1893 Marlin Safety 38/55 ??

[Joe in Fl]

I am in the process of buying a mint 1893 38/55.
The rifle has 26" octagan barrel, crescent butt, straight grip and a near perfect bore. The finish is at least 90% with most of the case colors on the receiver remaining. The serial is in the 94xxx range. Any ideas what this rifle might be worth??
Thanks, Joe
Also there is a Winchester 1894 38/55 in as good of condition with the same features that is also available for sale. The owner is asking $1800 for the 1894.

[Roundsworth]

Wow! Your serial number puts the rifle in the 1893 timeframe! Your particular gun should be lacking the trigger plate support screw on the left side of the receiver. "Special Smokeless Steel" barrels did not exist, either. Marlinman93 would be a good source for approximate values. He and some other forum constituents frequent a lot of gun shows and have a better idea of what the market is. As for Winchesters, I dunno! Scarf up the Marlin if you can!

[marlinman93]

It's pretty rare to see 90% case colors on these old guns, so I hope you meant brilliant 90% colors, and not just 90% coverage. I've seen some with 90% coverage that would not rate over 30% in brilliance, so be careful!
If the Model 1893 truly has 90% finish throughout, it would be worth every bit of the Winchester price, and maybe more. I would hate to pin it down any closer, until I had a chance to actually examine the gun in particular. Each person's appraisal of a gun's remaining finish is different, so a close up look would be required.
Hope this helps.

[Joe in Fl]

Thanks gentlemen,
The colors are not really bright like Turnbull' resto's but they are quite defined.
Thanks again, Joe

[SpikeMaster49]

Hi Joe in Florida,
You also gotta remember that it depends how bad a guy wants to buy or get the gun as to it's worth. I'm working on a Winchester#70-338win-mag for about 275.00 just cause he likes Weatherby style. I love those Winnie#70 and have several and always room for 1-more just like Marlin Levers.Would expect that by tomorrow it'll be mine!!!!!!!!!

SpikeMaster49 :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Joe in Fl]

Hi Spike,
I used to own this particular 1893 about 25 years ago and fell on hard times and had to sell it. It did letter, but I can't remember the particulars or anything else. I also like M70's, only have 2 at the moment 1964 30-06 and 225Win.
Joe

[marlinman93]

Joe, it's even nicer to get an old friend back home!