C&R investments

[PaulKersey3]

What would be some of your picks or predictions for C&R firearms? More to the point, what do you think will hold the most value in the future? To be sure, I don't buy any guns with the intent to sell them. I do however, keep track of what all my past past purchases are going for as the years go by. Thanks folks!

 

[Shadow 7D]

dude
collector stuff is 'chancy'
you have to know, I mean, you could buy crates of MN 91/30 and hope the market for them goes up like it did for mausers

But lets look at mausers, the only ones that REALLY are up there are K98K's, I mean yeah there are others, but really... um...

right now it's know an area REALLY GOOD, and buy what is cheap, Hell' ten years ago you could buy a case of Yugo SKS's for 79 a rifle
Now they are 250ish

BUT in the same time, wisely managed or put into gold, well your money would be worth more. Best is to recognize a rare piece and buy it from the unsuspecting.

BUT then there are more "authentic" colt BP guns "All Original" NOW that factory records show were ever made, AND that is the dark side.

I don't buy Nazi (well Spanish, Flemish, Italian and Czech I do buy, cause I know those, well the pistols, and little on other guns) cause there is too much out there, from flagerant forgeries, to 1950 'occupation' nazi medals and badges that were made by germans (cottage industry) for allied troops from the SAME molds and casts that produced the

I hang out on a number of collector sights and I have seen stuff that moved for thousands to TENS of thousands of dollars RIPPED, hell, on some of them the KNEW THE GUY WHO FAKED IT (humped it) cause of the handiwork. Unless you know, well....how do you know?

You could end up with the next Siam Mauser
or spanish mauser, or worse, a Turk....

 

[AlexanderA]

Prices of collector guns are already at insane levels. Plus, there's the demographic problem -- as old collectors are dying off, they're not being replaced by younger (potential) collectors, who are basically priced out of this market. I see prices keeping pace with inflation, but that's about it. You're not going to become rich collecting guns.

 

[DammitBoy]

Two years ago I bought a G98 danzig mauser for $100 - sold it yesterday for $300.

Two years ago, bought a moisin-nagant for $60 - sold it yesterday for $145.

 

[dogtown tom]

PaulKersey3 What would be some of your picks or predictions for C&R firearms? More to the point, what do you think will hold the most value in the future? To be sure, I don't buy any guns with the intent to sell them. I do however, keep track of what all my past past purchases are going for as the years go by. Thanks folks!

C&R doesn't necessarily mean military surplus.

There are hundreds of C&R firearms that are rising in value because they are older than fifty and no longer manufactured or collectible because of their scarcity:

Colt 1911's (commercial or mil surp)
Colt Woodsman (all models are c&r)
Colt 1903, 1908
S&W Registered Magnums
FN/Browning Hi Powers
Mausers of any flavor (except the Mitchell Mausers fakes)
pre 64 Winchester rifles


IMHO $2000 worth of the above will increase in value much better than $2000 worth of Mosin Nagants and CZ83's.

 

[happygeek]

^ Don't you mean CZ82s?

Personally I've paid
$120 for a like new condition M1895 Nagant, 1940 manufacture (expect that price to merely rise with inflation, if that)
$200 for a good - very good CZ82, 2 mags, & holster (expect that price to merely rise with inflation)
$300 for a very good - excellent Yugo 59/66 SKS (expect that price to merely rise with inflation, if that)
$99 for a like new 1931 hex receiver Mosin with electro-stenciled SNs (may outpace inflation, but probably not till the year 2100)
$150 for a M95 Steyr with matching bayonet (probably will rise with inflation)
$200 for a like new Yugo M57 Tokarev, 2 mags, & holster (expect that price to merely rise with inflation, if that)

IMHO the price for things like the CZ82 I got will merely rise with inflation until it approaches the price of a used CZ83, at which point it'll quit rising. Ditto for things like a Yugo SKS, I wouldn't expect it to rise above being somewhat lower than the price of a used Mini-30.

Things like the M1895 Nagant, Mosin, and M95 Steyr may eventually get collector interest as WWII weapons but probably not for another 100 years from now when they're not so common and available for ~$100. Until then I wouldn't expect them to do more than rise with inflation.

On a sidenote, the matching bayonet I got with the M95 Steyr is worth $40 or more by itself, whereas the rifle is worth about $100 by itself. Apparently the bayonets are rarer than the rifles?

 

[essayons21]

British Enfield's.

They are guns with lots of character, great practical shooter, and the ammo is still widely available. Still available for 200-300, I expect them to be priced near Garands in 5-10 years.

 

[1-UP]

Collecting seems to be a generational thing. As folks get older they either want the things from their youth or want the things that their fathers had, so you've got maybe a 40 year window that's a moving target. Nostalgia is a powerful motivator.

Like a previous poster said, the old war stuff is starting to get into an awkward position - the stuff that's out there is already "identified" and priced accordingly, but the new generation really doesn't want it because it doesn't hold a lot of meaning for them (there's always the odd history buff, but look at it realistically). Really, I guess I would start looking at stuff used in the first Gulf War as that will probably be next in line for popularity - that makes it what, Beretta 92f's? When the military replaces them with whatever's next I would expect to see a significant price bump. Not sure what all else would be from the post-Vietnam era to today that's iconic - Glocks maybe? James Bond style Walther PPKs?

Maybe just buy a bunch of a S&W Sigmas or something and then write a blockbuster movie where the main character gushes over it by name frequently. Drive your own collectible!

 

[mf-dif]

Maybe the m44 russian varient of the Mosin Nagant. I see them running around $300 nowadays in classifieds.

 

[Geneseo1911]

It will be interesting to see what the price of Garands does once CMP runs out. They already sell $2-400 higher on the open market than what CMP sells them for. I'll bet they double.

Which reminds me...I need to buy a couple more Garands...

 

[DougW]

All these Enfields that I bought for $69 some years ago are selling for +$250 these days. I could turn a profit, but I think the value will go up, especially in the next 4 years.

 

[musicman10_1]

This is an interesting question. I just did a little book keeping and here is what I learned about my C&R investments:
8 C&R guns in my safe
Prices ranged from $79 to $1100
Total for the collection ~$3000
Average cost per gun = $375

I think my Garands will go up in value but I think some of my Mausers are more likely to double or triple in value because of how cheap they were when I bought them. (Incidentally, I have only had my C&R license for 2 years)

I hope that over the next 20 years this group of guns will increase in value and I expect that a few pieces will do quite well where value is concerned. I feel that I made good deals on all of my C&R guns and so I have no fear of any decrease in value on the investment and so, for me, that is the measure of success.

Time will tell whether or not any of these rifles will be good investments but for now I'll just enjoy them and hope for the best.

 

[DammitBoy]

Having just finished a gun show as an exhibitor, I can tell you what's moving in the South. Anything under $500 will sell, anything over that - even really primo stuff like a Colt HBAR Match Target will get looked at, commented on, but passed over.

 

[Ignition Override]

DougW/essayons21:

Do you believe that the near-total lack of cheap surplus .303 ammo now limits the demand for good Enfields #4/Mk. 1s, keeping prices stable the last two-three years?

The primary reason I bought my first reloading gear was because of the several LEs.
As you know, some #4/Mk. 2s are still found soaked with cosmoline, and even in a paper bag, but some guys keep them that way, not wanting to blemish the perfect condition. These must be in their own unique market.

 

[oneounceload]

IMHO $2000 worth of the above will increase in value much better than $2000 worth of Mosin Nagants and CZ83's.

But probably not as much as Exxon/Mobil or GE or Coca Cola. Keeping up with inflation means you are losing too much

 

[dogtown tom]

oneounceload

Quote:
IMHO $2000 worth of the above will increase in value much better than $2000 worth of Mosin Nagants and CZ83's.

But probably not as much as Exxon/Mobil or GE or Coca Cola. Keeping up with inflation means you are losing too much

When was the last time you fired, fondled or cleaned your GE stock certificates?

 

[Shadow 7D]

When was the last time you fired, fondled or cleaned your GE stock certificates?

Well at 200-300 dollars a case of ammo (LOTS AND LOTS MORE FOR SOMETHING really "collectible" and hence impossible to source ammo)

So, a day with a GE stock cert will NEVER cost you 500 dollars
where as, a good day with a number of your 'collectibles' easily can.....

that's a NET LOSS
you gun would have to appreciate (which it doesn't) to reimburse your ammo costs to make it worth it

like many others have said, better ways to persevere wealth.
Either that or start collecting .22