I hope this thread is in the correct folder, if not please dispense the rod of discipline on me and excuse for my ignorance. Because I have been selling several things from a friend's family, I have been amazed at the valuations of some guns. Seems like any Russian rifle brings top price. Sold a Saiga Iz 7.62 for $1200.

So I thought . . . suppose I passed next week. My wife would have no idea what my firearms would be worth, thought I should "make the list". So many widows get taken advantage of when cashing out the collection. Shocked I tell you . . . at the valuation of the old MAK 90 (Chinese import) I bought back in 93 when based in NV. $182 out the door. I found an old ad, attached it for a laugh. Some of these rifles are now selling at $1400. Thats my submission. Who would have ever thought a cheap ChiCom rifle would appreciate like that?

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I expect it is my two AIM Surplus $89.95 Swiss K-31s. AIM is selling them these days for $899.95

I have Mausers and Mosins that originally sold in the 1990's for $39, and that even included a bayonet and a leather ammo pouch. They all go for in the $500-550 range now. Bit that's not a tremendous appreciation, considering inflation.

So, my entry in this thread is a Commercial 1911 (not A1) that was manufactured in 1924. It's a transitional model (before A1) and it it's version was specifically listed by serial number range in the recent Gun Trader's Guide. Current Book Value is $12,000.

Dad bought it in 1972 at a well known gun shop for 85 bucks. It's 100% original, un-molested and probably 90% condition.

It's not for sale......LOL.

Colt SAA and military 1911 and A1's.
Snake named Colts.

If I count the ones my dad originally bought the M-1 carbines are right up there. If you do it by original price probably the Registered Magnums

Years ago, before the Federal Firearms Act of 1968. I bought a 1917 Eddystone Enfield from the DCM for 8.00 delivered. Could have paid 7.00, but the extra dollar was for a special selection. By the way, that was a shipped price. . I traded that like an idiot, but I found one in a LGS store corner in 72 for 35.00. Dark oily would that would sweat oil when you fired it.

I bought 2 surplus black walnut stocks from Ruvel for 5.00 each, and a complete set of hand guards. I fashioned one of the stocks to a sporter stock and I finished the other to full military. Hand guards too, and put no less than twenty coats of satin hand rubbed tung oil on both. It has a military sling.

This one is a Remington. I have no idea what it is worth, but I am sure north of 1K. It is in my safe, unfired for near 50 years.

I think all the time about selling it.

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I bought a HKP7M13 through the LE program for IIRC a little over $ 400 in about 1984. Unfortunately sold it after getting married and needing a bigger house. Theyr'e going for $ 8000 plus now. Later had a used P7M10 which are worth more.

In 1986 I went through a course of fire with the M-1 Garand at a Department of Civilian Marksmanship affiliated gun club in Pascagoula, Mississippi. After that certificate, I earned the right to buy a M-1 rifle direct from DCM. I went through the entire application process to include fingerprinting and ordered the rifle from Anniston, Alabama. Four months later, I received my rifle, a Springfield Armory M-1 service grade. I still have it and will never sell it. The price was $95 plus $65 shipping. I shoot it, although not frequently; it is accurate and milspec. DCM is now CMP and they still have the sale of my rifle on record. A Garand from CMP will now cost at least $750 and higher for a basic M-1.

I have a tiny 22 revolver that was made for vest pockets from a famous rifele company: It is a Sedgley Baby Hammerless. I pain $15 in the late 70's/early 80's, by 1990 was over $1000, no idea now!

Ivan

Bought a Steyr AUG 5.56mm rifle in 1988 for $600. Came with an extra left-handed bolt and 6 mags.
Shot it in 3-gun competitions for a few years, kept track and I put 16,000 rounds thru it.
The first half-inch of the bore was shot out.
Sold the left-handed bolt to a Canadian shooter for $100 at a match.
Sold it in August 1994 (assault rifle ban chaos era) for $2500 with one mag. Sold the other 5 mags for $50 each.

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John

I bought a Colt Diamondback 4" .22 from a workmate in about 1991 for $150, it is ten times that much now!
Got a Mini 30 for free
Lots of stories like that in my safe....

I suppose my highest appreciated firearm would be my "US Property" marked Colt 1903 Model M. It was given to me by my stepfather 22 years ago, and according to the article in last month's American Rifleman (I Have This Old Gun), it's worth around $3K.

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Not counting the NFA stuff that Dad bought before 86 and then registered, probably this unfired Norinco 56S-1 with the accessories and original packaging from the 80's, which I inherited from Dad.

Also inherited this unfired SP1 from '81. Haven't looked at prices on them in a few years now since I have no intention of selling anything, but I'm guessing the Norinco would beat the SP1 just because the SP1 cost more back then.

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Mine may be an unfired Colt-Sharps, a gift from my ex father-in-law. While he was alive he asked I not shoot it, still unfired. Have a thing for single shot rifles, am thinking of letting it go though, lean toward Ruger no1's.

6 1/2" 99% Registered Magnum I bought around 2000 for $325.

Talk to me before you sell that…if you decide to. A Colt Sharps is on my bucket list of guns.

After 25 years living in the Peoples Republik of New Jersey, the Bruen decision caused my most appreciated gun to be my EDC Sig P365.

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

A 98k would be mine. Bringback from dad. Paid $0 for it. I would say it has appreciated quite a bit these days!! LOL

Wow . . . amazing. I bet nobody in the thread can top that.

Seems that story is repeated many times. If I had held stocks like Apple, Calliway Golf, etc . . . my collection of toys would be much larger. My biggest regret was in making a trade for my Colt series III ACP which was the personal build of a famous USMC gunsmith . . . traded it for that new Colt disaster of a pistol that was supposed to change the world, the Colt 2000. Drag me in the yard and beat me with a cane!

Thats a legacy to pass on to loved ones. Enjoy that marvelous piece of history.

Would enjoy seeing a picture of it. I have something similar thats about 100 years old. An old "22 rimfire" bicycle gun. Tiny. I will post a picture if anyone is interested.

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Probably my Outdoorsman.
Bought it I think in 1963 for $75.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Wow . . . wish I had stories like that. I do have an excellent Gettysburg battlefield find. Its a Klingenthal 1829 heavy saber with matching scabbard. Here is a look. I want to build a shadowbox display case. This was for certain carried by a Confederate trooper.

Old Klingenthal With Odd Markings | American Civil War Forum

The two that come to mind were a M1 Garand I bought from the DCM (many moons ago), and sold about 8 or 9 years ago for $850, (would now sell around $1200 or more).

The second one was a .32 top break, nickle, 2" Bicycle gun. Bought sometime in the late 90's, and sold about 3 years ago. Paid around $350 and sold for $2500.

You will find lots of stories of nice firearms, seldom if ever used, selling for 5X, 10X, and more than original price.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I bought this HK91 in 1984 on my FFL for $399 to the house. Got a cut up Portuguese G3 for $150, sold the "lower group" for $100 immediately. Last offer was $3K but that was years ago. I guess I should have bought more. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I had an import 30 carbine that was fairly worn I paid $150 for in 92/93. During the sandy hook panic I was offered $1800 for it while I was shooting it on the range. Needless to say it didn’t go home with me. My Winchester 1887 shotgun I paid $75 for has appreciated to about $1200. I stupidly did not spend the extra $25 to buy the Winchester stamped saddle scabbard that was with it.

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Dave
Regulators mount up!

My military contract 1943 Ithaca 1911A1 - all original with three WWII magazines. Bought in 2007 for $1,150. Value today - well over $2,000 at least. No intention of selling it!

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This is a really hard question to answer because I only ever bought a couple guns and "market rates" ever in a brief window in my career where I was finally paid pretty well. Everything else I basically stole, or got a deal on (even at the time).

At this point most of my collection in the category of; "Who knows what that's worth, it has to go to auction to find out". With kids I have been downsizing consistently, and the guns that stay are the unique things that can't be replaced.

If I had to guess, the biggest delta between what I paid, and what it would likely sell for today in a well advertised auction would be this thing:



If you peruse this for the factory documentation regarding all the modifications you will see why:

Update: 1920 Colt Factory Modified "Keith No. 5" for C.M. McCutcheon

Especially when you consider that this was the auction listing that I bought the gun based on:

**Colt Bisley Model Revolver | Cowan's Auction House: The Midwest's Most Trusted Auction House / Antiques / Fine Art / Art Appraisals

Yep, just the one picture, incorrect description, and a complete failure to note that it's what we know as a "Keith No. 5 ". They had misplaced the factory documentation, but Cowan's being a class act when they discovered it they went ahead and mailed it to me on their dime.

I paid a whole heck of a lot less than I thought I would have to, and had they sold the gun correctly there's zero chance I would own it. It's one of two guns I bought for what I consider "real money". The other one could absolutely be a contender for my "most appreciated". But, again. I would have no idea until I auctioned it:

This is Captain Bill Strong's:



hun slaying Springfield 1911:



That some jerk who owned it it after him scratched his name into:



I know what I paid for it, which was every penny I could scrape together for months, sold a bunch of guns, ate nothing but ramen. Ultimately it took every penny I had at the time, but I don't regret it at all.

How much has this appreciated, if at all?

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My Talo Flattop 44 Special has doubled in value since I purchased it in 2019.

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I would think my Belgium made .22 Browning take down auto loader qualifies in a decent appreciation thread.

Bought it new in 1961 list price was $55 dollars no sales tax. (a lot of money way back when) Being I did a lot of business with this dealer even at my tender age he sold it to me for $52.

I went out today to buy a new one like that one it would be considerably more- Also would do well if I wanted to sell it which I most certainly do not!

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I bought a Marlin 1894 in .41 mag used. It is the straight stocked version. When I bought, it the pistol grip 1894FG was still available new. I think I paid $375. Wish I'd bought a couple of each. I never would have dreamed they would be selling for what they are now.

Amazing. Thanks for posting the pics.

Probably this one - a Model of 1941 Johnson semiautomatic rifle. I have the "spike" bayonet for it also, complete with leather sheath.

John


(Click for larger image)

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

G Series FALs were $175 for a standard and $185 for a lightweight in the fall of 1962- they’re about $12k-ish a pop these days with some bringing even more. I’m fortunate enough to have a few. I was born in ‘81 so while I paid considerably more than $185 for mine, I didn’t pay nearly what they bring today.

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Some Might Say.

I have one other rifle that may be worth at least twice what I paid for it. It's an Arsenal SGL21-61 AK clone in 7.62x39. This rifle is based on a Saiga sporter with a Russian Izhmash stamped receiver, American furniture and magazine. You won't see any more Russian imports due to sanctions and other political factors. I bought this rifle for $800 in 2015.

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Probably either the J C Higgins 12 gauge pump my Dad won on a dime raffle ticket or the Shield 1.0 I won as a door prize. Among actual purchases I would have to say the .32 HE I bought for $35 in 1979.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

I think it is a matter of how long people keep things.

I have owned more then half of my firearms that were purchased new for over two decades. Some over four decades.

Most of those can be sold today for over 10 times what I paid for them

I am not even including what has happened to my Pythons and my Boa. That is just a fluke of nature

Then there are the firearms of historical influence that obviously were purchased used. Once I authenticated the story and obtained documentation, some of those can be sold today for 20 or more times what I paid for them

Then we come to NFA Title II firearms. The Full Auto and Select Fire items increased 10 fold on May 18th 1986 when the Firearm Owners Protection Act curtailed the Civilian ownership of those firearms that were manufactured after that day. Why Ronnie Raygun signed that is beyond me. It did not protect single Firearms Owner

Now realize that "TODAY" I have no desire or need to sell any of them . . . so they will continue to appreciate

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"Acta non verba"

I have a number of milsurp rifles that have appreciated considerably during their tenure in my safe. I was able to get them cheap due to the ignorance of auction houses and/or other collectors being asleep at the gunshow/computer when these items came up. In cash terms, the ones that have appreciated the most are probably my Mosin sniper, a mummy wrapped Enfield No.4 MK2, and an Enfield No.1 MKVI rebuilt as a No.4 MK1 early in WW2.

I also recently acquired a Mauser M48 wearing the crest of the Iraqi royal house. Allegedly, there are but a few (<50) in the US, but I would not be at all surprised to learn that we drove tanks over thousands of them after the 2003 invasion. Again, I got it cheap, and I wonder what the market value of such a curiosity might be.

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Release the Kraken

Most of my best appreciating firearm assets are because I aquired them cheap rather than age. The biggest is probably my Mauser 660 .243. It’s the model 66 in Europe. I remember my dad buying it for about $300 in the early 80s. Today you don’t see them sell often. When you do they can easily fetch $2500 and sometimes much more depending on barrels and options. My son shot his first deer and first bear with it. It’s almost too pretty to take into the woods. There’s no amount of money that would buy it.

I had one of those that I bought in the 80’s for around $200. I wish I had bought a dozen! Mine came with a high capacity banana magazine, can’t tell if yours did too. My friends and I had fun shooting it a few times. I traded mine a couple of years later for an Italian made Beretta 92 that was for sale at $650. I thought I had made the deal of the century. Unfortunately, the Beretta didn’t appreciate much, and the AK did a lot. Live and learn.

To me, it is funny that many of the guns listed here are military surplus ones. When I bought my Mosin Nagants, SKS’s, and others, many years ago, I never imagined that they would increase in value so much! Like most people here, I wish I had bought many more stacking them deep. I remember contemplating buying a full crate of the Mosins. Of course, years ago, the Mosins that were for sale near me were in much better shape than the ones I see for sale now. I had dreams of removing the cosmoline from everything, putting it all back in the crate, andd lighting, and making a coffee table out of it.
Larry

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

The 3 original magazines are in the picture on the bottom left, just covered by the cosmoline soaked paper

When it comes to old Beretta 92's and value, Dad also bought this and gave it to me a little over 3 decades ago. It's an imported AI stamped 1982 92SB, which I guess is collectable 40 years later.

Thing about this, Dad passed away last October so I drive the 2ish hours every Sunday to see Mom and make sure she's okay (setup Echo Show's for the family so she can see me, my brother, and the grandkids every day, but it's not the same as in person.) I thought about taking picture of the firearms related things I have and probably have gone up most in value, the pair of registered when they had to be AR auto-sears that Dad bought from some ad in Shotgun News in/around 1980 for $18 each, but forgot all about it until now

FWIW, when it comes to the old surplus stuff and a Type 03 FFL, things have changed a lot in the last few years.

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My highest appreciation gun is the one that makes me look like a much better shot then I really am!

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balin
NRA Life Member

That's good to know. I bought one at a local Ruger sale in August of 2019 as well. I will have to do some research on what they are going for now.

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Lets see I have a Winchester 1892 25-20 that was part of a three gun purchase. I sold the other two recouped my investment and made money so the rifle was free. There valued around $1500.
My 29-2 6 1/2 inch Nickel I paid $175 for it in 1972 NIB.
There's a Parker AHE 20/28 gauge two barrel set that is documented. I paid $32K for it and have turned down $50K+ for it.

...my 686 has got to be my number one gun.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

A nickel colt Viper like mine is on Gunbroker. Present bid already over $6000. Not sure what it went for in 1977.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

I bought an F.N. "Heavy Model 1899" at a LGS for $200 quite a few years ago. About five-six years ago I sold it for $5,000. Turned out was one of only 7, yes, seven, believed to have been made made for the 1900 military trials. It is pictured in an article in "American Rifleman" a bit more than a year ago in an article by Anthony Vanderlinden. Anthony is author of "F.N. Browning Pistols", and is, as I recall, Curator of the F.N. Museum collection.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

If we are talking about guns we have appreciating in value, I have a few to list.. M1 Garand, M1 carbine, 1943 Ithaca 1911A1. S&W 624 44 special, 24-3 3" 44 special, 24-3 s" barrel. But unfortunately none are for sale. Took too loong to find at prices I could afford and would never get another listing like I posted at the same price. Cause when they are gone they are gone.. Like old friends.. Frank

Likely this...
Colt engraved, Ivory strapped, 45colt in glass top presentation case.
Near 25 years ago.......$1500 OTD.
Thought I'd lost my mind.