

- #Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers serial number#
- #Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers archive#
- #Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers series#
#Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers archive#
What type of information would be provided on an archive letter?Īnswer: The archive letter provides original shipping details, including information on original configuration, shipping date, and the original shipping destination. Colt Archive Letters can provide descriptive details about custom engraving and other special features that will ensure the value of the firearm for future generations to treasure.įor more information, please review the Frequently Asked Questions below. The collectible value of your Colt is often enhanced when it is authenticated in this fashion. Whether your Colt is a treasured family heirloom or a more recent purchase, a Colt Archive Letter can provide fascinating and valuable information of historical or anecdotal importance.


You will then receive a personal letter outlining all of the fine points of your firearm, written on the Colt Archive's distinctive stationery, embossed with the official seal and signature of the Colt Historian. We will search through Colt’s vast archives to provide you with accurate, documented details confirming the original specifications and delivery of your particular Colt firearm. To purchase a letter, contact Colt’s Manufacturing Company at 80.Considered one of the most unique and prestigious services offered in firearms collecting, the archive letter is recognized as an unparalleled investment in firearms collecting. Regardless of whether your Colt is a vintage piece-perhaps a family heirloom-or a recently purchased firearm, a Colt’s Historical Letter can provide information of interest and real value. A Historical Letter will follow within two to three weeks.
#Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers serial number#
For a quicker response, Colt also offers, for $150, telephone research services on 1st Generation (up to 343,000 serial number range) and all 2nd Generation Single Action Army Colts only. The Historical Department is currently working to about a 90- to 120-day backlog, Kathy tells me. A 10 percent discount is offered to all members of the Colt Collectors Association, and quantity discounts are also available for historical documents. A partial refund for guns that cannot be documented will be made in certain instances. These files include mostly 1851 Navy, 1861 Navy and 1860 Army models. Vintage percussion Colts start at $300, although Colt’s records only cover partial production of these arms-having suffered the ravages of time. Should the ledgers reveal that the gun was originally shipped to someone such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, Colt family members, company executives or the like, an additional charge ranging from $50 to $200 may apply.Īmong the frontier-era Colts covered under the $100 standard fee are the 1877 Double Action, 1878 Double Action, 1889 Navy, Bisley model, New Service and some period automatics such as the Model 1911. For example, the base price for a Colt factory letter on an 1873 Single Action Army revolver runs $100.
#Where to look up colt pistol serial numbers series#
The $75 Historical Letter fee also applies to the modern-made Reproduction Black Powder Series revolvers and some early auto pistols.Ī premium charge will be applied for researching special features such as engraving, or if the records reveal shipment to historically significant persons or destinations. Prices start at $75 for first-time researched Colts. The cost of each letter varies, depending on the model of Colt researched. A personal letter with this information is then sent to you, detailing all of the pertinent points of your firearm. This document is typed on the Historical Department’s distinctive stationary, with the official seal and signature of the Colt Historian. The search brings forth accurate and documented details confirming the original specifications, dates and delivery of your particular Colt firearm.

Hoyt, searches through its vast archives that, in certain instances, dates back to the 1860s. It is a prestigious addition to any Colt that “letters out,” and it is also considered an investment in firearms collecting.įor such a letter request, Colt’s Historical Department staff, headed up by Kathleen J. A sure-shot way to prove the pedigree of your Colt firearm is to have factory documentation.Ī Colt Historical Letter has been universally recognized as the last word in authenticating the background of a Colt handgun or longarm.
