VERY EARLY RUGER SINGLE SIX FLAT GATE #93

[victorio1sw]

Yes, I got my letter right at 2 weeks after mailing in the request. Since this thread has gotten pretty long, here it is again.

 

[victorio1sw]

@victorio1sw, I suspect that if you wrote back to Ruger with the info from the Dougan book showing it was assembled on Dec 15, they would be willing to re-do your letter with that first-day date. They are aware that John was given unprecedented access to the factory records, so they trust the data in his book.

I noticed that the Ruger letter only gave the date as Dec 1953. Maybe that was to cover both the assembly and shipping dates? It would have been better to have both dates, since this was a 1st day manufactured gun.

 

[JAYDAWG]

I noticed that the Ruger letter only gave the date as Dec 1953. Maybe that was to cover both the assembly and shipping dates? It would have been better to have both dates, since this was a 1st day manufactured gun.

Hey there,
Take a look at your letter, it shows production and shipping date, both listed as Dec 1953.

Cheers,
JAYDAWG

 

[Star43]

I noticed that the Ruger letter only gave the date as Dec 1953. Maybe that was to cover both the assembly and shipping dates? It would have been better to have both dates, since this was a 1st day manufactured gun.

I agree, it would have nice to have BOTH dates down, as that what makes that gun special in my opinion, as everything was done in Dec. '53, but again both dates listed would have been sweet!

 

[hittman]

Y'all gotta remember not only was this a first year gun, the whole dang company was only 3 or 4 years old at this time.
Detailed LONG TERM record keeping surely wasn't a thought.

Considering that, seems pretty thorough to me. Make, model, caliber, date made ( minus the actual DAY I know ), who it was shipped to and that month and year as well,

All from 71 years ago.

 

[Star43]

Hittman, why did you have to go and say: "71 years ago". Are you trying to make us feel old? Yes, I agree and understand what you are saying but I also agree that it sure would have been nice if both dates were mentioned. Hey, it is what it is and it was made in Dec '53, so it IS special already, but I see the OP's point as that would have made it real special !! Don't worry OP, you still got a special gun there with a Gold Seal.

 

[hittman]

Guess I'm lost on your "both dates" concern.

"Produced in December 1953"
"Shipped to ….. in December 1953" both appear in the letter.

 

[Star43]

I think he will chime in, but he says his gun was actually a First day of manufacturing gun, as according to the book, but was not shipped out till Dec. 31, 1953.......That's why he wanted to see the first day manufacture date on the letter...

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

Both the manufacture and ship dates are only identified as to the month/year, with no day specified for either.

Since it was a first day build, it would add value and provenance to have the manufacture date (at minimum) specified down to the day.

Dougan found that info, so it must exist. And if they can't find it, they might be willing to re-do the letter just based on the data in the book.

 

[victorio1sw]

Hey there,
Take a look at your letter, it shows production and shipping date, both listed as Dec 1953.

Cheers,
JAYDAWG

I see that. Maybe that was to cover both the assembly and shipping dates? It would have been better to have both dates, since this was a 1st day manufactured gun.

Made Dec 15th, and shipped sometime later.

 

[KWend54]

Wow! A Ruger letter only costs 10 BUCKS! ONLY TAKES FEW WEEKS? OMG! I got a flood of Smith's, and number of Colts..I wish a letter from Them was 10$ and few weeks..They turned it into a RACQUET! 100+BUCKS PER GUN! AND LONGER THEN 2 WEEKS! Been tempted to see if i cud get discount if i did a number at one time?
Anybody ever tried that? Just 10 letters,andbyou cud have gotten a Gun for that @ 100 bucks a clip Is the info in this thread on Ruger? 10$ SO REASONABLE! THANX GUYS!

no, Colt charges per gun with no discounts for multiple letters! I can't wait that long so usually do expedited (which speeds it up to 3 weeks) two Colts, week before last, expedited 400 bucks!

 

[Star43]

So you paid $200 per gun and it was expedited to take only 3 weeks to get a letter. No discount for the second one. Another $200 for the second gun. I have to ask you. Did these guns belong to Wild Bill Hickok or maybe John Wesley Hardin ? Or maybe to John Wayne or Clint Eastwood?? And I guess you do this quite a bit ? Are these guns "old" or have belonged to anybody famous? None of my business I guess. Just wondering. I guess I am out of touch or not informed of the cost of these things.....another reason to stay with Ruger in my humble & uneducated opinion.

 

[contender]

Old Colts have been so altered & such,, that having a true factory letter for one to verify it's an "as shipped" instead of a modified gun can add a LOT of value to a gun. I agree that their expense of a letter is a bit much,, but I also feel that a Ruger letter is a bargain!

 

[Star43]

God Bless America on that !!

 

[KWend54]

Old Colts have been so altered & such,, that having a true factory letter for one to verify it's an "as shipped" instead of a modified gun can add a LOT of value to a gun. I agree that their expense of a letter is a bit much,, but I also feel that a Ruger letter is a bargain!

I agree…. Ruger Letters are definitely a bargain!
And though not owned by someone famous the Colts that I lettered are both very rare and pristine.

 

[victorio1sw]

no, Colt charges per gun with no discounts for multiple letters! I can't wait that long so usually do expedited (which speeds it up to 3 weeks) two Colts, week before last, expedited 400 bucks!

Not long ago, if you were a CCA member, the Colt Archives would give a 10% discount. That in addition to a quantity discount.

 

[KWend54]

I'm a a CCA member but must have missed those discounts. I'll check into that! Thanks

 

[contender]

I decided LONG ago to get letters on all my Rugers. Partially for collecting purposes,, but also knowing they could increase in expense (following Colt's example). And for a while,, we couldn't get letters due to the covid crap.

It's actually quite nice to get what we do get nowadays.

 

[hittman]

I'd wager that before Ruger increases their letter price 10 fold they'll discontinue the whole program.

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

I never was much of a letter collector. Even when they were free, I only got them on select, very rare guns, probably under 10% of my collection. If a gun was unusual, I would mostly just call for a catalog number and ship date and note that info in my collection spreadsheet. The reason I didn't get them on all my Rugers was that I felt that if the Records department (which was then part of Exports and had other tasks) kept getting overwhelmed with letter requests, they might get the idea to start charging for them in order to encourage the folks who got them for every gun to think twice about it.

I've never requested a $10 letter, but I do recognize that that is a low fee compared to the industry. I keep telling myself that I will order letters on a bunch of rare guns, but I haven't taken the time. I have the $10 letters for several guns, but those were requested and paid for by a former owner and kept with the gun when sold.

But a first day Single Six is something that would motivate me to cough up the ten bucks in a heartbeat! Although I have a 1953 Single Six that I have not lettered. I probably should get the letters on the rarest ones for my son's sake when he has to sell off my stuff someday!