Registered Magnum price. Windfall or weathervane?

[silicosys4]

I'll say outright, I was expecting this gun to go for at least double the hammer price. Its a nice all original gun with box and has some rare features.
I didn't bid because I didn't think this gun would be anywhere near my price range. It still isn't, but its a lot closer than I thought it would be, and I could have sold some guns to make the difference.....if only, right?

I have been seeing prices on a lot of collectors grade guns fall for a while now....I've gotten what I've thought have been some really good deals, but I'm thinking we might be seeing a market readjustment, or just the effects of a poor economy.
Maybe its the older generation passing, and their heirlooms not retaining the value they once had to their former owners.
What do you think about this auction price?
I think someone got one heck of a deal but maybe there is something i'm not seeing.

Smith & Wesson .357 Registered Magnum...Scarce 7-1/2

SMITH & WESSON ~ .357 REGISTERED MAGNUMSCARCE 7-1/2 BARREL, HUMPBACK HAMMERORIGINAL FINISH W/ BOX...MFD CIRCA 1938, C&R NO RESERVE! Here is one of the most so

www.gunauction.com

 

[Mark_Mark]

WOW! $5,000! I would have bought it, if I had $5,000! Hope is still there for a RM them

 

[Mark_Mark]

Someone got a BARGAIN

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

That was a beauty!
Dunno, if Id drop $5Gs on it, though.

I saw a few really high end revolvers at the show today, some 18th Century cased duelling pistols, and several nice Garands. I would say prices seemed to have plateaued, if not fallen, exactly.

The one that did raise an eyebrow was a plain-jane P7 PSP with $5,000 on the sticker.....yikes.

 

[.455_Hunter]

It's not like these guns will become worthless, far from it, but I definitely think prices will continue to moderate (or at least not escalate aggressively) for RMs, SAAs, 1873s, etc. They might actually enter the domain of relative affordability sometime in the future. Eventually, all of people who watched the 50's/60's/70's TV shows won't be in the collector business any more.

 

[Mark_Mark]

That was a beauty!
Dunno, if Id drop $5Gs on it, though.

I saw a few really high end revolvers at the show today, some 18th Century cased duelling pistols, and several nice Garands. I would say prices seemed to have plateaued, if not fallen, exactly.

The one that did raise an eyebrow was a plain-jane P7 PSP with $5,000 on the sticker.....yikes.

$5,000 for a P7? that nutz! Gun Shows are insane, my brother was at one in Arkansa this weekend. Colt Officers in abused shape, plastic ejection rod (not original) $300!

 

[Mark_Mark]

It's not like these guns will become worthless, far from it, but I definitely think prices will continue to moderate (or at least not escalate aggressively) for RMs, SAAs, 1873s, etc. They might actually enter the domain of relative affordability sometime in the future. Eventually, all of people who watched the 50's/60's/70's TV shows won't be in the collector business any more.

disagree, my friends in their mid-40’s who just discovered old Clint & Duke cowboy movies are buying them up. It always starts with a SAA then teaser Colt revolvers, then get into the Serious Smith Club

I think it’s a FLOOK! a small break in prices. But with the dollar going negative 7% each year! Buy Buy Buy !!!

 

[5whiskey]

When consumer sentiment sours, it is quite common for prices for big ticket, extravagant, and highly collectible items to... "correct" to varying degrees. Kinda like when there is an influx of extra cash (looking at you government stimulus), it's common for those prices to increase significantly.

The milsurp market is leveling off too now. Sure, these wood and steel guns will always have an intrinsic value as they aren't making any more of them. But... buy them because you truly want to collect them, not as a retirement plan.

 

[.455_Hunter]

disagree, my friends in their mid-40’s who just discovered old Clint & Duke cowboy movies are buying them up. It always starts with a SAA then teaser Colt revolvers, then get into the Serious Smith Club

I think it’s a FLOOK! a small break in prices. But with the dollar going negative 7% each year! Buy Buy Buy !!!

I am not an expert in that area, but it's my understanding that the prices on classic muscle cars already have started to moderate from their highs just a few years their lustful owners age out. It's the same demographic who drove up the prices on the guns in discussion here, but not like I can talk, being 48 myself and someone who started collecting historical weapons in my teens.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Despite what the DJIA is attempting to tell us, the economy is not good right now. Average folks are still suffering from the inflation spike a few years ago as wages have not kept up and employment mobility is at an all time low despite all the Help Wanted signs out there. Which means the future for most folks looks pretty bleak, at least in the short term.

Interestingly, the trending value of collectors items can give us a more real world indicator of true market conditions. This can be broken down by price points also. Whereas the general value of more pedestrian items, say under $10K, will likely fluctuate relatively during times of economic turmoil, truly valuable items like art tend to trend upward or stay the same. Of course, when the DJIA trends upward, that usually only means folks who are heavily invested in DJI items benefit. So, folks who can afford to buy a hundred or so Registered Magnums and promotly throw them into the ocean.

 

[Speedo66]

On the other hand, gold was $2400 an ounce a day or two ago, a new record.

So $5K, just a little over 2 Krugerrands.

 

[Pat Riot]

My monthly retirement checks equal a little more than half what I was making at my last job so expendable cash (fun money) is a bit tighter.
Right as I was retiring interest rates on homes went up. Car prices got stupid high. Guns and ammo went up. I retired anyway.
I have to laugh at these spokesmen/women from Social Security and some of my retirement accounts say with a straight face “The economy is doing well and COLA will be 3% to keep up with inflation. We should all consider ourselves lucky to have this nice increase to give to you…”
I think it will all be okay. The gov’t has our backs. They keep us from falling by holding onto that knife handle they installed when we weren’t looking.

I think the prices on older revolvers will go down because there aren’t many folks in the younger generations that want them. They want customizable semiautos and Tacticool guns.
I myself don’t have the desire for older collectibles. I do have a desire for older guns that I can shoot and enjoy. And if I could afford $5K for a Registered Magnum I would shoot the heck out of that thing.

 

[Mark_Mark]

My monthly retirement checks equal a little more than half what I was making at my last job so expendable cash (fun money) is a bit tighter.
Right as I was retiring interest rates on homes went up. Car prices got stupid high. Guns and ammo went up. I retired anyway.
I have to laugh at these spokesmen/women from Social Security and some of my retirement accounts say with a straight face “The economy is doing well and COLA will be 3% to keep up with inflation. We should all consider ourselves lucky to have this nice increase to give to you…”
I think it will all be okay. The gov’t has our backs. They keep us from falling by holding onto that knife handle they installed when we weren’t looking.

I think the prices on older revolvers will go down because there aren’t many folks in the younger generations that want them. They want customizable semiautos and Tacticool guns.
I myself don’t have the desire for older collectibles. I do have a desire for older guns that I can shoot and enjoy. And if I could afford $5K for a Registered Magnum I would shoot the heck out of that thing.

hope you’re right!!!! I got CASH in a few months

 

[halfmoonclip]

Lot of good analysis here. For the moment, there's enough slack in our retirement that we're okay, but I'll never see a COLA.
It's been suggested elsewhere that a lot of folks are out over their skis with credit card debt. This may be forcing some unwilling sales, and reducing disposable income at the same time.
A Registered Magnum would be great to own...but to what purpose? Would you shoot it? Admire and fondle it? Dazzle your buddies?
Moon

 

[.455_Hunter]

Lot of good analysis here. For the moment, there's enough slack in our retirement that we're okay, but I'll never see a COLA.
It's been suggested elsewhere that a lot of folks are out over their skis with credit card debt. This may be forcing some unwilling sales, and reducing disposable income at the same time.
A Registered Magnum would be great to own...but to what purpose? Would you shoot it? Admire and fondle it? Dazzle your buddies?
Moon

I would shoot and carry mine.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I would shoot and carry mine.

100% shoot and carry! Open and exposed to shine!

 

[halfmoonclip]

100% shoot and carry! Open and exposed to shine!

Guys, I've lotsa things to carry and shoot. A RM would be on velvet, with a library light.
YMMV.
Moon

 

[5whiskey]

Guys, I've lotsa things to carry and shoot. A RM would be on velvet, with a library light.
YMMV.
Moon

I'm in between your stance and "shoot and carry." I would probably have the display case and library light... but I would still shoot it some.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I'm thinking we might be seeing a market readjustment, or just the effects of a poor economy.
Maybe its the older generation passing, and their heirlooms not retaining the value they once had to their former owners.

People with money are still spending money.

It's not just guns, I do metal fabrication on hot rods custom cars. Some of the cars I've helped build are for guys wanting to win a Riddler trophy, your talking the last one was 3.1 million dollars to build.

The guys that love 32 Ford coupes and Tri-fives are dying out.

People are still spending 5k on guns, it's just not on old arse revolvers, it's 2011s.

 

[Mark_Mark]

People with money are still spending money.

It's not just guns, I do metal fabrication on hot rods custom cars. Some of the cars I've helped build are for guys wanting to win a Riddler trophy, your talking the last one was 3.1 million dollars to build.

The guys that love 32 Ford coupes and Tri-fives are dying out.

People are still spending 5k on guns, it's just not on old arse revolvers, it's 2011s.

$3.1 million! Car people are nutz!

There a neighbor 4-5 house down who is obsessed with 911 GT3 cars!

 

[orpington]

A few things here.

Let’s start with the Registered Magnum with at least A box, possibly, but probably not, THE box. Having a box with it adds value, the box is a little rough, but not horrible, the Registered Magnum has more wear than most do, even some pitting. The revolver sold at certainly a fair price, a little on the light side, especially as it has a box, but was no screaming bargain.

Then some are saying what can you do with it, this being a Registered Magnum? The condition of this one is such that you can shoot it, as there is enough wear that you won’t hurt it.

Then there’s the stuff about the economy. Sadly, the economy is only good when the government stimulates it—free money. We are not a wealthy nation—there’s a relatively few fat cats getting ever fatter and most aren’t doing well.

And, part of the problem is 401k’s—saving for one’s own retirement. The ever fatter cats don’t have to provide a pension, so they get fatter. Wages haven’t kept up with inflation, and then you are expecting folks who are barely scraping by to take home even less pay so they can have more money saved for retirement—which is an abstract idea for many—due to the money needed to do so and the time it takes to get there.

And you expect a pay cut once you retire, which essentially means that is made up through reduced housing expenses, meaning a mortgage that is paid off, which requires purchasing a house early enough so that this can happen by retirement age. Just about impossible now, with wages that aren’t anywhere close to keeping up with inflation, an extremely inflated housing market, a lack of available inventory, and decades high interest rates that these folks earning living wages are somehow miraculously able to buy despite low wages, wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation, and, despite all this, the need to save for retirement, with the realization that there is likely no pension and a hefty pay cut once one retires, at an ever increasing age.

WHAT A MESS! There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t be a wealthy nation with pensions paid for by employers, a generous pay scale with excellent pay increases, and a relatively youthful retirement age—under 55–without a pay cut. And, interest rates don’t have to be anywhere this high—raising interest rates tamed inflation decades ago for reassigns that probably were a fluke—but that’s different now.

I’m not a socialist. Far from it. But, for some reason a lousy 5 k revolver is a pipe dream for most for all the wrong reasons outlined above when the fat cats sock away way more money than they, and all their family members, could ever use in many, many lifetimes.

 

[Miami_JBT]

My monthly retirement checks equal a little more than half what I was making at my last job so expendable cash (fun money) is a bit tighter.
Right as I was retiring interest rates on homes went up. Car prices got stupid high. Guns and ammo went up. I retired anyway.
I have to laugh at these spokesmen/women from Social Security and some of my retirement accounts say with a straight face “The economy is doing well and COLA will be 3% to keep up with inflation. We should all consider ourselves lucky to have this nice increase to give to you…”
I think it will all be okay. The gov’t has our backs. They keep us from falling by holding onto that knife handle they installed when we weren’t looking.

I think the prices on older revolvers will go down because there aren’t many folks in the younger generations that want them. They want customizable semiautos and Tacticool guns.
I myself don’t have the desire for older collectibles. I do have a desire for older guns that I can shoot and enjoy. And if I could afford $5K for a Registered Magnum I would shoot the heck out of that thing.

The economy is rough. A lot of folks (myself included) don't have the same buying power. The market will change. Right now, you have an upswing in perceived value of certain guns due to retired Baby Boomers wanting the guns of their youth. Same happened with cars and other items. Heck, the same right now is happening when Gen X'ers, Xennials, and early Millennials. Gen 1 and Gen 2 GLOCKs, Gen 3 S&Ws, 1980s Cold War era Rifle imports, etc. are all climbing in price.

But, the market will stabilize and while some of the outrageous prices on certain guns will fall. They won't crash. Younger shooters are getting tired of noting but Gucci'ed AR-15s and John Wick'ed GLOCKs. They're starting to discover blued steel and wood stocks. Look at the rising popularity of lever-action guns again. For a while, a beater grade Winchester 94AE with a cross-bolt safety was a dime a dozen at your local pawn shop. Now they're in the $500 price range. Corrections surplus clapped out S&W Model 10s flew off the shelves when places like AIM Surplus and Class Firearms got a batch from the NY State Prison System.

Part of that is boredom with modern firearms. The other part of it is the fact that younger shooters still watch movies and tv. With streaming, they're watching older stuff. Especially the 1970s-1990s era of action movies and tv shows. Miami Vice, Magnum PI, Dirty Harry, Lethal Weapon, Die-Hard, etc... all of it is still extremely popular and some of it like Miami Vice and Magnum PI has actually had a resurgence in popularity. Younger shooters see the guns in those works, and want those guns.

Some of those guns are revolvers.

Again, the market isn't going to crash, but it is going to have a correction with a slight dip. But it will stabilize and for the most part, these guns will remain being collectable pieces.