Greetings all.
Where I work has an estate planning group that came across a watch today. They haven't had it appraised yet, but I mentioned that I had an interest in purchasing it. It's a Hamilton 940, serial number 996360. It appears to be in pretty good shape; hands are very blue, face is clean, movement appears clean. Any ideas what something like this should set me back?

Here's the face.

Here's a poor shot of the back. There is a faded engraving on the back of some sort of flower. The case itself is pretty worn. The art is mostly gone and the bottom is very worn. The case itself isn't gold. Sorry about the fairly poor quality of the photos, they were done in a hurry!
Thanks for any input!

Hi Ed,

It's tough to answer a question along these lines without getting in to trouble. So much is dependent on the condition and correctness of the watch. Very hard to evaluate without having the watch in hand.

So, I'll share a trick I learned from one of my pawn shop buddies. He takes a known make and model, does a search for it in eBay... then selects the filter to "completed auctions".

This will give a person a reasonable indication of the market value of the watch based on real life sales/completed transactions, rather than a sellers asking price.

You are on your own for determination of condition and correctness, but will have plenty of examples for comparison.

If you develop the inevitable bug that comes with owning one of these beautiful pieces... a $12.00 annual membership here is about the best return I've ever made on my money.

With some inspection an easy $350.00-$400.00. Join IHC185 for $12.00 and you would also get some very friendly "free help" to get it right.

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...s/a/frm/f/1386019371

A watch like this goes on ebay for $240 to about $325. This one goes for a little more because of the Montgomery dial. This is about what they are going for on ebay. Some a little higher and some a little lower. Like Paul said it depends on the correctness and the condition. Does it run? Is it in the original case? Is the dial period correct and does it have any hairlines or chips. Are the hands correct. Is there any broken parts? Do the front and rear cover screw on and off as they should. Does the setting lever work properly. Is there any brass showing on the case. As you can see it is not an easy question to answer.

It appears to be all original to me from your pictures and I do not see any broken parts. The dial appears to be in good shape so if it works then start with a low offer and work your way up.

Harry

You guys are awesome. A rough idea is all that I was looking for. Thanks for the input. Everything does look good and original, at least from the laymans perspective! Now it's just up to the estate attornies to decide what they want to do with it. If I end up with it, I'll certainly be sharing!
Thanks again!

Ed, the dial is fairly scarce since it appears to be an 18 size true Montgomery. If it has no hairlines or damage it alone might bring $150-200 to a buyer who had to have that style. Also the gold lettering on the movement, and the general nice condition of the movement, which is marked 940 (some were not so marked) make it a desirable example of Hamiltons best selling 21 jewel 18 size railroad watch. As a collector I try to buy the best quality I can and would give $300. You can find an appropriate "period correct" case at a decent price if you want to upgrade. Having said all of the above keep in mind that the watch should be serviced and that adds to cost.

Thanks for the input Richard. All of that is a big help. I used a magnifying glass to look at the dial and it looks about as pristine as it could be. Now I'm just stuck waiting. And getting more anxious during the wait!

Sincere appreciation for everyone's help here. This group has some of the nicest and most helpful people that I've had the pleasure to deal with. I'll be sending out my dues today or tomorrow because I'm happy to be a part of this community, even if it is just on the fringes! With luck (fingers crossed) I'll have a few more acquisitions in the next couple of weeks. There's an 1876 Elgin pocket watch in a local shop that I need to get to! Plus along with this Hamilton, I might possibly get to snag a 1945 Hamilton wrist watch. Thanks again for all the help!

Woohoo!! I got it! And because I'm excited about it, you all have to look at this post one more time! They took this one and a wrist watch to an appraiser and, to be kind, they undervalued both by a bunch. So now I've got them until I send them out to be cleaned. I can officially say that I've caught the bug! I threw both hands in the air when they told me they were mine. Thanks to everyone for all the input!

Ed, I am very happy for you. We have some very experienced watch repair people here. You might talk to Rob Carter about the pocket watch . . .

http://www.pocketwatchrepairs.net/

The wrist watch I would still send it to Chris Abell and hope he could find time to do it.

Abellwatchmakers@suddenlink.net
Chris Abell, Certified Watchmaker Taking Work

or telephone (903) 245-6542

Thanks David. I actually have two other watches that I want to send to Chris as well. One he has already worked on so hopefully he'll consider me a return client! Can't wait to get everything cleaned and start carrying and wearing!