Was looking through the safe today and located a gun that I forgot I had. It is a NIB Italian made Beretta 92S. I traded a $250 AK-47 for it in the mid to late 80's. I have never even shot it. What would the current value of this gun be?

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

Great find and you didn't even have to leave home to find it !
The 92S great old time Beretta, have one and love it!

I can't offer a true appraisal of value, but will share the following: The 92S, being an early iteration of the Beretta 92 series, has seen some fluctuation in value in the last few years due to a flooding of surplus 92S pistols into the US market. Used, but good condition examples were selling for as little as $250, while my last one, in 95% condition, with the original box, accesories, and paperwork was valued at $400 locally last October when I sold it. Unfortunately, due to the shear number of examples available at the moment, the prices have bottomed out, and is not helped by the fact that the 92S is not one of the highly sought after collector models, as the original 92, the 92 stock, the 92 combat, or Ellite models among others, are.

The 92S I owned was an early 80s Berben Corp. import (pre Beretta USA), and it was a far better pistol in fit, finish, and function than the 2015 USA made M9 that I also had around that time. The 92S and the later 92SB are two of my favorite pistols, however neither rate higher than the S&W 39 and 59 series pistols of that era in my opinion. I never could master the DA trigfer pull on any Beretta 92 I owned, no matter what hammer and trigger springs I had installed. Still, I consider it to be one of the most beautiful, well made handguns produced, and they will always have a special place in my heart, and collection...

You should consult the Beretta Forum for additional info, and they may be more helpful on current value as well.

EDIT: A quick search on GunBroker shows prices a bit higher than last I looked. I definitely recommend consulting with the folks on the Beretta Forum about the current values.

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I love it when that happens! Wait...I meant... I'd love it if that happened to me!

I recently purchased a "surplus" 92S in excellent condition for $299.

Got my first Beretta in 1989 an F.......didn't seem to be a lot imported until Die Hard and Lethal Weapon hit the movies....... kind of like the Model 29 and Dirty Harry!!!!!

S's and SB in nice shape are uncommon in my experience...I'd put a NIB S in the $600-750 range ...... to the right buyer.

If it's a blued Italian made Beretta it's worth quite a bit more than the standard parked Beretta 92S. When a NIB US made 92s Beretta's were selling for $450 I sold my used but like new blued Italian Beretta for $600.

I thought the first Bruton guns were the Fs ?????....... I've got 2 SBs Compacts and two Ms (round trigger guard) that are all bright blue

Should have kept the AK! Worth 10 of the Berettas today

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That gray military type finish is called Bruniton, not Bruton, and I agree: no 92S pistols were made in the USA.

I could be wrong. I'm on the Beretta board, too, and will try to ask there later.

Until the US adopted the M-9, Beretta had no reason to build a plant here. And they sold their Brazilian plant to Taurus after filling the Brazilian order.

I understand that the current improved locking blocks will fit M-92S pistols, and would advise installing one.

My M-92FS is quite accurate and has been totally reliable. It and the CZ-75B are, in my opinion, the best buys in a full size 9mm pistol. My limited experience with S&W 9mm's did not endear them to me. Accuracy was appalling and many proved unreliable.

BTW, if the M-9 grip is too fat for your hand,try the M-92FS with the shallow scallop at the rear of the handle. Doesn't look like much difference in photos, but in the hand, it matters a lot.

I suggest using milder 9mm ammo for most practice or shooting small game. The Federal No.9BP is an effective standard pressure JHP with a good street rep. I load Federal's HST 124 grain Plus P for defense or Speer's equivalent Gold Dot , but see no reason for Plus P ammo in routine use. Ditto for the Browning Hi-Power. Both guns last a lot longer if not pummeled with hot ammo. Changing the locking block after every 5,000 or so rounds and keeping springs updated will see your Beretta endure well. I used to avoid them due to the cracked slides in the 1980's, but latest info says the tips here will see the gun lasting well. Those cracked slides were due to SEALs using very hot ammo in astonishing quantities. Unless you're a member of the special warfare units or an action pistol shooter, your Beretta will hold up fine. In fact a guy who shoots the M-92 in action matches has had his guns last over 100,000 rounds, in spite of the abuse they encounter in such heavy use. The ordinary shooter will never fire them that often.

Nice Find!
My 2 cents:
You may get more from a collector but there are so many 92fs /other variants around, going price is held down. I'd say you'd get $450-$550 out of a mint one unless there is something really special about it.
That said, given the long heritage of the Beretta as a US service pistol, it's my humble opinion that every collection should have one of the representative variants.
Take her out and shoot her. She's rested long enough.
hth

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Dave

Doesn't fill the same role. It isn't just about money.

For comparison. I bought a Beretta 92F (Not FS) made in Italy in 1985 last year at a local auction for $460. It has walnut grips, 2 made in Italy magazines and is 98% finish. (No box or papers). I feel I got a good deal on this pistol as it is a smooth beautiful piece of work.

I do believe the Bruniton finish and chrome lined barrels started with the 92F to meet US Military contract specifications.

Beretta pistols made in Italy have an alpha stamping on the right side trigger guard to identify year made.

I don't think Beretta ever made the M-92S here. Nor have I ever seen a "parked" one. (Bruniton finish.) Just blued ones... But so many Italian police surplus M-92S's are currently on the market that you can find a really nice one for $300-400. Some appear unissued!

Unless the OP really needs money, I think he should keep his Beretta and shoot it occasionally. If his hands are too small for it, sell it and get a CZ-75B.

BTW, I've seen pics of one or two of the Brazilian army issued 92S's. They appeared blued, not Bruniton.
If one of our Brazilian members sees this, maybe they'll comment. Ray in Rio is here more than the others, and has excellent English...

I followed the Amanda trial & think her guards' holsters held the M-92FS or M-9 shaped guns. Amanda's conviction was reversed and she was freed, but we saw a lot of Beretta 9mm's in white holsters during news coverage. What's her last name? I can't recall at the moment. The American girl who was accused of killing her roommate...

LATER: It was Amanda Knox, sometimes known as Foxy Knoxy to Internet wags.

Since he was asking about value.....

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Bruniton*..... IIRC ......was developed for the US Military trials..... that was 83/84 ....... adopted in 1985/86????

The blue SB's with wood grips are great looking guns!!!!



*Hey, it's all Italian to me!!!!!

Same here...from Aim Surplus. Aside from some of the anodizing worn on very edges of some of the frame, looks brand new. Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black worked great for touching up the frame.

Like many of the other commenters, I totally agree. I bought what I would call a "good" to "very good" surplus example from Bud's for $329 a few months ago, and now Bud's is selling surplus for $299 (though they may or may not be in as good condition as the one I bought.)

I've seen with CZ surplus that the used pistol prices will rise once the surplus sources dry up. With a gun as high quality as the Beretta 92 S, that's bound to happen, too.

Non-secondary import marked 92S will be worth more $$$ than the recent PW Arms imports, secondary importer, if both are NIB. A Beretta collector will pay more for your 80's NIB gun than the imports. How much more will depend on the need and the desire to own what you have. I would still estimate that a non-surplused gun will bring at least 25% more than the current surplus prices to the right buyer.

This assumes that the OPs 92S was brought in by Beretta not another secondary importer. My surplus gun came to me in LNIB condition. I do not believe it had ever been fired prior to my ownership.

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Use should dictate gear!

WVSig makes a good point a "Collector" will want a perfect specimen not one stamped with an Importers mark.

Also factory wood adds to the value of those early bright blue guns IMHO!

My imported model came the same way, in the box and never fired, cannot find a mark on it, and I even used a jewelers loupe!
The importers mark was done neatly enough it doesn't bother me, the gun is for "my" collective purposes.
I have to say I love it and it was a great bang for the buck! I got it cheaper because of the importer marks, because "collectors" wouldn't touch it and it wouldn't sell!

Sounds like a perfect "shooter" to me!!!!

It is not necessary to change the Locking Block every 5,000 rounds. Change the recoil spring every 3,000 - 5,000 rounds and the Locking Block every 15,000 rounds.

A high round count in a properly maintained gun is not abuse, just well-used. The military does not use fragile guns.

Great discussion on the Beretta 92. Some other information that I came across in researching the Beretta 92 after I came home from the auction with my 92F (I went to the auction intending to buy a S&W revolver!!).

I believe the Military specs in testing before choosing the Model 92F in 1985 required the test pistols to go 25,000 rounds without a breakage. I understand that Beretta was the only maker that had a pistol that pass all tests and met the design specification. As I understand it, the slide breakage on several 92s that happened with the Navy Seals was after many rounds of military SMG 9MM were shot through them-not regular military pistol 9MM rounds.

Regardless the US Military then required the modification to catch the slide in the rare event of a failure resulting in the 92F being re-designated the 92FS. The 92F was the original Beretta selected after passing the trials.

Remember that in the early 1980's today's modern striker fired polymer pistols were in their infancy or still on the drawing boards.

IIRC ......it's been awhile..... the US didn't have a 9mm sub-machine gun in it's "standard inventory" in the early 80s. The SEALS were using Israeli or NATO hot Sub gun 9mm ammo in their MP-5s and in the Beretta's...... and a lot of it in training!!!!!!

My first exposure to 9mm Berettas were the M92S/SB series. I like the SB compact too. Here the F/FS are fairly rare, to me at the very least. I do like that these pistols are nicely blued and often with walnut grips.

92F - Made in Italy / Bruniton finish and walnut grips

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The number of non-import marked examples of the Beretta 92S I would expect to be very small. Aside from the thousands that showed up in the market recently, the 92S was not a model produced by Beretta USA nor was it in production when Beretta established an entity here in the US. Rather, on older Berettas you find some sort of importers mark if the gun was brought into the US for commercial sale, often roll-marked on the slide, rather than stamped or etched. Two of the original importers were Garcia and the Berben Corporation, Berben being the latter of the two, and their name was roll marked onto the 92S example that I had, as well as a 70S that I also owned for a time.

The point here being, some of the importer's marks are not a detractor in value, nor a problem for collectors. That said, the later imports from PW Arms and the like with the somewhat ugly stamped import marks will suffer some value loss for sure.

I know why the guns need to be marked, however I personally don't find them astetically pleasing, especially where they often get stamped, on the side of the frame or slide. The best import stamping job I found on one of my guns was on a Nagant M38, stamped on the underside of the barrel near the muzzle. I owned the gun for 3 years before I even noticed it was there. I just wish others would follow suit and find less impactful areas to place the marks....

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[QUOTE=mainegrw;139631667]The number of non-import marked examples of the Beretta 92S I would expect to be very small.

nor was it in production when Beretta established an entity here in the US. Rather, on older Berettas you find some sort of importers mark if the gun was brought into the US for commercial sale, often roll-marked on the slide, rather than stamped or etched. Two of the original importers were Garcia and the Berben Corporation, Berben being the latter of the two, and their name was roll marked onto the 92S example that I had, as well as a 70S that I also owned for a time.

The point here being, some of the importer's marks are not a detractor in value, nor a problem for collectors. That said, the later imports from PW Arms and the like with the somewhat ugly stamped import marks will suffer some value loss for sure.


The big difference is the roll marks were done before the slides were blued......

Can you buy a Z-88 there? Were those Beretta clones ever sold commercially,or were they just for SADF and police use? Are they still made?

What is now the standard South African military pistol? I gather that the police have bought some Beretta PX-4's?

I find it interesting that the 92 and the Model 1934 my dad brought home from WWII have so many similarities. Beretta can design a pistol that works a long time. My model 1934 still does!

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Loving retirement!

Indeed. Beretta is the oldest gunmaker in the world still in business, some 500-odd years. They know a thing or two about longevity.

Beretta: A History of the World’s Oldest Firearm Company | The Shooter's Log

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SWHF #448