What's my old gun worth?
The honest answer is anywhere from under a hundred dollars to more than most cars — and the difference is usually in details you can't see from across the room. Here's what actually decides it.
Most inherited guns are worth less than families hope, and a few are worth far more
If you've just inherited a gun and you're trying to work out whether you're holding a $150 field gun or something that belongs in a safe deposit box, you're asking the right question in the right order.
Here's the honest picture. The large majority of old American guns — the Model 12s and 870s, the .22 rifles every farm kid learned on, the single-barrel shotguns that lived behind every kitchen door in Iowa — are common, and common means modest. They're worth having, worth shooting, and worth a few hundred dollars.
But a small number of guns that look almost identical to those are worth ten or fifty times as much. A higher grade of the same model. An uncommon barrel length. Original finish where nearly every survivor has been refinished. The difference is often invisible to anyone who doesn't handle these regularly, which is exactly why guessing is expensive.
What actually determines the number
Five things, roughly in order of how much they matter:
- Exactly what it is. Not just “a Winchester” — the model, the grade, the variation, the year. Manufacturers made the same model in half a dozen grades, and the gap between the bottom and the top of that range can be enormous.
- Condition. How much original finish survives, whether the bore is clean, whether the wood is sound, whether it still functions. Condition is scored strictly, and the drop from “excellent” to “very good” is real money.
- Originality. Whether the gun is as it left the factory. A refinished stock, a cut barrel, replaced parts, added recoil pads, drilled and tapped receivers — each of these takes something off, and on a collectible piece they take off a great deal.
- Rarity and demand. Rare and wanted is valuable. Rare and unwanted is just rare. Some genuinely uncommon guns bring little because nobody collects them.
- Documentation and provenance. The original box, the papers, a factory letter, a documented history. These add real money to the right gun and nothing to the wrong one.
Three mistakes that cost people money
Cleaning it first. The instinct is understandable and the damage is permanent. Original finish and honest patina are part of the value. Steel wool and gun oil have destroyed more value in this trade than rust ever has.
Trusting an online price. The completed-listing prices you find are for guns in a condition you can't verify, in a variation that may not match yours. They're a starting point, not an answer — and they're routinely off by multiples in both directions.
Selling the whole lot to whoever offers first. When a collection comes out of an estate, the valuable pieces and the ordinary ones look much the same to an untrained eye. Someone buying the lot cheaply is counting on that.
What to do before you call anyone
Five minutes of preparation will get you a far more useful answer:
- Don't clean it. Worth saying twice.
- Find the markings. Maker and model are usually on the barrel or receiver. Note anything stamped there, including numbers you don't understand.
- Photograph it in good light — the whole gun both sides, the receiver markings, the barrel markings, the wood, and any damage. Close and clear.
- Note anything you know about it. Where it came from, roughly when, whether anything was ever done to it.
- Make sure it's unloaded before you handle or photograph it, and treat it as loaded until you've confirmed otherwise.
Get a real answer
Send photos and whatever markings you can read, and you'll usually get a useful range without making the drive.
From “I have no idea” to a number you can use
Send photos or call
Whole gun, both sides, plus the markings. If you can't find the markings, send what you have and we'll tell you where to look.
You get a range
Usually within a day, and free. For most people this is all they need — it settles whether you're dealing with a few hundred dollars or something that warrants a drive.
A written appraisal if you need one
For insurance, probate, or dividing an estate between heirs. Each firearm identified, described, and valued, with the reasoning behind the number.
Decide what happens next
Keep it. Sell it on consignment. Sell the lot outright. Nothing at all. There's no pressure from us either way, and we'll tell you honestly when another route would serve you better.
What we do, plainly
Cross Arms is a licensed FFL in Linn Grove, Iowa. We appraise firearms, we sell them on consignment, and we buy them outright.
That means we're not a disinterested party, and you should know that. So here's how we handle it: the appraisal and the offer are separate conversations. You get the honest valuation whether or not you sell to us, and if consigning would net you more than our offer — which is often the case for better guns — we'll say so, because a fair 17% of a good sale beats a cheap purchase and a customer who finds out later.
If you'd rather take the appraisal and walk away, that's a fine outcome and you won't get a follow-up call.
What people ask
Does an old gun automatically mean a valuable gun?
No. Age alone adds very little. Millions of guns were made between 1900 and 1960 and most of them are common. What creates value is scarcity, condition, originality, and demand — not the year on the barrel.
Should I clean it up before getting it appraised?
No. Please don't. Cleaning is the single most common way people destroy value before they ever find out what they had. Original finish, patina, and even honest dirt are part of what a collector pays for. Scrubbing a gun can cut its value by half in an afternoon.
Is a famous name worth more?
Sometimes, and less often than people hope. Winchester, Browning, Parker and Fox made both everyday field guns and genuinely rare pieces. The name gets you into the conversation; the model, grade, and condition decide the number.
What if the barrel is cut down or it's been refinished?
Both reduce value, sometimes dramatically on a collectible piece, sometimes barely at all on a common one. It's worth knowing either way, and it doesn't mean the gun is worthless.
Can you tell me what it's worth from a photo?
Often we can give you a useful range, which is enough for most people to decide what to do next. A firm number — the kind an insurer or a probate court will accept — needs the gun in hand.
Do I have to sell it to you?
No. Plenty of people get an appraisal and keep everything, and that's a perfectly good outcome. We'll make an offer if you want one, and we'll tell you honestly when you'd do better selling it another way.
Not sure what you're holding?
Send a few photos and whatever markings you can read. You'll get an honest range, free, usually within a day.