Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Hi!
Long story short, my father in law is helping a widow get rid of some of her long-late husband's junk to make a little cash. He's a stand-up guy and is just e-baying the stuff and giving her all the money.
One item of interest was almost a full case of Remington 16 ga. shells from "way back." They came to me because neither the widow, nor my wife's family shoot.
The plan at the moment is that the F.I.L. says he's got buyers who would pay for the old cardboard case, and all the individual shell boxes, but he doesn't want to deal with what he perceives as the hassle of selling off the ammo itself.
So, I find myself in posession of about 10 boxes of no. 8s, 5 boxes of no. 6s, and 4 boxes of no. 4s. These are Remington "Sureshot" paper hulls, and they're all advertsing the "NEW Remington Crimp" meaning the star-crimp instead of a paper over-wad. As they say, "No blown patterns!" whatever that means. Each shell has a little paper seal over the crimp with the shot size printed on it, which is cool. The sixes are all high-brass style shells and are lableled "Express." Everything else (4s, too) are low-brass hulls.
So here's the question: I'm planning to shoot these up (probably over the next few years) in my great-grand-dad's Fox-Sterlingworth 16 ga. SxS. The shells are in perfect shape. Not ONE had even a touch of corrosion -- in fact, the brass is still quite shiny. I'm certain they'll go bang, and the shot will come out, and all will be good. (I suppose I'm going to have to take up squirrel hunting again -- otherwise, what will I do with all those 4s?)
But, it occurrs to me that, if there really are folks who would buy empty shell boxes, and beat-up old cardboard case containers (assumedly for nostalgia / '50s Americana type purposes) would they not pay a good deal more for the boxes with the shells still in them?
Hypothetically, if these boxes are worth, say, $1 each empty to a collector, would they not be worth at least the going rate for modern ammo if they are full? Like $10 a box or more? I'd hate to tell this widow we got $25 for the cardboard, but if I hadn't shot up all her shells the lot would have been worth $300.
Are there any legal issues in selling and/or shipping this old ammo? Should I just shut up and appreciate the windfall?
Thanks!
-Sam
Long story short, my father in law is helping a widow get rid of some of her long-late husband's junk to make a little cash. He's a stand-up guy and is just e-baying the stuff and giving her all the money.
One item of interest was almost a full case of Remington 16 ga. shells from "way back." They came to me because neither the widow, nor my wife's family shoot.
The plan at the moment is that the F.I.L. says he's got buyers who would pay for the old cardboard case, and all the individual shell boxes, but he doesn't want to deal with what he perceives as the hassle of selling off the ammo itself.
So, I find myself in posession of about 10 boxes of no. 8s, 5 boxes of no. 6s, and 4 boxes of no. 4s. These are Remington "Sureshot" paper hulls, and they're all advertsing the "NEW Remington Crimp" meaning the star-crimp instead of a paper over-wad. As they say, "No blown patterns!" whatever that means. Each shell has a little paper seal over the crimp with the shot size printed on it, which is cool. The sixes are all high-brass style shells and are lableled "Express." Everything else (4s, too) are low-brass hulls.
So here's the question: I'm planning to shoot these up (probably over the next few years) in my great-grand-dad's Fox-Sterlingworth 16 ga. SxS. The shells are in perfect shape. Not ONE had even a touch of corrosion -- in fact, the brass is still quite shiny. I'm certain they'll go bang, and the shot will come out, and all will be good. (I suppose I'm going to have to take up squirrel hunting again -- otherwise, what will I do with all those 4s?)
But, it occurrs to me that, if there really are folks who would buy empty shell boxes, and beat-up old cardboard case containers (assumedly for nostalgia / '50s Americana type purposes) would they not pay a good deal more for the boxes with the shells still in them?
Hypothetically, if these boxes are worth, say, $1 each empty to a collector, would they not be worth at least the going rate for modern ammo if they are full? Like $10 a box or more? I'd hate to tell this widow we got $25 for the cardboard, but if I hadn't shot up all her shells the lot would have been worth $300.
Are there any legal issues in selling and/or shipping this old ammo? Should I just shut up and appreciate the windfall?
Thanks!
-Sam
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