RICK: Hey, how's it going?
Good.
I've got an 1884 Colt that was in the Wyoming Range Wars
and the book that goes with it.
There's nothing like a good book after a good shooting.
[laughs]
That's what I always say.
[gunshot sound effect]
I came here today to sell a gun owned
by Fred Coates that was intimately involved
in the Wyoming Range Wars.
I'm hoping to get $55,000, but I would settle on $45,000
because my mother needs the money.
So how exactly did you get the gun?
My father got this from the great-great-granddaughter
of Fred Coates, who was one of the guys
in the Wyoming Range Wars.
RICK: All right.
The Range Wars were basically large cattle
barons feuding with really small cattle ranchers.
The small guys were stealing cattle from the big guys,
and you had the large cattle barons basically
hiring their own lawmen.
A lot of people just called them thugs.
It was just a massive lawless state.
So who exactly was Fred Coates?
He was a sheriff in the area that was hired by the land
barons to drive the little guys out of town,
either by hanging or killing.
So depending on which side you were on,
he was either a villain or a hero?
Exactly.
Whoever had the biggest checkbook.
RICK: [chuckles] So what's the deal with the book?
This book was written by a newspaper publisher
during the Range Wars.
And on page 140, it reads, "I understood
the parties involved in this assault
were Frank Canton, Tom Smith, and Fred Coates."
RICK: OK.
So what proof do you have that this belonged to Coates?
I have a letter from his great-great-granddaughter
who she inherited it from.
RICK: "To whom it may concern, I am Ellen Lenore Coates.
This Colt 45 revolver, serial number 110935,
that my grandfather used in Johnson County
was inherited by me."
All right.
This is all the paperwork you have?
MITCH: I got the original Colt letter of authenticity.
RICK: When you get a letter from Colt,
you send them the serial number, and they send back all
their information on that gun.
So you want everything to match.
Like, this says it's got a 45 caliber.
It's a 45 caliber.
It's a 5 and 1/2 inch barrel.
That's a 5 and 1/2 inch barrel.
So everything's matching up.
Colt firearms are definitely great collectibles, even when
they're not in great shape.
But when you throw in a personal story that actually
ties a cowboy to a gun, that's the kind of thing collectors
love.
What were you looking to do with the gun?
MITCH: I'd like to sell it.
RICK: OK.
How much were you looking to get out of it?
I'd like $55,000.
$55,000?
MITCH: Because of the history involved in this gun and book.
RICK: Well, it's definitely a Colt Single Action Army.
It's seen it's better days.
The nickel is worn off.
You can tell it was in someone's holster every day.
I know what a revolver like this in this shape is worth.
My problem is I need to find out if this Coates
guy actually owed it.
So let me get someone down here.
He'll tell me if it actually belonged to this guy.
OK.
RICK: I'll be right back.
MITCH: I have no doubt in my mind
that this gun belonged to Fred Coates
and it was in the Wyoming Range Wars.
And I look forward to his expert coming in and looking at it.
RICK: Jeffrey, how's it going? - Rick, it's nice to see you.
How are you doing?
I am the Gamble Curator at the Autry National Center,
and I specialize in Western history and firearms.
RICK: Well, this is what I called you about.
It's an 1884 Colt. I'll agree with that.
But he thinks it's historically significant.
Can you tell me a little bit about it?
MITCH: It belonged to Fred Coates
and was tied to the Wyoming Range Wars.
JEFFREY RICHARDSON: OK.
The Johnson County Range War was one
of the last great range wars in the history
of the American West.
Basically, it was control over the land
and who was going to control the cattle industry.
The Johnson County Range War was a time
when the American frontier was coming to a close.
The kind of Wild West that we think of today
was moving towards a really urban, industrial society.
Rick, do you have any concerns about this particular piece?
I want to know if it was actually his.
OK.
RICK: We have the Colt letter, which is not going
to tell you if it was his. JEFFREY RICHARDSON: Right.
It's going to tell you where it was
shipped, what it basically looked
like when it left the factory.
RICK: And we have this letter right here.
JEFFREY RICHARDSON: OK.
So this looks to be a notarized letter that is giving some
of the provenance of the particular piece that
was passed down through the Coates family.
Now, one of the things that kind of just jumps out at me
immediately is this documentation is done
in two different ink colors.
And then this part that directly references the Colt is listed
in a different ink color.
RICK: So do you think this actually belonged to Coates?
JEFFREY RICHARDSON: Basically, with what
we have here, it's really hard to make that connection.
MITCH: It looks to me to be the same handwriting
but just a different color ink.
JEFFREY RICHARDSON: Yeah, but even if the ink looked fine,
everything about this looked right,
you need to be able to trace it a little bit more.
If the Colt letter stated, for example, that it was shipped
to Wyoming, it would be another piece of information
that we could use to help further justify that.
We can't say definitively that this particular gun
was owned by Fred Coates.
RICK: So basically the value of this gun
is the value of a 1884 Colt Single Action Army
that's pretty beat up?
JEFFREY RICHARDSON: Exactly.
I mean, you know more probably than any one of us
here how much something like that goes for in your shop.
RICK: OK.
Thanks, man. I appreciate it.
Thanks, Rick. It was good to see you.
MITCH: I do not agree with anything the expert said.
I've followed the ancestry.
I've done it all.
It goes right-- I mean, it just goes right to Fred Coates.
RICK: I know you wanted over $50 grand,
but the offer I'd make on it is for a beat-up Colt
Single Action Army.
So I'd give you, like, $1,500.
Yeah, I don't--
I'm just not going to be able to do that.
I think maybe I'll see if I can maybe get some more provenance.
RICK: Better luck next time.
Thanks.
I think what I'm going to do is do a little more research,
see if I can definitively connect the gun to Coates
through the place it was sold to in New York,
and then go from there.