In the past few years, I have put together a small representative collection of S & W guns as I come across them. I have a #1 and (2) #2 Armies, a 38 New Departure that is antique, a 1921 I-frame, a couple 1920's M&P's, and my latest gun is a 35 auto. I am at a crossroads of collecting, I need to thin the overall herd of guns (all the way up to modern guns) but am thinking about keeping my Smiths - what does the group think the future will hold for the value of these?

In another thread on collecting revolvers, my thoughts are that most collectors are getting old(me included). A few more years down the road and the youngsters will control the market.

Seems they prefer the new style of auto's more than revolvers.

I doubt that your older Smiths, as a group, will appreciate significantly unless they are very nice examples.

Collectors of these very old guns are aging, and shrinking in number.

As the market shrinks, demand and value suffer.

One member has predicted that the value of our older/classic S&W collections will approach zero as baby boomers grow old and die off in large numbers and their heirs sell off those collections into a badly flooded market with very little demand from Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z.

I, of course, disagree.

Very wise choice, sell now and activate some cash. Hey, they were fun for awhile.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

I am a little younger than some collectors on here( not a baby boomer) and agree the true antique S&W's along with any that shoot obsolete rounds (32rf,30,25 etc.) are not going to see any huge increase invalue unless they are guns that are in exc condition or better. I have recently come to this conclusion and have been favoring the pre war era guns. So most of my future buying will be concentrated towards more common calibers of today such as 44 mag, 357 mag, 38 spcl, 22lr. I do not see these common offerings going away any time soon. Just my humble opinion on the subject.

Who knows? Who knows? Revolvers may become the only legal handgun in the future. Because they are harmless.

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Just hanging with my dogs

Years ago I had quite a collection of guns started, mostly semi auto, and I thought they would be an investment in case of really bad times. But I got to thinking if times got bad just who was going to have the money to buy my guns.

I sold off any gun that basically just sat in my safe taking up space. I sold ten but I later bought probably another 10. What I have now are basically keepers because I do at least enjoy shooting them even if I don't carry them.

IMHO, THEY ARE CERTAIN TO INCREASE IN VALUE OVER TIME......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I used to have a respectable S&W collection of 130+ revolvers. I sold many of them off some 15-20 years ago ( Mainly because I had met my goals and the "searching and buying" part was more fun the the "having" part for many of them.) The prices I sold most of them at are 1/2 their value today. (But more than I paid.) I still buy/ watch an older S&W wheel gun now and then though. I believe the market / prices peaked some 10 years ago and is now flat or declining slightly depending on the rarity, condition and desirability of the particular gun in question. As others indicate, I doubt that reverses much.

That said, I didn't (and still don't) buy any gun as a financial investment. I buy/ keep them for the enjoyment they give me today.
If I want to make money, I invest in the market.

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Dave

I've been around long enough to see the gun market in all kind of conditions and periods. The way the media makes it sound, people are born in groups and labeled. Actually I have noticed over the years that people are born everyday, all day long and many younger people appreciate the classic and iconic guns of superior quality.
Even I started out buying mediocre shooter type guns.

Having collected a pretty large variety of different guns over the last 50 years, there are some things that should be considered when adding guns, IF your concern is values going up.
Buy guns that have good collector interest today. Highly collectable guns will always go up faster than easy to find, and less valuable guns.
Buy the best condition you can, regardless of what it is. Some extremely rare variations will require you buy whatever comes to you. But in more common guns, buy the finest examples, as they'll go up faster than average examples.
If possible, the guns that are easiest to find or load ammo for, are often the guns with a wider interest. Not all collectors shoot, but if the gun appeals to collectors and shooters, it will be much easier to sell. The finest .25 Stevens chambered gun wont be nearly as easy to sell as any gun chambered in a common, shootable caliber.
But don't let value to your heirs totally dictate your gun buying either. It's supposed to be a hobby first and foremost. So buy things that you love, and if your kids sell them too cheap, or don't care for them, that's their problem; not mine.

Hello Dave, guns are easy to buy and difficult to sell. I also sell the guns and go to the market.. Mike

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

The one thing that you may not be taking into consideration is that the young folks buying the black plastic guns are just that, young. Perhaps as they get to be our age they will become more interested in the finer things and that could include our fine collections.

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James Redfield
LM #497

That is interesting. I have to say that almost everything I have sold to date has sold for more than I paid originally. I think value appreciation has slowed, but not reversed by any means. I wonder how you state the values are half of what they were, but still got more than you paid? It sounds like you bought something at a specific price that you thought was fair and sold for more than you paid. That is appreciation in my book?? Valuation is not an easy number to come up with and many collectors and sellers inflate their expectations by looking at publications like Blue Book and Standard Catalog of Firearms, and of course some use the asking prices found on many gun sales sites.

Using the sources available over the last 65 years, I found that these old worthless revolvers gained just over 7% annually on average. Of course, there were years where where the values grew at over 10% and others that saw only 3% or so. A heck of a lot better than a bank savings account. Is anyone going to get rich by buying a bunch of old guns and selling them years later? Probably not, plus if you factor in the loss of the dollar's value over time, practically nobody has ever made real gains ever.

As Mark Twain once wrote and I have paraphrased - The rumors about the death of collector gun values are greatly exaggerated. The subject of value loss has been stated after every sizeable value gain of just about everything that has ever gained value over time. When I was much younger, I recall that there were articles about what will happen to WWII gun collections, since no one will want them? A few generations later, the same question emerges from the naysayers. Sure some things have peaked and tanked, but those situations were than collector firearms. Beanie Babies is one edxample, but it was simply the result of the law of supply and demand. Everyone seemed surprised when they found out that instead of a "limited" production run of each beanie baby launched, millions of them were actually being sold, so the market collapsed.

Has the rise of values of vintage firearms slowed in the last 10 years, using Supica Nahas SCSW, the numbers support that trend. Will today's shooters who shoot everything black and made of plastic, ever gain an appreciation for early quality made firearms as they improve their discretionary spending situation with age? I believe they will.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Have you seen any 1890's or 1920's S&W's in nice condition not selling at auctions? They sell, and usually at reasonable prices. I'd be more concerned about high capacity mag, semi auto, black firearms over the next 20-30 years. Firearms are NOT investments, they are hobby items that you "normally" can get your money back on and "normally" make a little profit while having enjoyed them for many years.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

^. ^. This! ^. ^.

H Richard nailed it. And, just collect what YOU like and what you can afford and have fun. For investments see a professional ..... this is a hobby.

My collecting interests have evolved over time. Back in my college days, it was 1911 type Colt's. Collection grew to over 30. Then on to NFA registered machine guns. Then M1 Garands and 1903 Springfield. Last year, it was High Standard semi autos. Today, it's S & W . Mostly revolvers, but can't leave out the Model 41's or 39/59 either. The hardest thing to do is learning to let go. I can usually afford to have them all, but never afford to keep them all. And, we can't live forever. Sooner or later someone else will have your prized treasures. Enjoy them while you can. Thanks! Mick

A few years back I collected U.S.Military weapons (mainly WW II). I had all of the different manufacturers of carbines and Garands. I am down to one of each now. I had all of the manufacturers of the M1911/A1 family from WWI & WW II (except Singer, of course), now none. Also collected heavy barreled .22 target rifles (still have a few). I am seeing all of these items not selling as well or selling for less. Makes me glad I got out when I did. Now I just have items that I truly prize and enjoy to shoot. Make your money in the stock market, but be careful there too.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Nobody can know the future years ago (before my time) you could buy Trapdoor Springfields for hardly nothing now nice ones bring over a thousand. Colt GI 1911 were cheap. Years ago I started a small Mauser collection I had a 1871, 71/84, 88 Commission (stepchild) 91 Calvary carbine Gew 98 and a K98 6 rifles in all I sold them this summer for more than double my investment because I felt the time was right and I wanted a classic truck. Quality antique collector guns will always be a safe investment...Oh a picture of my new pride and joy.

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Randy

There is a factor not really mentioned yet. That factor is society is changing, and the younger folks have less and less interest in guns, and in collecting anything besides money. All collectables are becoming less of a hobby then in the past.


I would not speculate having a great investment future in firearms. I would not buy much having the faith that they are going to make me a bunch of money. My thoughts are buy what you like, and enjoy, and put no stock in their future resale value.


If you still insist on trying to make money off a collectable anything, then buy the scarcest, and highest condition items. Frankly I would wait a couple years to see what this country is turning into before getting to excited about any collectables. Most everything is to unstable at this time. If you can't eat it, drink it, or *^&%^ it , you don't need it right now.

What has happened in my collecting is that I have moved into two areas specifically, antique guns and Colt Single Action Army. Both require some cash (one of the antiques I am looking for is a slant-breech Sharps percussion, the SAA I would love to have next is a 44-40 Frontier Six Shooter from the 1880's), and I plan to liquidate a few things. I love my Smiths and would not mind hanging onto them, especially if they might be appreciating some in the next few years. If the values are going to be flat for the foreseeable future, I could sell some of them and a few others. The #1 and one of the #2 Armies would stay regardless - they are among my favorites.

Had my hands on a first year production Frontier in .44-40 one time. Local dealer got it in and it was trashed, missing a few small parts and the hammer was broken. It was going to cost me $250 to purchase. Looked at Turnbull to restore it and their quote was $6,000+ to do it. I decided to pass.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I've never had an open ended buget for collecting guns, so as my interests changed, I always had to decide at some point to sell whatever I'd previously been collecting. But I've never lost money when I did sell them off. Occasionally I broke even on a gun or two, and occasionally I did better than I ever imagined.
I've collected S&W handguns, Hi Standard semiauto handguns, pre WWI Marlin lever action rifles, and numerous brands of 1800's single shot rifles. When I did sell off my collection, I never sold all of it, so I've retained a handful of each as I moved on to the next. It's left me with some nice guns and a source of revenue to go towards the next interest.
At my age I probably wont be selling any to fund another area of gun collecting now. I'll stick to what I presently have, and add a piece here or there. Not as interested in how they'll increase in value as I was earlier in life. Now I'm just interested in finding pieces I've wanted for a long time.
Fine guns, or high end guns are all down presently from what they were 5-10 years ago. If one has an interest in high end guns, now is the time to seek them out. In recent years I've purchased guns for 20-30% less than I saw them go for a decade ago. I don't think they'll continue to decline, so they'll likely all sell for more than today's prices after I'm gone.

I'm not necessarily saying that the lack of cash is what is preventing the younger generations from buying antique firearms...after making it through the four years of brainwashing by liberal professors, it's a miracle a college graduate can even look at a firearm with anything but contempt. But, many of these folks are getting out with $200,000+ in student loans. Surely, that must factor into it somewhere.

buy what you enjoy,the rest will sort itself out.There is no way to go wrong using this formula

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Regardless of the increased value over the past 50 or so years, when calculated with the inflation rates factored in over that same time frame, it is not all sunshine and flowers.

All my life, when collecting, I consider ... how many have I seen in this condition ? How many were manufactured ? How desirable is this model I'm looking at. Then I think value as an investment. Will it maintain or steadily increase in value, at least, to keep up with the inflation ratio ? THEN, there are just some that hit your, personal, "hot" button. When that happens all forethought goes right out the window.

If you can buy a fine quality piece of old world craftsmanship and art at a certain price, enjoy it for 20 years then sell at your cost + the calculated inflation over that same time period, you're doing great.

It should be for passion and love of these fine old S&W's that motivates a purchase. If profit is your main objective, buy savings bonds ... you'll come out ahead in the long run by keep rolling those bonds at maturity.

There is a present glut of mediocre to low quality antiques and collectibles ... a trend that will continue, I feel. The garbage will always be garbage.

The reason ?? All the boomers that grew up on the Lone Ranger and the 100 other cowboy flicks and detective / police serials, including the Dirty Harry movies, are dropping off.

The new generation of gun deprived children in a politically incorrect society that cannot buy their children toy guns but can buy violent killer or human hunting situation video games and war games is rampant.

Plastic is what is desirable by the younger generation. To me, plastic = disposable. I do not believe a plastic gun (even injection mold / catalyzed plastics) will last 50 years without slowly disintegrating. My Snap-On dead blow hammers, and other tools with, less than 40 years old, crumble to dust in the tool box without damage and with proper storage. Granted, the guns are made with different composition but think about it.

Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, scandium and other alloys will be around a very long time. Longer than plastic, I feel. But, that's just my opinion because of my love of old world craftsmanship and a Metal lover.

The higher quality guns will hold their value and I believe will continue to rise with certain considerations.

Some of those considerations are as follows:

>> the quantity produced. Naturally, a lesser produced firearm will always be worth more than a mass produced model of similar configuration and features.

>> The finer the condition the more desirable it will be. Add an original box to that and you've got gun-gold !

>> For S&Ws, I feel, all the Models 1-1-1 through 1-1-6 will hold value simply because of scarcity and first revolver of the new S&W Company. (The Volanics were the first Smith & Wesson partnership, to the, New Haven Arms (sold to Oliver Winchester).

>> The Models 1+1/2s through Model 2 (unless military issue) were produced in the 100,000s. Chose the best quality you can find, forget the junkers.

>> 1896s and 1891s, all good. The finer the scarcer, the better.

>> The Model 3s, which are highly desirable will hold value and continue to rise but only in upper conditions. Even a Model 3 that is mechanically excellent but has less finish remaining is very desirable gun. The price will not break the new collector and he can cowboy shoot it (after thoroughly examined and serviced).

The S&Ws were "the" first large caliber cartridge revolvers. 3 years before the 1873 Colt ... and ... had Rollin White been able to retain the patent, you would not have seen a Colt cartridge firing revolver until the late 1890s. Talk about injustices ... President Grant did not allow Rollin White to retain the patent because of issues and problems ordering cartridge firearms during the Civil War.

>>> 1899 M&P and subsequent revision M&Ps. The largest quantity revolver ever produced by S&W in excess of 4 million in all variations 1899 to present, IIRC, (could be more). Choose the finest and more scarce models. Even the lesser condition M&Ps still seem to have life remaining.

>>> VICTORIES and post war Transitions. At one time $50 all you want. Now with deeper research of types and to who issued, another collectors' plus. Very few will be cost big dollars but all have history in World War II, the war that was inevitable where the USA came from behind to be victorious. Thus the name VICTORY.

>> The oddities, e.g. The ladysmiths and Revolving Rifles (which were both essentially failures). The Ladysmiths were too dainty and easily damaged. Then the RRs looked good during engineering but then just didn't work out as well as thought. Holding the front fore-grip the shooter would get sprays of burning powder on his hand. Then they were awkward. Why would you want a RR when you could have a Winchester in .44-40 and a New Model 3 Frontier stuffed in your sash or gun belt. A rifle and a revolver that take the same ammo. Great idea.

>>>> The "N" frame,, pre-war, hand ejectors <<<<

>> Triple locks >>> JUST NOT ENOUGH to go around !

>> 2nd & 3rd Models .44 / .45 HEs>> all nice. Some scarcer than others.

>> Odd calibers on large framed revolvers. Always a plus. (NM3 and HEs)

>> Scarce barrel lengths and sight configurations. Excellent. (NM3 and HEs)

>> REGISTERED MAGNUMS ... do you really need to think about this one ?

>>> U.S. Military Firearms should remain in demand. Some more than others. >>

>> Pre-29, 44 magnums and all other 5 screw N frames. Truly the best here. Some more desirable than others but all great guns.

>> 41 Magnums ... a sleeper. Keep your eye on them.

>> Special Orders (depending on what and, at times, for whom).

>> All the Masterpieces ... it seems only rarely one will need repairs. Great guns, some early post war and pre-war more desirable. .32 Long scarce.

>> The J-Frames, here's a clique of hard-core collectors. Reasonably priced to higher priced scare productions. All you want, just look.

>> Stainless Steel S&Ws have been gaining popularity in epidemic proportions the past 20 years. Scare models and Performance Centers a plus.

>> S&W 39 series, including 2nd and 3rd generation. Still going strong.

>> MODEL 41 and 46, the older the finer the scarcer the better. Hold value well.

>> MODEL 52s, historically have always held value except about 10 years ago took a momentary dip in popularity then rebounded right back.

>> IT JUST GOES ON AND ON

Also, for many decades, factory refurbished S&Ws were frowned upon by serious collectors but in this cosmetically perfect world we live in have accelerated in value like I never thought possible. I never turned down a Factory S&W refurbished revolver if the price was right and the gun was gorgeous.

I'm tired now ... you guys continue, please.

Collecting antique S&Ws is far from over, just choose wisely and choose the best condition you can find.

Best regards, Sal

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ANTIQUESMITHS
LM1300 SWHF425

Sal,

I guess I should have bought the Colt SAA .44-40. Guess where I found it?

AJ

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

At your store or Lakeland ?

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ANTIQUESMITHS
LM1300 SWHF425

Sal,

I wish that the LGS was my store. But yes, it was at the LGS. Saw a M1 Carbine there today that was a heartbreaker.........someone had tried to glass bed the stock. The heartbreaker was the stock was cartouched.

AJ

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I'M A SHOOTER, THAT HAS PURCHASED GUNS PRIMARILY FOR THAT PURPOSE. SOME OF THEM HAVE COLLECTOR VALUE, BECAUSE OF THEIR SCARCITY.......

MOST OF MY COLT PYTHONS, DIAMONDBACKS, AND 1911s WERE PURCHASED NEW, DECADES AGO. A FEW OF MY S&Ws WERE PURCHASED NEW, BACK IN THE PRE-LOCK ERA. OTHER THAN THAT, MY HUMBLE ARSENAL CONSISTED OF CLEAN USED SMITH REVOLVERS, THAT INTERESTED ME. A FEW OF THEM WERE SAFE QUEENS, BUT NONE WERE UNFIRED. I WOULD NOT PAY STUPID MONEY FOR A LNIB WITH PAPERS AND CLEANING KIT. GUNS LIKE THAT, DESERVE TO BE IN THE HANDS OF COLLECTORS.......

AFTER 60 YEARS IN THE GAME, I HAVE FACED THE REALITY THAT I AM NEARING THE END OF MY STEWARDSHIP OF THESE WEAPONS. THE MOST VALUABLE ONES, I HAVE DISTRIBUTED TO MY CHILDREN, AND A NEPHEW. THE REST I AM GRADUALLY SELLING OFF----FACE TO FACE AND WORD OF MOUTH.....

ALL OF THEM HAVE GIVEN ME MANY YEARS OF PRIDE IN OWNERSHIP, AND JOY OF SHOOTING. ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN LOVINGLY MAINTAINED, AND STORED. EACH OF THEM HAS INCREASED IN VALUE---ESPECIALLY THE COLT REVOLVERS, WHICH HAVE APPRECIATED ASTRONOMICALLY.......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Well, I've just recently gotten into S&W collecting and I'm 31. For quite some time now I've liked the top break design. Sure I have some polymer guns; an AR, XD, and others, but there are still those of us that have an appreciation for the classic stuff, the wood and blued steel guns. If the boomers want to make sure the next generation wants these old guns, you guys have to teach us to appreciate the quality of those guns.

All you have to do is ask. You have a world of information at your fingertips. In the pre-internet days it was subscriptions to major publications and specialist historian/sellers, like Norm Flayderman (RIP) and many others.

I'm certain my fellow members wouldn't mind if I speak for all of us tenured collectors ... we invite you to learn and to join the S&W Collectors Association. It's never been easier to join than it is now.

The passion required has to come from within yourself. That, we cannot teach you but we can sure teach you all you'd like to know about the finer old S&Ws. All you have to do is seriously examine, compare (to newer models) and try out a few nice oldies. Once you catch the fever, you've begun.

Jump in and try it out. Sal Raimondi, Sr. (MODEL3SW)

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ANTIQUESMITHS
LM1300 SWHF425

Im a gun market player since way before the computer age.
The market is very dim for early stuff. Unless it is premo...!
Mike

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

I wasn't just talking about guns, but more in general. My generation grew up in a time where everything is disposable and people care more about price than quality. I'm thankful my family showed my sister and I that sometimes it's worth it to spend more up front for something that will last a couple lifetimes vs buying the cheap junk that will fall apart in a year or two. We weren't born with that knowledge and appreciation, it had to be instilled into us by our parents, grandparents, and other family.
One of the reasons I joined this site is because of the knowledge base available here. I may not post a lot, but I do try to read as much as I can.

The difference between old guns and more recently built guns is the men who make them. 100 years ago the makers built guns to last forever, and although they knew guns might need a part or repair here or there, they still tried to built them for as little maintenance as possible.
But in more recent years I feel makers aren't as thoughtful of whether a gun gets handed down for generation after generations. They wont build something that's unsafe, but I don't think that most care about 100 years from now.
And gun makers 100 years ago also built guns that were beautiful. Not just in design, but fit and finish of both metal and wood were of the utmost importance. But today it's more about cost of materials and labor, so aesthetics aren't as high on the list as they once were.
I often wonder if 100 years from now anyone will be collecting most of the guns built today?

I have read everything here and I believe the one fact keeps escaping many posters is that almost EVERYTHING sells at auction? I am referring to auction houses that specialize in firearms, not GB sellers with unrealistic reserves. The guns I typically look at and track are not the safe queens that one can see only when taking them out of storage, but rather good quality, high finish guns that can be taken to the range if desired. Junk sells low, good quality high finish sells very well, and safe queens will always make a strong showing at auction.

Looking at my notes and historical values, current auctions of vintage and antique guns are still rising, but not as fast as in the past. One exception class is the tip-ups. I believe the fact that these guns cannot be shot today results in a stagnant market, but different types of collectors are keep the prices stable. Any firearm that is of interest across different collector segments has that advantage. The tip-ups will attract Civil War collectors as well as S&W collectors.

The only place I see a real decline in values is with the 22 Ladysmith revolvers in standard barrel lengths. These little oddities took off 10-20 years ago, but believe the major reason is that this is a gun that is not or should not be shot today.

Will values continue to rise? My opinion that the market is and will remain strong, but appreciation in value may suffer with less buyers in the future. Even that theory is up for debate, since there is no sure way to predict the future. Heck, weatherman cannot even predict tomorrow's weather . . .

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Gary, I all ways value your input. I thought we were talking about appreciation and increase in value. As we both have experienced, guns get hot. Like RMS, short 27s, CTs, etc... Their are numerous factors attributed to the decline of our hobby.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

The best condition guns often do sell at auction, as sellers realize they rarely get full value when they sell the high condition guns unless they're offered at large auction houses known for quality.
The lower condition guns can sell anywhere, and there's plenty of buyers on a tight budget looking for them. Entry level guns can be a bargain, whereas high end guns can be very expensive. But the high end condition also means the guns will grow in value by a lot more. If both guns gain 5% or 10% in value, it's better to gain that on a $3,000 gun than it is on a $300 gun.

The difference also is 100 years ago labor was cheap and parts werent. How many Colts were sent to the factory or a local gunsmith to be converted to cartridge from percussion. Maybe converging was labor intensive but it didn’t require all new parts. Today steel is cheap but hand labor isn’t

Given the popularity of steampunk and other things I wouldn’t discount millennials getting a hankering for topbreaks and the like. Every generation thinks the next generation is **** but it don’t slways work out that way

Every generation predicts that the next generation will somehow stop valuing the "important" things, but history rarely demonstrates these prognostications to be true.

The current lower prices are more political than anything; the "Trump slump" has caused a general decline in sales, and recent paranoia has not resulted in any significant legislation, at least at the federal level. Supply of new and used guns is plentiful, so prices accordingly go down.

At the local gun shows I still see a lot of people spending money, and it's not just older balding white men. Plenty of young people are interested in shooting sports. And even though they may start with a plastic Glock or Springfield, some of them will naturally find their way to the older stuff.

So, I don't believe that we're on the brink of a precipitous price drop in older firearms. If anything, I think we're going to see a slow appreciation in value. Really high grade stuff will continue to command high prices.

As for antiques versus C&R's versus "new" stuff like gen 1 Glocks ... these are just cyclical things. Right now I'm scooping up antique S&W's because the most intense collecting interest seems to be in early to mid 20th century stuff. For me, that makes it a buyer's market for antiques. The pendulum will swing and people will "discover" antiques, and we'll see rejuvenated interest in the old stuff again.

In terms of the original poster's guns ... unless they're in extraordinarily good condition (or are otherwise rare and highly collectible variants), I'd say that they're going to appreciate about as quickly as money in a savings account. A trickle of appreciation that's a gnat's hair over inflation. Whether that's worth taking up precious gun safe space is up to him.

As an aside: gun collecting organizations NEED to think about how they're going to appeal to younger generations of collectors. I worry about that a lot more than I worry about the value of my Model 1's.

Mike

A friend had to take out $8K from a 401K in January. He put it in a Savings Account at his local bank. In September he monitored the account and found he had only made $2.00 interest on the $8K. He took the money out and bought three Garands from CMP and some other firearms from the LGS. Figured since he wasn't making any money, he may as well have fun with the money.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

$8,000 in my money market savings account would accrue about $150 in interest over a year. A paltry return, but respectable for short-term savings (which is all a savings account is really good for). In the long term the Garands will probably do better than that, so maybe it wasn't a bad purchase after all.

Mike

Rayfan87, if you haven't already, I recommend buying a copy of the Standard Catalog of S&W, 4th Edition by Supica and Nahas. Read through it multiple times and you'll begin to get a feel for what to look for as to rarity and condition. There are plenty of lengthy threads here, with pictures, that delve into minutia on different model guns. Reading through them can give you a lot of perspective. There are members here that I follow around like a puppy dog because they have so much knowledge, it just drips off them like water. I learn something new every day. What you'll learn is S&W was the original Skunk Works of the gun industry. They birthed the metallic cartridge (.22 S&W), Winchester, Henry, inside lubricated bullet (.44 Russian), automatic casing ejection (top-breaks), the .357, .41 and .44 Magnum cartridges and handguns and the top selling military & police revolver ever made: the .38 Special cartridge and .38 M&P revolver. Their history is fascinating and their products were engineering marvels that still marvel today.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

For my friend it was a no-brainer to buy guns and get the enjoyment out of them. He will never sell the Garands.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Up front, my thing is pre-war, pre-model N frames. I love 'em, especially those wearing number-matching pre-war Magna stocks! When the stars align, the numbers match, the condition is very good or better, and the money is right, then I'm a player. BUT, originality is key. I learned that from Jim Supica and Old Town Station, and the same is often repeated by reputable dealers, collectors, and forum members. Take the advice given by Sal (model3sw) in post 27 above. My money is on the NM3 because I like big old S&W N-frames; the NM3 is the granddaddy and a representative example will be the prologue to my modest N-frame collection that spans a century, from 1912 to 2008. No predictions of future value but originality, quality of condition, and relative scarcity will likely bring the highest price.

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Tom in AZ
Respect the Dingbat

IT WARMS THIS OL' GEEZER SOOO MUCH TO READ THIS, Rayfan87....

I WISH YOU MANY HEALTHY AND HAPPY YEARS OF SHOOTING AND COLLECTING YOUR FAVORITE FIREARMS.........

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Got a copy a while back, it sits right next to my chair. Right now it's on loan to a family friend who wanted to look into a pair of revolvers his grandfather acquired in the 1880s.