I've been doing this a long time and I've seen trends come and go but just lately it seems like 1905 M&P's are coming out of the wood work, these both came in today from different people and two came in last week, over the last twenty years we would get one here and there but never like this, any ideas why? I remember about five years ago M1 Carbine's were coming in one a week, I have not seen one in six months now.

James Davis
www.collectablearms.com

I've been doing this a long time and I've seen trends come and go but just lately it seems like 1905 M&P's are coming out of the wood work, these both came in today from different people and two came in last week, over the last twenty years we would get one here and there but never like this, any ideas why? I remember about five years ago M1 Carbine's were coming in one a week, I have not seen one in six months now.

James Davis
www.collectablearms.com

Those are great looking classics. I hope that trend shifts a little west to the Hoosier state.

WOW! thems two nice ones,keepers for sure.Well I'de keep them anyway.

Are 4 or 6 inch barrels on those ?? sure looks nice , thanks for showing them off

The nickel is a 5 inch and the blue is 6 inch, I love the grips on these old Smiths.

James Davis
www.collectablearms.com

Just a guess, but maybe the old gentlemen are passing away and the families are selling off all their old stuff.

I found a couple of good deals lately. One was some books and old gentleman was selling so his wife wouldn't have to deal with it. I missed the guns though he sold off a bunch before I got there. The second was some old krag ammo in a M1910 cartrdge belt his grandfather passed away and he was getting rid of stuff.

A couple of years ago I found a like new M15 made in 1951. The widow brought it to a gun shop in Great Falls MT and I bought it. She said her husband bought the gun around 1950 shot 6 rounds out it, cleaned it and put the gun in the dresser drawer and there it sat for 50+ years.

__________________
Mike
USMCR 84-87, USAF 87-07

James

I don't think anything is going on - this is just how it is.
The past few years have been very slow for really nice S & W's
coming to market. Even the major auction houses have had very
few older nice S&W's . Lots of Colts, but almost nothing
Smith & Wesson.

Two in one week probably doesn't mean anything. Maybe you just
got lucky !

Tpically, good guns tend to be kept - generally speaking -,
until someone dies. I don't know that there is any reason why
several collectors die at about the same time, but when the better
guns start coming to the market, it will typically be a run of
one to two years. Otherwise, its just a lonesome fishing
expedition !

Later, Mike Priwer

M&P's, once upon a time and not so terribly long ago, would sit in area gunshops for months not being sold. In my part of the world they were as common as dirt and very few buyers really cared about them as a collectable. In the 70's and 80's, they sold very cheaply in the New York region. You could pick up a used police gun from anywhere, depending on condition, from $75 to $150 in any number of shops. When the police transition to semi autos became a national practice, the market was flooded with M&P's, various Colt models and other brand police service revolvers. Everyone's attention turned to high cap semi autos. Even the civilian market shifted their interest to autos. Monkey see, monkey do.

New revolver sales through the 80's and early 90's represented merely 10% of new handgun sales overall. That statistic I believe, was according to one of the firearms industry organizations of retail gun dealers. As a holster maker, I could personally testify to this trend or shift in interest.

Well time marches on, and the market of police trade in and other surplus inventory used M&P's has grown considerably smaller. M&P's are now realizing unprecedented values. The older vintage 1905's and other Hand Ejectors in particular. I believe we are seeing more of these come to market largely for that reason. Look at any of the online auction sites, and note starting bids on some of the ordinary, nothing special, average condition examples. If a Pre Model 10 was offered for sale for $500 or $600 or more, in any of my area gunshops 20 years ago, even if it were NIB, it would have sat there a very, very long time.

So I think, folks are letting them go because they stand to make a large profit, often 3, 4 or 5 times what they paid for them originally. Also consider how many have been made since 1899, there are quite a few of them, pre and post war, floating around out there. Of those, the pristine examples will bring even higher values, no doubt. Demand/interest in these vintage guns is very high and that, despite the large numbers of M&P's produced. I wouldn't go so far to suggest supply is limited, but the really nice condition guns are becoming difficult to find. As a result, prices reflect that scarcity.