Originally Posted by rct269

Some of the folks here have spoken, shall we say, less than enthusiastically about the value of our toys as investment vehicles. I sat and stared, and wondered. I wondered if I should argue the point. I wondered how I might make a point without arguing. I decided not to attempt to make any point---to just tell a short story about my own experience with some guns---guns which would accurately be described both as collectible (because there are a lot of folks who collect them)---and guns which are at the same time as common as dirt.

There came a time (1999) when I couldn't find any of the S&W's I was hunting. It was discouraging--depressing even. I was hitting a lot of the big time shows, and coming home empty handed. Every time I walked in the door the Boss Lady asked, "Did you get anything?" She got the same answer every time. I was moaning and groaning about this to a Ruger friend----BIG TIME Ruger collector, who said, "Why don't you start collecting Rugers?" I had a soft spot for Rugers, having had some in my shooter days when I couldn't afford S&W's---and started my Ruger collection right then and there---left his table with a spiffy little Bearcat.

Now we jump ahead to 2007. My S&W collection is coming along, and my Ruger collection is complete----"Old Model Single Actions"-1953 to 1973---all of them in all calibers and all barrel lengths---34 guns total---all the same as the Bearcat---spiffy. I have no idea how much money I spent---other than not a whole lot, because most of them didn't cost very much. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe $15,000----call it $20,000 just for the sake of argument---in spite of the fact this isn't an argument.

So here I am in early 2017. I'm happy with my Ruger Collection, but I'm not head over heels in love with it anymore. I pack the whole mess up, jump in my little car, and head for David Carroll's digs. "Dump 'em.", says I. We speculated about what they might bring. Low to mid 40's was the consensus. Well, that's not too shabby, is it? Nope---and it was some wide of the mark too. By the time all the smoke cleared, they fetched low to mid 50's----and that for sure is not too shabby!!

If you have any interest in such things, you might want to look into the time value of money over that period of time. I mention that only because it's my favorite investment (or was)----being that it's risk free. On second thought, you probably don't want to look into that-----it's depressing.

Ralph Tremaine