GUEST: My great-grandpa was a sheriff in Montrose County, Colorado, end of last century, and this was one of his handguns, and then, that one is his wife's, my great-grandma's weapon.
APPRAISER: Oh, really? And this is a picture of them here in the book?
GUEST: Yeah, this tall drink of water here with the moustache is my great-grandpa.
APPRAISER: And he was an actual sheriff.
GUEST: He was the sheriff for a few years until his wife made him quit because it was dangerous.
APPRAISER: Okay. (laughs) I noticed the holster is marked "Montrose, Colorado." Did you ever have them appraised, the guns?
GUEST: We had a guy look at them several years ago, and he said they were in the $1,000 to $2,000 range for the weapons.
APPRAISER: The Colt single action there in front of you, it's .38, .40 caliber, a 4.75-inch barrel, and the retail price on it is about $3,500. Then we'll go to this, which is a Colt Model 1877 double-action revolver, and .41-caliber. And they refer to the .41-caliber as the "Thunder" and the .38-caliber as the "Lightning." The interesting thing about this is it's factory engraved, at Colt by Helfricht. He was a master engraver and it's not just engraved, like a lot of them, it's what they call "C" engraving, which is the best engraving coverage-wise. It goes clear out the end of the barrel, there's lots of fancy designs, it's got pearl grips, and it's got the matching Western gunbelt and holster with it. The single-action was made in the teens, 1900. This double-action revolver was made in 1889. Because of the special engraving and the coverage and the condition of the nickel finish-- it probably has 97% of the finish remaining-- the retail price on it would be $15,000.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: And the holster is worth about $3,000.
GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: And together, because of the history and the set, it's $20,000.
GUEST: That's pretty amazing.
