not about the objective specifications or even the durability. It's about owning something special.

Same goes for a Colt Snake.

[EDIT TO ADD] FWIW the Ferrari Dino series is currently subject to a similarly debated value "bubble".

[diggler1833]

I see the POSSIBILITY of it happening. All relatively collectable handguns have increased in price 30-50% over the past decade. At some point, the interest in making a profit in this market will die off some, and prices will naturally come down (if it happens).

I saw what happened in the muscle car market 12-13 years ago. Televised events of Barret Jackson came on the scene and all hell broke loose because people were seen paying too much. Prices increase a couple of times over in just a few years. Then a few years ago, a significant portion of the prices fell off quite a bit.

I am not saying that there is a direct comparrison to be made. The collector car market was displayed on cable television for millions to see. However, a lot of people inherit firearms and the first thing they do is sell them. One idiot with no firearm experience sees a Python for $4K, and the next thing you know there are 40 Pythons on the market for $4k. I see a lot of them on Gunbroker sitting there everyday.

[Guv]

Old Colts and Smiths were not nearly as far apart as old Ferraris and old Toyotas. A Python is like that 1965 Caddy with350hp that got 20mpg at 120mph all day.

[riflemen]

A new Scion FR-S has comparable power, performance, and handling to a 1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, and is the unquestionably superior car in every respect relating to reliability, fuel economy, build quality, practicality, operating costs, and creature comforts.

This is completely irrelevant to a rich collector who will pay 15-20x as much for the Dino. It's not about the objective specifications or even the durability. It's about owning something special.

Same goes for a Colt Snake.

this is a really bad comparison, If you read my post I made the exception to a collector. Also the smith pc guns would not be a "toyota" in this analogy since the quality, performance, culture, quantities produced, and msrp's are about the same, a 1970 246gt was MUCH MUCH more than a scion {factoring in inflation, a red 1970 would cost you around $17000 by the time you got it home my parents bought their home in 72', today it would cost all of $600K for something comparable....}, a scion is $15K NOW 45 years later, lol...

The colts and smith pc guns have similar retail values, similar performance, ect. The only difference is they don't make the colts any more, that is what is driving up the cost, they are collectible, I don't notice a lot of collectors on this site, most of the guys here would be shooting their colt, not looking for an investment grade pistol... I have a safe of just investment pistols, I also have a garage full of investment vehicles, they are apples and oranges, I love car analogies when they work, this was a poor one ...

PS:I own a really nice colt wheel gun, never fired and I own a decent used one, I wouldn't consider them the 60's-70's ferrari of the gun world, they would more likely be the early to mid 70's american muscle car of the gun world, say a 1972 chevelle {maybe not even an ss no where near an LS car, lol}... The ferrari would be more like a Piotti King #1 in 20ga...

[publius]

No, they will stay ridiculously expensive. I haven't seen any for 41 or 15k though, that is unusual. We're there bids on those or was that the asking price?

[SaxonPig]

Is Colt making more handguns?

Didn't think so...

[micromontenegro]

this is a really bad comparison, If you read my post I made the exception to a collector.

Point A- Let us refine the comparison, and go '69 Porsche 911 Vs.'69 Dino. The same Chris said still holds in a "fairer" scenario. The 911 was arguably the better car, but the Dino is worth far more because they made less units, has more panache, and simply because people are willing to pay more.

And no, the so-called Dino bubble does not want to burst. Indeed, an Alfa 105 "bubble" seems to be around the corner- there's an important number of people with lots of disposable income that want nice toys.

Point B- Of course, it is a collector's market. Those "overpriced" Pythons are nice playthings, not Glock substitutes.

[Joe_Pike]

I haven't seen any for 41 or 15k though, that is unusual. We're there bids on those or was that the asking price?

Those were what the guns actually sold for.

Is Colt making more handguns?

Didn't think so...

Smith & Wesson isn't making any more 38-44 Heavy Duties either, but I don't see the prices of those going into the stratosphere. But if they do, I'll be right there trying to sell mine if someone wants to give me $5,000 for it.

[RIDE-RED 350r]

I think that as long as Colt stays out of the DA wheelgun game that prices will remain high for some time. They now have the stigma of a valuable collectible and that won't change dramatically. Sure, there will be some fluctuations based on the general economy I suppose. But I don't think you will ever see a Colt snake sell for less than 1200 again, barring the occasional anomaly of the uninformed or extremely motivated seller.

Now if Colt decides to get back into it??? I think you would see a decrease in what they sell for... I think you would see a market similar to S&W's. The "old" P&R models have a collectible property to them. Look at what say an excellent condition 29-2 brings. Often times more than a new "Classic" line m29 or current 629. You know, nothing "new" is as good as the old stuff......

[Clark]

I bought two Colts Saturday; $285 for a 1893 New Pocket 32 DA and $400 for a 1908 Army Special 38.

I paid $1295 + $123 tax for a 1978 Python at the pawn shop a year ago.

Looks like MY bubble burst.

[AustinTX]

I have a unfired python, I would sell it for $10K lol...

If colt started making them again, that would put a cloth over it..

Depends upon its vintage. What year/finish/barrel length?

[AustinTX]

No, they will stay ridiculously expensive. I haven't seen any for 41 or 15k though, that is unusual. We're there bids on those or was that the asking price?

A number of very rare 1980s Colts of exceedingly mediocre quality (Boa, Kodiak, Grizzly) have sold for from ~$8,000 to well into the five-figure range (up to $25,000) on GB in the last 90 days.

Oddly enough, the "bubble" has never really even formed with respect to Colt's best-ever revolvers, aside from 1950s and 1960s Pythons. Pre-war Colts that put any non-Python post-War Colt (and even later Pythons) to absolute shame in overall quality can be had in fine condition at very reasonable prices. So much of the attention on used Colt revolvers is concentrated on the utterly unremarkable non-Python snake guns and their rare variants.

That certainly works for me. I'd much rather have other buyers slobbering over things I don't care about than the stuff that's actually well-made.

[Guv]

A Boa was just a dolled up Trooper, if people want to through their money away then let'em. It does pretty much ruin things for the average Joe, myself included, crazy times we live in.

[riflemen]

Thats kind of my point, its not like the colt revolvers were SUPER revolvers, I personally prefer the sw pc stuff, I think sw is easier to deal with too... I honestly don't know when the colt wheels got so sought after? I remember before this they would sit in the gun shops case like red headed step children... I have seen them well below $500 in nice used condition. The fact that people are will to spend 20 times that now doesn't make it a better gun...

This thread has me considering selling mine, I am going to pull them out after the holiday and contact a local collector that showed interest in it a few months back, maybe he will make me a good offer on both.

[540mope]

That certainly works for me. I'd much rather have other buyers slobbering over things I don't care about than the stuff that's actually well-made.

Exactly. The more Colts they buy, the fewer (enter brand name here) they will buy. If someone wants to spend good money on a name and hype, i say more power to 'em.

[UncleEd]

The thing I find hilarious about Colt prices in regard to the Anaconda and the
King Cobra is that they were not big sellers.

Their triggers, especially in double action, suck compared to the older Colts and the Smiths and Rugers which were their main competition.

The King Cobra and Anaconda lockworks are cheap and were introduced in failed hopes to stemming the popularity of the Smiths and Rugers. Just take off the King Cobra's and Anaconda's grips and pop their side plates and you'll gulp. The Troopers that followed the dropping of the leaf spring design that Pythons have were just as suckie.

I doubt any serious gunsmiths gave any attention to the King Cobras and Anaconda when introduced nor today.

[carguychris]

Originally Posted by micromontenegro

Let us refine the comparison, and go '69 Porsche 911 Vs.'69 Dino. The same Chris said still holds in a "fairer" scenario.

Thank you, that IS a better comparison.