Jeff,

Carol Watson’s OC Auctions ( see above ) is a solid company and about as personalized as you can get. You’ll get honest input and fair policies & terms.

They are at many of the major guns shows, and you can get to know them there if you attend.

Bill

Yes, but how many firearms are there out there that are worth over six figures (over $1 million)?  Not many…

Even a Colt Walker or Paterson with condition isn’t worth 7 figures.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2011/10/1836-colt-revolver-sells-for-record-977500-price-at-auction/

Can you post pictures of your 1866?  I searched for it on the Whittington Museum site and could not locate it.

I would think that any national auction house, such as James Julia or Rock Island, would be the way to go.  This is where folks with deep pockets go to, and I would choose the one that offers you the best deal on commissions.  Your firearm will bring the highest price the market will bear at that particular time–e.g., ‘getting full value’, as you say.  As for private sale, maybe go to a prominent gun show, such as the Denver one, may be the route to go.  I have been to the Baltimore Show, and there are some high-priced firearms there, as well.

Believe me, if your firearm is what you say it is, I would more than anything love to be the next ‘caretaker’ of this firearm.  Having said that, I have to be very selective in what I purchase, and, right now, I don’t have the kind of money you would want for your firearm.  Most people don’t.  I am amazed that lot after lot at these national firearms auctions can bring 4, 5, and 6 figures, lot after lot, and no one seems to ever run out of money doing so.  I am employed by other entities, and so my salary is determined by institutional standards, as are my pay raises.  It may BE, that someday, I might be able to make ONE (e.g., an once in a lifetime) purchase, maybe through the sale of excess real estate, etc.  How would I go about doing that?  ‘Maybe’ I might purchase that once-in-a-lifetime firearm from a prominent auction house, but not quite sure I could do that, as I would be well aware that I am paying full price for that firearm, competing against others with deeper pockets than mine.  And, would it be a Winchester?  Probably not.  I would like to own an original Colt Walker, and this would be what I would likely get.  Having said that, where would you find such a firearm?  Most are at these prominent auction houses or through a prominent arms dealer at more-than-retail prices.  So, if I do that someday, I would probably have to go the national auction house route.  Would I be willing to pay full retail value?  Maybe, by that time, I simply won’t care!  If I had to guess, most folks at these national auctions are businessmen, probably usually small businessmen, with successful businesses that generate excess cash.  Why don’t I do this?  Well, most small businesses fail, so probably for every small business-owner bidder at these auctions, there are 5 individuals (competitors) that are barely making ends meet or who have failed.  This individual is there because he is lucky–having been at the right place at the right time, offered a better product at a lesser price, etc.

My method of purchasing firearms tends to be I buy what I like at at least somewhat less than retail prices, sometimes significantly so.  I tend to like pre-1899 Winchesters, Colts, Merwin & Hulberts, Smith & Wessons, and Sharps with a significant amount of original finish left.  These tend to be easy to find at shows, largely because most of what is out there has dulled over time and ‘has patina’.  I tend to look for this stuff at shows, and, realizing that the show I tend to frequent the most, is attended by those setting up on Friday evening and lifetime members of the club on Friday evenings, that if anything was truly a bargain, it would have been bought before I walk through the doors Saturday morning.  I might find a firearm or two that I like (usually this would be about the maximum one would find), that is, I like it aesthetically, and the price isn’t so sky-high that I keep on walking.  I try and get it at a significantly lower price, often do not, might take the seller’s number down, call a few weeks later and see if it is still available, how flexible he is, etc.  Or, I attend local auctions–sometimes, maybe once every year or two, there is something worth bidding on, and, if it doesn’t have an internet bidding option, you might get a bargain.  Sometimes, though, two good old boys in the room bid against each other, and the Winchester 1886 with a 4-digit serial number, restocked with a Kentucky Long Rifle stock, no features, and limited original finish, in .45-90, brings $5,500 before any taxes or buyer’s premiums.  (This is an actual example, and occurred locally).

So, my approach is more a ‘bottom-feeder’ one.  It has to be.  First, you cannot get anything cheaply anymore.  The days of a Winchester 1886 in 90+% condition, even in .33 WCF, are LONG gone!  The average person only has ‘decent’ money to spend every year or so (usually tax refund time).  There is little sense in buying frequently stuff with patina, as in 50 years, it still will look dull and appreciation will be negligible.  It is okay not to get something this time, or the next time, because you can’t agree on price.  Often, you pass up on something and later, something better comes up at a lower price.  There are firearms I would LIKE to own, but there is nothing I HAVE TO HAVE anymore, so this approach alone keeps me from spending too much money on something, and buying better less frequently enables one to have funds for something nicer in the mid-4 figures, vs having wasted it on 3 or 4 guns with ‘patina’, and not having the money for that mid-4 figure firearm when it comes along unexpectedly.