Calling all j frame lovers

[hhiii]

Ok i am sure some of you read my earlier post about holster, and thanks for all the feedback.

ok how should I phrase this I have committed to buy a mid to early 70's M 60 never fired new in box it is not a steal by no means I am seeing a bunch of almost new / mint m 36 in classified going for 500.00 and I want this one badly this guy told me 475 about 6 months ago now his price went up to $500.00 have I lost all sense of reality or what? be honest

 

[hhiii]

Ok i am sure some of you read my earlier post about holster, and thanks for all the feedback.

ok how should I phrase this I have committed to buy a mid to early 70's M 60 never fired new in box it is not a steal by no means I am seeing a bunch of almost new / mint m 36 in classified going for 500.00 and I want this one badly this guy told me 475 about 6 months ago now his price went up to $500.00 have I lost all sense of reality or what? be honest

 

[hhiii]

and a poll who would break the virginity of it?

 

[mulehide9]

You should have got it at $475. Six months from now it will be worth $550. A year from now, $600.

 

[MaineProbation]

The early Model 60's (1965 to about 1974 or so) were really nice and usually left the factory "just right." They even had stainess steel S&W monograms on the grips (as opposed to nickel plated brass on all the other S&W's). Even the screw escutcheons on the grips were stainless so you will never see them turning green as they did with brass. Over all, just nice revolvers as these were S&W's "flagship" product when they first came out. I can recall in the first few years when they retailed for $85 and $90, some people were bidding up over $500 back then just because they were hard to come by. S&W never caught up with demand until they went to cheaper manufacturing techniques. A NIB with papers from that period is definitely worth $500 today.

 

[MaineProbation]

Does this ad from 1966 ring a bell with anyone?

 

[H P Bushrod]

$85.00...I think I'm going to cry.

 

[SmithNut]

Here's another.....

 

[Rolan_Kraps]

Wow, original price was $85 and we're talking about $500 being an "OK" price.

 

[MaineProbation]

Interesting. I believe it was about 1969 or 1970 that the price went up to $100 as shown in that ad with the ship. The picture still shows it with diamonds but I have never seen a S&W built after 1968 with diamonds. I bought my second Model 60 in 1968 around the time of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam and it did not come with diamonds.

 

[tom turner]

I've started to realize that if I want a Smith revolver and the price is a tad stiff . . . I just go ahead and get it.

They ain't gonna go DOWN in price (like my 401K has/is) . . . only go UP in value.

This years "high" price is next year's norm.

T.

 

[DC7]

Wow, original price was $85 and we're talking about $500 being an "OK" price.

$500 today is actually a better price than $85 back when the Model 60 was introduced. According to the government's online inflation calculator, $85 in 1965 had the same buying power as $573.21 in 2008.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

Dan @ $85-$100 includeing Tax I would buy em all..
Makes me realize the worth of those 4 J frames in my safe...
$85?? WOWIE!!
Gary/HK

 

[hhiii]

you all are so kind. I will be getting it mid feb. I will be so proud I will post some pictures..

no one has given their opinion on .. shoot it or not. and if it were carried and never shot is it still considered new in the box never shot?

 

[JamesArthur60]

I recently found an used M36 "J" frame for $380 (I paid $350.00). My first M36 was NIB and cost me $75.00 in 1972. Like an idiot, it was traded away years ago. I can't believe the prices on new airweight "J" frames.

 

[NFrameFred]

Originally posted by tom turner:
I've started to realize that if I want a Smith revolver and the price is a tad stiff . . . I just go ahead and get it.

They ain't gonna go DOWN in price (like my 401K has/is) . . . only go UP in value.

This years "high" price is next year's norm.

T.

+100

This has been my experience. I got to the point I was looking for very specific models to "fill a hole in the collection" and I buy shooters; I like them to be in nice shape but if I want perfection that is useless (to me) because it can't (won't) be fired, I'll find a nice hi-res photo and hang it on the wall. Though I have a few I haven't shot (yet) that doesn't mean I won't use them. So when you get down to looking for very specific things and you find them in decent shape you have to settle the question for yourself of what you are spending the money for. Like Tom and others have said they DON'T go down in price so the trick is to pay a fair price (which may be more than you'd like) with the knowledge that another may not come along before that turns out to be the median price. There is also a difference in paying premium and above prices for unmarked, unturned, pristine S&W revolvers with all the sales accouterments with an eye toward speculating that if you keep them for a period of years that they will be a solid investment for the future. I understand the allure of showroom museum pieces, they just don't satisfy the reason I personally like to have these revolvers.

 

[Chop]

I bought a NIB Model 60 in 1972 with a holster and a box of shells for $112.00. Still have the revolver and the receipt. At the time I think I only made $1.75 a hour so that was almost two weeks pay! Chop

 

[Texas Star]

Originally posted by MaineProbation:
Interesting. I believe it was about 1969 or 1970 that the price went up to $100 as shown in that ad with the ship. The picture still shows it with diamonds but I have never seen a S&W built after 1968 with diamonds. I bought my second Model 60 in 1968 around the time of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam and it did not come with diamonds.

I write occasionally for gun mags and have done, for years. I can tell you that S&W in that time frame had file photos to send to writers. Unless there was a substantial model change, the photos stayed the same. The gun in the ad is a file photo, and doesn't reflect when the use of diamonds on the grips ended.

Don't go by ad photos as to when engineering changes occurred, especially if the change was minor.

T-Star