Colt Python value?

[railer12]

Been wanting a Colt Python. Finally found one at a in state gun/pawn shop this weekend. Blued, 4 in. barrel, 95-98% of new, no box or papers. Asking $1050. Maybe come down a little, didn't try, need to think about it first. Whatdaya think?

[railer12]

Thanks rootcanal, That's about how I had it figured also. There's something about a Python that would make me go crazy and pay that kind of money.

[johnbt]

I think a nice 4" blue with correct wood stocks would be around a grand, give or take a hundred. Of course an earlier gun, say from the '60s, might be even more. And if it's near perfect, even without the box, the seller is going to want a premium.

Target stocks for Pythons have been selling on e-bay for $100 up to $250 or so depending on the style and the condition.

John

[Chesster]

I think a nice 4" blue with correct wood stocks would be around a grand, give or take a hundred. Of course an earlier gun, say from the '60s, might be even more. And if it's near perfect, even without the box, the seller is going to want a premium.

Target stocks for Pythons have been selling on e-bay for $100 up to $250 or so depending on the style and the condition.

John

+1

[Don P]

Like anything else we shop for and buy its worth what YOU are willing to pay for it. This past weekend at the local gun show a seller had a Python 2 1/2" barrel with the box for $2200. Nice gun, owner stated the gun was new and never fired. The price you stated is fair. just MY opinion. Is the Python I saw worth the price being asked? Another dealer I know and have done plenty of business with sold 2 Pythons. The 6" barrel he sold for $1850. Worth it? If the Python is what you want and YOU think its worth the price and you have/can spare the purchase price then buy it. As we all know they will NOT be making anymore Pythons.

[Casimer]

$1050 seems about right, judging from the prices I've seen.

The tricky thing w/ Pythons is that there's an active collectors market, and a lot of these guys seem to take pride in what they've paid for one. So you'll see large spreads in their pricing. The same revolver that you might find for $800 locally may go for $2000+ on GB. There's typically some rationalization for this, but if you're just looking for a nice revolver to shoot it's frustrating.

[pogo2]

A good Python can easily sell in the $1200 to $1600 range if there are multiple bidders. Here are two auctions now on Auction Arms in which the prices are in that range, with quite a few bids made already.

Blue 6 inch Python $1550

Nickel 4 inch Python $1300

[johnbt]

Sure, throw in 2.5" or 3", nickel, old, boxed, etc. and the price goes up. Sometimes way up. Make it a nice deep rich blue and funny things happen to bidders too.

When a 20-year-old box with no printed info on the end goes for $170 you know that times, and the market, have changed. Funny thing is, I have that same kind of unmarked box on the shelf. I wonder if it'll be worth more next year?

John

[erikrichard]

I'm not sure where some of you are coming from. $800 Pythons are Rare, unless pretty beat up. If you want a decent one, a grand is on the low end.
That's not just GB, that's what I see in gun shops and shows.
I think $1050 is a totally fair price for a 95% blued Python.

[CDH]

Also consider that even $600 for a Python was "high" just a few short years ago.
For the longest time, there have been rumors or assumptions that Colt would start making the Python again, but now that that's been put to rest, it's starting to sink in that "they'll never make any more Pythons".

Then start dividing up what's out there by condition and age, and the large spread of prices ($800 to $2000 to $$$) begins to make sense.
The legitimate "NIB" or "don't look like they've been fired" pistols are those at the top end, while the no-box shooters with wear are at the low end.

The most pertinent of what I just wrote is "they'll never make any more Pythons".
In just a few short years, remembering back when a nice Python sold for "only" $2200 will make a person recall the "good 'ol days" when Pythons were "affordable".

[johnbt]

".. even $600 for a Python was "high" just a few short years ago."

I think it was more than a few years ago if you're talking about really nice ones or new ones. During the past 10 years I think $600 was the bottom, at least locally, for a 6" blue shooter with no holster wear. I sort of kept up with it during my travels so I could tell my dad.

I shopped for a new 6" blue Python for my father at the end of 1990. The highest price was $849 and the lowest was $599. He made the drive and I tagged along when he bought the $599 one. Maybe things are high around here.

John

[pogo2]

Regarding Python prices 10 years ago, I decided in 1999 that I wanted a Python, and spent some time shopping for one. Finally I bought the one shown below on Gunbroker for $630. At the time, this was a fair price for a 98% 6 inch blued gun.

I have followed the market for these ever since, and I believe the gun shown below is easily worth double the 1999 price.

[erikrichard]

I want to see what the prices go to after Colt goes belly up.
$800 Pythons are out there, I bought one about a month ago at a gun show. Very decent stainless 4" in perfect working order. (finally, I stumble into a good gun deal). It absolutely makes my (sold) Smith 686 the half-price gun that it is, no doubt about it. There's more to it than a name and the fact they don't make them anymore.

[sgtpepper]

I just bought myself a Colt Python at a gun auction here in Sweden and I paid the equivalent of 500 USD for it.

The serial number is 7638 so according to the list of serial numbers in the Wikipedia article about Colt Python the manufacturing year should be 1959 and for being a revolver that is 50 years old it is in really good condition.

It has some holster wear on the end of the barrel, but not much. The inside of the barrel looked as good as new and the overall condition is really good. The double action trigger pull felt really nice.

Was the price I paid fair? What would a Python this old in this condition cost in the US?

Have the Python been upgraded throughout the years or is my 1959 Python the same as a Python from later years? Will after market grips (Houge for example) fit without problems?

Here is a pic of my new darling:


Now I will have to wait 2-3 weeks before my papers clears and I can take it out to the range and try it out. The wait will be hard to cope (we need to apply for a license for each gun we own).

[AgentOrange]

I just bought myself a Colt Python at a gun auction here in Sweden and I paid the equivalent of 500 USD for it.

The serial number is 7638 so according to the list of serial numbers in the Wikipedia article about Colt Python the manufacturing year should be 1959 and for being a revolver that is 50 years old it is in really good condition.

It has some holster wear on the end of the barrel, but not much. The inside of the barrel looked as good as new and the overall condition is really good. The double action trigger pull felt really nice.

Was the price I paid fair? What would a Python this old in this condition cost in the US?

Your new Python would sell for 3 times as much here in the USA. The wood grips alone would sell for $300.

[Casimer]

I just bought myself a Colt Python at a gun auction here in Sweden and I paid the equivalent of 500 USD for it.

You'd have paid more than $500 if it came in a bucket


I think that the Python design has been pretty consistent through the years, though there have been several variants offered.

[cracked91]

Thats the cheapest one I found, most were going for around 1500-2500, I would snatch that gun up right away

[sgtpepper]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Your new Python would sell for 3 times as much here in the USA. The wood grips alone would sell for $300.

Cool . The gun market here is more regulated than in the US, the amount of possible buyers aren't that large, so it's really the buyers market - more guns than buyers.

Last year at an auction I saw two Pythons sell for about 200 USD each, one from 1959, in good condition (pic) and one from 1981, in very good condition (pic). Insane. It really hurt to see them go so cheap.

[BobR]

I was at a Cabela's the other day and they had a .38 Target Python with 8" barrel and correct stocks on it marked at a little over 1700 dollars.

A little pricy for me, but then again, just about everything in the gun library is.

bob

[Chesster]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the super deal.

[sgtpepper]

Originally Posted by Chesster

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the super deal.

Thanks Chesster! The forum seems great, I have read through a lot of postings regarding the Python already and there seems to exist a wealth of knowledge here! Lot of useful information for a newbie like me .

It's itching like hell in my trigger finger right now, the only thing I currently want is to get my new gun and go out and test it out!