Makarov Value?

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Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

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Okay, so I have two Bulgarian Makarovs that are currently both sitting in a ton of cosmoline. There are the recently imported ones that are in unissued/like-new condition. Both guns come with like-new black holsters, cleaning rod, and two magazines. The differences are:

One gun comes with a single serial-number matching magazine. The other magazine does not match, but the Bulgarians originally made these guns with two matching magazines per gun. So one of the magazines I have for it does not have the correct serial number on it.

On the other gun, neither of the two magazines match the serial number. But, it has a nifty plastic covered log book from the Slovenian Army that came with it. It is serial number matched to the pistol and has actual Slovenian soldier handwriting in it and a cool stamp mark.

So, I ask you guys, which of these guns is more valuable? The one with a serial-matching magazine, or the one with two mismatched magazines but a serial-matched army log book?

I want to clean one of them up to make as a shooter, but want to keep the most valuable one in the grease for long-term preservation and resale purposes just in case.

Thanks!
 
Preserve the one w the book.

As you said, mismatched magazines are so common it's nearly normal.

And the one w the matching magazine still has one that's not matching.
 
Switch the gun-matching magazine with one from the other gun. Then you'll have two guns without matching magazines, taking that issue out of the equation. :neener:
 
My expertise on this question comes from watching Antique's Road Show.

The one with the book tells a story and makes it personal.


It's similar to how old people are viewed.... old people with out stories are just old. Old people with stories are treasured. ;)
 
The pistols have a value of what you paid for them or less, after the initial offering I bought three all with the plastic cover record book. Since my purchase the price has gone down about forty bucks but since I do not sell any of my firearms sale price is of no consequence. The pistols are fun shooters and will hold up for a lifetime,
I have Russian, East German and three Bulgarian Makarov's along with a dozen other Com Bloc pistols. The Maks are the best for general shooting ( well the best after the CZ 84 which is a great firearm) and will be too soon gone because of the blocks by the current administration.
Another soon to be on the "I remember when" list is the Israeli High Powers getting close to extinction......and priced in the $4-500 range. Check Aim or CDI on GB for current offerings.
 
As of today, Bulgarian Maks are not really super collectible although someday they may be. I picked up a clean one and I live in the high priced gun state of California for $300.00. The EGs, Russian Military and Chinese are all more desirable. They aren't any better of course, but they are rarer. I just picked up a like new Chinese for $299.00 and before I even took ownership of it I was offered $600.00 for it! Simpsons Ltd. had a nice EG this week that was on their website that went for $425.00.

I would hang onto them and have fun with them. At some point, all Maks will be worth some decent money, but there are a lot Bulgarians out there, probably, along with the Russian commercial models, the most common.
 
I would not count on that story with the gun being worth much, unless it is attached to an important event or person. Some bookkeeping on some book by an unknown person would add zero to the value of the pistol for me.

Buy the gun, not the story. Gun show sellers are notorious for making up stories to increase the value of their guns.

As far as the CZs, yes I think they are the finest of the military handguns chambered in 9mm Mak.

.
 
Well back to Cooldill's original question Lugers with the original magazine that has the matching serial number is worth a big premium.

Alas while the Mak ain't no Luger I think having a matching serial number magazine would be more desirable although not sure it would bring enough of a premium to get excited about.
 
These are shooters, not collectibles. Sell both and buy a collectible!

The booklet is about as valuable as the owners manual on a new Hyundai.

Personally, I also have 2 bulgies and they are my carry/never sell guns. Like Mossberg 500s, they are so good but sell for so little you might as well keep them.

I did sell a rusky double stack. Now that was an error.

Hopefully the bulgarians will still be in production or being dug up out of warehouses. They should be free from any bans aimed at Russia.
 
Cooldill said:
Okay, so I have two Bulgarian Makarovs that are currently both sitting in a ton of cosmoline. There are the recently imported ones that are in unissued/like-new condition. Both guns come with like-new black holsters, cleaning rod, and two magazines. The differences are:

One gun comes with a single serial-number matching magazine. The other magazine does not match, but the Bulgarians originally made these guns with two matching magazines per gun. So one of the magazines I have for it does not have the correct serial number on it.

On the other gun, neither of the two magazines match the serial number. But, it has a nifty plastic covered log book from the Slovenian Army that came with it. It is serial number matched to the pistol and has actual Slovenian soldier handwriting in it and a cool stamp mark.

So, I ask you guys, which of these guns is more valuable? The one with a serial-matching magazine, or the one with two mismatched magazines but a serial-matched army log book?

I want to clean one of them up to make as a shooter, but want to keep the most valuable one in the grease for long-term preservation and resale purposes just in case.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I would not worry about the value. Two are good but three or four would be better. Reason being that when one goes to the range with dozens of preloaded magazines it is easier to switch guns when one gets too hot to hold. I mean, does anyone have time for gun to cool off or do they use bucket of water like on TV or YTube?
 
PabloJ said:
I would not worry about the value. Two are good but three or four would be better. Reason being that when one goes to the range with dozens of preloaded magazines it is easier to switch guns when one gets too hot to hold. I mean, does anyone have time for gun to cool off or do they use bucket of water like on TV or YTube?
Click to expand...
What you mean boss?
 
They are worth what you think they are worth. They are not in the range of guns that are going to appreciate more than 10% in the next 10 years. Shoot them and enjoy them.
 
Ibmikey said:
The pistols have a value of what you paid for them or less, after the initial offering I bought three all with the plastic cover record book. Since my purchase the price has gone down about forty bucks but since I do not sell any of my firearms sale price is of no consequence. The pistols are fun shooters and will hold up for a lifetime,
I have Russian, East German and three Bulgarian Makarov's along with a dozen other Com Bloc pistols. The Maks are the best for general shooting ( well the best after the CZ 82 which is a great firearm) and will be too soon gone because of the blocks by the current administration.
Another soon to be on the "I remember when" list is the Israeli High Powers getting close to extinction......and priced in the $4-500 range. Check Aim or CDI on GB for current offerings.
Click to expand...
 
I picked up a nice W. German "Stazi" issued police model a while back. Best of the bunch...breaks like a glass rod and shoots like a House on Fire.

Lots of info at www.makarov.com on these fine pistols.
 
Very few firearms are "investment Quality", by nature. There are exeptions to everything, but unlees you had been left a Pietro Baretta double barrel shotgun, "which I was at 6 or 7 years old", from an uncle who I hardly remember". The odds of you being able to pick up a firearm that will even double in 20 years, are slim. And it's a lot of money to tie up in a commodity that is not very licquid, and appeals to less than 1% of the population. "I am speaking of the ones that appreciate that much", usually they are not something that you would normally buy, unless you were an expert in firearms pricing.
Plus don't forget that the folks who puchcase these guns, usually want them in pristine unfired condition. Then you have guys who are unrealistic completely, like one I sold a 100 year old Browning rifle to, and a month later, "after calling to tell me how the gun was exactly as I described", he decided I should pay a refinishing expert to re-do the entire stock, because he noticed a slight color variation, "I honestly could't see it". But i referred him back to the original ad, that said the gun was as nice as a 100 year old rifle that had been sitting in a closet could be.
That was the end of that,especially when I found out the guy was reselling the guns after telling me he was getting it for his son. So you are dealing with a lot of variables the more expensive the piece is.
And many people are just nutso !!!
 
My Makarov is very valuable.

It was used by Gen. Patton at the Little Big Horn when he charged up San Juan Hill and defeated the British at the Alamo.

Deaf
 
Well, some Maks are more valuable than others. Since the Bulgarians are available currently from several sources, I doubt they will appreciate in value. However, Russian military models (vs. the IJ 70 commercial with the adjustable sights) and East Germans currently demand a premium price.
 
The log books that come with some of the Bulgarian Maks is nothing more than a generic equipment log. When I got mine I spent awhile with Google Translate typing in the words from the book. Same log book could have been used with anything from trucks to guns to whatever requires a maintenance log.
 
Deaf, I know the EGs are more valuable, but they are no better than the Bulgarians from a performance standpoint.
 
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