Thread: model 59
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Old 09-13-2017, 04:40 AM
Wise_A Wise_A is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TTSH View Post
If I am reading the completed auctions correctly, the last two blued NIB Model 59 pistols on GB sold for $1,200 each. There is a definite premium market out there for 1st Gen S&W pistols in very high (ideally unfired in original factory box w/everything) condition. You may not be prizing them, but someone else out there obviously is.
Was the gun in question truly NIB, boxed, etc? Or was it just a gun in somebody's collection in good shape? All I heard was the latter.

Where's it for sale? If it's on Gunbroker, then there's a premium because it's marketed to a much larger audience. If it's in a local shop, shave a big chunk off that number.

And all that's presuming the sale actually completed.

Quote:
Now there you've got the advantage on me because I know absolutely nothing about beater range guns. I don't own a single one. Dear old Dad (R.I.P.) would turn over in his grave if I ever even talked about a Smith & Wesson firearm that way, let alone owned one.

I may be missing a lot of fun, but I don't want dear old Dad coming back from the grave to haunt me.
Take a perfectly good Smith and Wesson, stick it in a holster, and then pull it out. Repeat 8400 times.

What do you have now? Well, a bunch of finish wear on a great gun.

It's not going to command the same price that a clean example would--nor should it. And 95% of people are going to pass that gun right over because it's got a bunch of holster wear. They don't know anything about the internals. For all they know, it could be unfired.

It's become a beater. It's got a big ol' 25-50% off sticker on it in the form of a little missing finish. You can pick it up for cheap, and enjoy shooting it without worrying about putting a mark on a pristine gun. Wanna holster it? Go ahead. Wanna put 5000 rounds through it because it's so great to shoot? Be my guest.

These guns are great.

As for range gun--well, the 59 is, let's face it, obsolete. Its drop-safety is questionable. There are other guns in its price range that are better. There are smaller guns, guns with better triggers, and so on. If we're carrying a gun for protection, there are better choices to make. Sure, a Colt 1908 Pocket Hammerless works as well today as it did over a hundred years ago--but today's .380s are smaller, and modern guns that size fire 9mm (or larger, and carry as many or more cartridges).

That doesn't make the 59 useless--it just makes it a gun to be enjoyed. Most guns that we buy are like that. What real practical use do I have for...well, 90% of my collection? None! But damn if I don't enjoy them.
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