ARMS and ARMOR

APPRAISALS

Firearms and Edged Weapons


I offer both Formal and Informal Appraisals. Most informal appraisals - along with basic identification - can be performed over the Internet.

The informal appraisals are very basic and can be done with a minimal amount of research. A detailed description of the item being appraised is the minimum informational requirement, but images are very useful and will help immensely in this endeavour.

If you have paid a fee to this website in the past - and do not want to pay an additional fee (same items only) - please note such in your inquiry to me and I will search my records. I will then supply you with an informal appraisal if I can; however, sometimes appraisals may require more detailed research and I may not be able to fulfill your request without additional detailed research; this will then become a FORMAL APPRAISAL and I charge accordingly for that service.

The basic appraisal/identification fee is $10 US (non-refundable). Please Note: Paying this minimum fee does not guarantee a direct response. Please check the website for periodic updates; the answer to your question may be posted there on the appropriate page(s).

If you have an immediate basic appraisal or identification need, please proceed to our online Identification Request Page.

Fees paid - in part - go towards the purchase of additional reference materials and acquisition expenses. Please note on any payment in printed-form (checks or money orders) for the "Research Fund".
If you choose not to make a direct monetary payment, please consider purchasing an item through one of the affiliates or associates listed on my Books for Sale main page or an item from my Affiliate Links main page. On these pages, you will find a number of hyperlinks to various advertisers. If you access one of these advertisers from my website - and purchase an item at that time - I will receive a small percentage of the sale as a commission. These proceeds go towards keeping this Identification Help Service alive (and basically free); I do not want to make this a "view by registration" website.
Additionally, if there is anything that you would like to see on the Arms Identification free pages - in a weaponry sense - please request such and I will try to add additional information.


Please note: If you E-mail or snail-mail any images to me for use in identification or appraisal of an item, I reserve the right to use - without further contact - those images on my website (or other media), without compensation to you (other than my efforts to assist you, however minimal the result may actually be).
Research materials I have available are quite substantial; however, on some items, information within those materials might be quite sparse.
If you choose to snail-mail images, we do not return them; please make/send duplicate copies and considered them gone.


If sending a check or money order, please send fees payable to:

The History Store
P.O. Box 160
Llano, Texas 78643

If you have a specific identification question, please see our Identification Request Page.


Formal appraisals simply cannot be performed via the Internet. This service will include a written letter of appraisal. I charge for these services when they are to be used for profit or other monetary gain, or insurance purposes.
A detailed appraisal will be performed and written on "Arms to Armor" letterhead. Sources of written information and pricing will be referenced whenever possible. Fees for this service will vary - depending on the amount of research needed. The fee will be determined at the time of initial request. Upon written acceptance of the fee and authorization to proceed - by E-mail or Postal Service - research and appraisal will begin. Most appraisals can be completed within one week (seven consecutive days) but often times much longer.
A formal appraisal is only performed when the item to be appraised is in our possession; therefore, you must make arrangements to ship the item to us. Shipping and insurance - both ways - is at your expense.

Payment for these services must be received in advance. Personal checks or money orders are acceptable payment methods for this service.

Payments/fees are applied to the research fund to obtain additional reference materials for the private library; payments will go towards expenses.

On antique Colt firearms - in most cases - I can supply a Colt Factory Historical Letter along with an appraisal. The fees for these historical letters are pre-determined by Colt. The prices for these can be viewed at Colt Archive Services. Any questions regarding this pricing schedule should be directed to the Colt Historical Department, 1-800-962-2658, Ext. 1343.

Please note that these Colt Historical Letters do not contain any real historical information; it is usually just the basic features that your particular gun was delivered with originally and who the original recipient of the gun was. This is usually a distributor - such as Schuyler, Hartley, and Graham - but on rare instances an actual individual might also be named. Colt actually charges extra in instances where a gun was shipped to someone such as Bat Masterson and the like - both famous and infamous - but this is quite rare indeed.
My appraisal fee is $50 above the actual historical letter fee (Colt does not perform appraisals).

Payment for these services must be received in advance. Personal checks and money orders are acceptable payment methods for this service.

On antique Smith & Wesson firearms - in most cases - I can supply a Letter of Authenticity along with an appraisal. The fees for these historical letters are pre-determined by S&W. The prices for these can be viewed at the Weapon History Request page. Any questions regarding this pricing schedule should be directed to Smith & Wesson, 1-800-331-0852.

As with Colt, please note, the S&W Letter of Autheticity may not (and generally does not) contain any real historical information.
My appraisal fee is $50 above the actual historical letter fee (S&W does not perform appraisals).

Payment for these services must be received in advance. Personal checks and money orders are acceptable payment methods for this service.

If sending a payment in check or money order form or a package via US Postal Service, please mail to:

The History Store
P.O. Box 160
Llano, Texas 78643

If sending packaged items to us for appraisal via DHL, FedEX, or UPS please ship them to:

The History Store
349B, CR118
Llano, Texas 78643

Index to My Other Pages

Arms and Armor Home Page
Arms and Armor Identification
American Civil War
Books
Original Colt Firearms
Genealogy
Links (affiliates)
Militaria and Related Collectibles
Relic and Treasure Hunting
©2001-2007 C. Alan Russell, All rights reserved.
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