Collectible Guns of the Future?

[Redcoat3340]

I'm wondering if any currently produced (plastic?) pistols -- Glocks, M&Ps, Berettas, Kel Tecs, etc. -- will ever reach the category of "collector" status.

I was examining my Swedish Lahti last night and pondering that it was invented by a desperate country (Finland) for defense against Russia's Slavic hordes; then adopted by Sweden which feared they wouldn't have a pistol to help repel the Nazi blitzkrieg.

Neither Finland or Sweden set out to create /build a collectible or classic firearm, they just wanted a gun that would work in -30 degree weather, snow, and with mittens on. (Nor did Walther set out to make a collectible when it developed the P5, they just wanted to win the W. Ger. police contract; nor did S&W create the model 39 for posterity, they wanted to win the US Army contract, just like FN wanted to win a French army contract and created the HiPower. And the .357 was developed to give the highway patrol a round that would shoot through an engine block like the .38 special couldn't.)

But, as history has rolled on, many of these "tools" have become treasured by collectors and for sure, much appreciated by shooter, not that collectors and shooters can't be one in the same.

So what "modern" guns do folks think will become classics or collectibles or at least more valuable as the years roll by? I'm not necessarily talking about price increases due to more panic buying (anyone want to venture on prices and availability of firearms and ammo between November 2016 and mid-January 2017 if Hillary wins?), but increases in value like has been seen with Sig 210's, WWII 1911s, Pythons, model 27s, Lugers, etc.

 

[bannockburn]

Redcoat3340

Among modern guns I would think anything with all metal construction, be it some sort of steel or aluminum frame. Not saying they'll all be "classics" just that I believe manufacturers will find them too expensive to make and use some sort of polymer/non-metal frame instead.

 

[Ed Ames]

There are different types of "collector" status.

Much of what we talk about in the US as being collectable is actually nostalgicly aspirational. In other words, when you were 12-24 X was aspirational. When some people hit 48 they think back on X fondly and realize it may have been expensive for 24yo them but the 48yo them can afford it and anyway they are now 20+ years old and cheap. That's the start of a collector wave that probably peaks when the items are 40 years old and then fades as the people who held those aspirations die.

Another form of collectables people think about are museum grade examples. Anything that takes a skilled craftsman a long time to make probably fits here. Martin makes guitars that go directly from the factory to a collection, often without ever being played. The same has long been true of master gunsmith work. They aren't collectables because of their history, and they aren't really aspirational, they are just the best of the best of the best.

The next common type of collectable is the historical relevant artifact. This is where most C&R milsurp guns gain their collectability. Arrowheads and bullets from battlefields, military vehicles from past wars, weapons used by various parties to a conflict. Unfortunately today most of the current-day firearms/weapons in this category are highly restricted. Private US citizens are unlikely to ever be able to collect the common weapons of the last few Afghan wars because most were full auto rifles, rocket propelled grenades, missiles, IEDs, and so on. Prototypes, early editions, especially from companies that change or fail (I bet Bobergs are now more collectable), things that missed common repairs (old Ruger Single Actions that haven't gone back to Ruger), and similar fit here as well.

After that you have Hummels and Franklin Mint stuff...junk made to be "collected" by people who don't know any better. John Wayne Commemorative Gold Plated Ubertis and the like. Pass.

So...my answer to tbe question... What are the current aspirational firearms? Things that people in their 20s want, but are just a bit too expensive to justify actually buying when you are in your 20s? What are the current conflicts or historical events that involve weapons you can actually own? Who makes the finest examples of custom made firearms? Those are your most likely collectables.

 

[Jim K]

Assuming that the fanatics don't get their way and confiscate all guns and kill all gun owners, I would look for milsurps to continue to rise in value, although I think the big jump is past. (My first P.38 cost $15 and my first Luger $35 - if I sold them today I might come out ahead.)

Another gun group that is rising in value is the long-neglected "second tier" American makers, H&R and Iver Johnson. S&W, long ignored by the wealthy Colt collectors, is finally getting some respect.

With the exception of ridiculous prices on Pythons, the whole field of Colt DA's (PP, OMM, DS) is still in flux; prices are rising but not as much as they will in a few years. They will bring up the prices of other Colts, like the small caliber revolvers like the open top pockets and New Lines.

Jim

 

[ACP]

Excellent question.

With the large move toward polymer frames, I think the answer is "yes," they will be collectible.

A first gen. Glock 17 or 19 would be a great addition to anyone's collection of significantly important firearms in history. But a S&W Shield? Maybe not so much.

 

[Buppa]

I think kel-tec 2000 2nd gen 9mm

 

[joem1945]

Best collectable I had was select fire weapons. They bring the most money.

 

[Jim NE]

I can't say what modern guns will be collectible in the future, but if the implicit query buried in there is "what guns of modest value today will be valuable in the future?", I would say that there are still some old guns out there that are undervalued. Although some remember a time when S&W k frames could be had for 100 bucks all day long, I still think they are undervalued. Same is true of vintage j frames (as opposed to alloy framed rubber gripped modern j frames.) I recently bought a wood gripped model 36 for $295...has had very little use, just a small spot of carry wear and a bobbed hammer. 1970's are good era for S&W future collectibility, as some still (incorrectly) see the '70's as an "inferior" era to 1950's pre-model guns.

I'd also say that some of the Soviet/eastern block military pistols are still undervalued. Like it or not, the most collectible non-custom guns today may be the Nazi guns of WW2, so something similar may happen to Stalin era pistols, considering that Stalin was as big a monster as Hitler (if not bigger.) And many of those pistols, even post-Stalin, were really good in many respects.

Of modern guns, I'd venture to say that CZ-75's will be desirable. But who knows? I'm sure nobody thought the Edsel would be collectible in 1959.

 

[Plan2Live]

I would suggest; Les Baer models. He won't be with us forever. Same for Nighthawk Customs. The Kimber revolver before it flops. Sig "P" series, especially the no rail versions. Wiley Clapp Ruger revolvers. Linebaugh big bore revolvers.

 

[Jim K]

Select fire guns are valuable in the U.S. only because of an artificial condition - the law froze the number of transferable guns at the 1986 level.

Few guns that have become collectible started out to be; items produced as "collectibles" (guns or anything else) generally fail to gain interest. Some modern guns are already collectibles but not necessarily of high value. Dardicks, Rogaks, and the like are very much collectible, but don't bring Colt Paterson money even though they are scarcer. (Patersons are not really rare; wealthy Texas oil tycoons drove up the prices on early Colts (including the common SAA) way beyond the value they would normally have had.)

Jim

 

[HankB]

Some modern guns are already collectibles but not necessarily of high value. Dardicks, Rogaks, and the like are very much collectible,

First time I heard the Rogak was collectable - unless it's because this defective Steyr GP ripoff was produced in Morton Grove, infamous for its handgun ban?

Colt "snake" guns (e.g., Python, Diamondback) have appreciated all out of proportion to reason . . . perhaps due to TV shows, perhaps just a fad; they were really never that good. (S&W absolutely dominated revolver competitions.) Lugers have also gone up sharply over the past few years.

What's next? It wouldn't surprise me to see some further appreciation of pre-lock S&W revolvers, most of which are still affordable. Or perhaps the scandium/titanium revolvers like the 340Sc, 329, etc.?

Current manufacture? That's a tough one . . . it's hard for me to think of things that involve castings, MIM, and lots of plastic as "collectable."

 

[Candyman87]

I don't think many will become valuable "collector" guns in the future. Why? Just too many made.

Outside of early editions (like some of the dozen or so Gen1 Glock 19's) or rare, even unsuccessful configurations, not much is rare enough to have any value.

Gun makers are making more guns than ever! Just like stamp collecting or coin collecting, everything is too plentiful!

 

[beag_nut]

Been around long enough to not expect ANY polymer to last forever. Anyone besides me recall the plastic trigger guard of the Mossberg .22 rifles made in the early fifties? They all shrank.
Made enough surgical instruments using engineering plastics (much more durable than typical gun stuff) that something unforeseen affected. Almost all metals are unaffected by solvents, normal temps, sunlight, etc., etc.

 

[mope540]

Any pre-lock S&W revolvers, especially the early Performance Centers that were custom built by real gunsmiths. There are numerous models of PC revolvers, but few of any particular model were made. The current mass produced PC guns are not quite the same.