Appraising Garands

[SkunkApe]

My close friend lost his father some time back. His mother, the widow, was left with his guns. His collection includes three M1 Garands and several M1 carbines. The deceased was a WWII veteran; one or more of the Garands may be original issue. I suggested to my friend that these guns may have some cash value to his mother, but I have no idea of their worth.

Any idea how I could go about determing the value of these guns? Particularly the Garands, as they may have some collector value.

Thanks.

 

[ScottsGT]

Try this site.
http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/garand/garand.pl

Might take some work to give everyone all the numbers, but they can help out.

 

[RustyHammer]

Don't overlook the carbines. Prices for those have "skyrocketed" to the point where they rival M1's in many ways.

Good luck!

Rusty

P.S. Besides www.jouster.com , there is www.battlerifles.com which is another great site for Garand and Carbine related topics.

 

[VG]

Take some digital pictures if you can. G oto the Garand Collectors Association website and download the Data Sheet. Filling it out will determine how "correct" they are.

Carbines are $400 and up as well.

 

[spacemanspiff]

dont forget to see if you can make them available for us on THR.
and if you do sell them, and can confirm that one (or more) was actually used by your friends father during the war, a short pedigree should be included with the gun being sold. the name of the soldier, company served and the years spent overseas, detail if any medals were awarded to the soldier, etc.
dont let the history of the weapon die with your friends dad.

 

[Jim K]

It is unlikely that any of those rifles were actually "bring backs" (since keeping a U.S. weapon was illegal), but the man's service record would still be an interesting piece of history and an adjunct to the guns themselves.

Fairly detailed descriptions of the markings and close up pictures of the guns would help a great deal in getting an idea of value. For an extreme example, a genuine, original M1A1 carbine in top shape could bring $1200 or more, while a civilian made Universal carbine, identical in general appearance, would bring about $200.

Jim

 

[ScottsGT]

Naa, they're only worth about $100 each. Send me your address and I'll go ahead and take them off your hands to save you all the trouble!

 

[Chipperman]

Ditto what Rusty said about the Carbines.
The prices on them have shot thru the roof. Garand prices have not gone up as quickly, I believe that is due in large part to CMP rifles still being available.

I paid about $300 more for my Rockola M1 carbine than I paid for my SA Garand.

 

[SkunkApe]

Thanks, guys.

When my buddy gets some time, I'm gonna get some pics and post them here for your collective expert commentary.

 

[LostCajun]

SkunkApe,
Definitely start working on data sheets. It'll save a lot of time answering specific questions back and forth and might reveal an all-correct gem or more-desirable specimen on your friend's hands.
The minimum info you should have available is the manufacturer and serial number of the receiver; maker and date of the barrel; and any cartouches on the stock. Also check for arsenal rebuild marks on the legs of the receiver, and any marks on the bolt.
This is for the Rifles; I'm not too familiar with the Carbines. Should be fairly similar, though.
LostCajun