Missmarked by seller

[hkcavalier]

This was sold locally as a Model 39 for $375 back in 2018.

 

[Truckin]

I couldn't decide to go to an estate auction with a lot of guns or to an estate auction with a lot of gas & oil signs, pumps etc. I went to the gas & oil auction and did not see the "usual" gun buyers. There was a Win Mod 12 that the auctioneer said had a sawed off barrel however when I looked at it there was three grooves on the underneath side at the end of the of the barrel and a tiny flaming bomb on the receiver end of the barrel. I got that "sawed" off mod 12 for $210. I also picked up a single shot cap & ball pistol and a few porcelain signs. A very good day.

 

[gregintenn]

Went to another auction to see what was advertised as an "old revolver". Turns out it was a Remington Navy cartridge conversion with ivory grips! No finish left, but tight as new. I got it for $150.

 

[jmace57]

I have one 38/44 HD "Model 10" I got in an online auction for the "Model 10" price.

I also got a M&P Model of 1905 mismarked as a "1902 Model" that was used in the Inter-Allied Games after WW1 for $175.

 

[Echo40]

Takes me back to my "meticulously reconditioned and refinished" Romanian Surplus Tokarev TTC which was in fact quite worn externally with a bit of surface rust, dirty on the inside, and the included magazine was all rusted out inside.

 

[tndrfttom]

In the 1990s I was at a local gun show where the dealer was just putting out his guns - mostly new guns but a few trade-ins. On the used gun table they had a Model 27 marked as a Model 15 for, I believe it was, $250. I asked if they were "firm" on the price and was told that was their best price for this early in the show. Needless to say it came home with me at the price they set.

 

[Drm50]

I went to auction every month, they would have about 500 guns and all kinds of gun misc. The Auctioneer does all the high end stuff and he will put in a trainee after about 4 hrs with his main shill to help run things. The later it gets the less people are there. After 11:00 pm it gets mighty thin.
I was waiting for them to clear out a bunch of cheap knives and get to some loading components. Auctioneer picked up box with one hand saying here's another box of Late Night Knives. I just happened to see Cold Steel on box. The bid was x number of knives in box. I got bid at .40 cents x 20 some knives. The fun part was the Game Warden for next county north knew those knives were coming up and was sitting there waiting to bid on them. I had no idea they were there. He was hot they didn't announce the knives as Cold Steel.

 

[foggbird]

About 1968, I was at a flea market and spotted a Spencer carbine. A kid was manning the booth and said he wouldn't sell it for less than $45 per his father's instructions. I was church mouse poor and only had $25. I found a guy who would take my $20 check and give me $20 in return. I bought it as fast as I could and got out of the flea market before anybody came after me. I still have it.

 

[Loyaljeeper]

Not a firearm, but three times in my life I have found very desirable Colt or S&W stocks in Hogue, Pachmayr, or Herrett packaging. I was in a pawn shop owned by a man I always liked talking to. I always wanted to buy something but never found anything to buy. I actually pointed out the K frame target grips in Hogue package marked $20. I told the lady working I will happily pay the asking price and tax if they are sure they want to sell them for $20. The old man overheard me, peaked around the corner, and quickly yelled, "Those aren't for sale." I proceeded to hand them to him. He said he payed top dollar for those and had a revolver to put them on. He pulled a 19 out of a drawer and unloaded it. I actually helped him put them on his little 19.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

I see quit a few mismarked guns at auctions. Best find to date was a 4" 631 that was advertised and marked as a 63-1. It was unfired and had all the goodies. I had to pay what a nice 63 was bringing but it was still about half the price of of a 631.

My British service model triple lock was listed as simply being a 445 hand ejector. It was converted to 45 colt, but my winning bid was still well below the going price.
Both guns had pictures on the auctioneers website that clearly showed their real identity. It pays to look closely!

John

 

[Richard Simmons]

Early 6" nickel Model 57 with the original cokes and case with accessories was listed at a local auction as a Model 657. It came home with me.

 

[PALADIN85020]

This takes me back to a flea market in El Paso, Texas in the mid-1970s. My wife and I were looking around, and I spotted a pickup truck with the gate down, and a number of folks from another nation nearby had displayed a lever action rifle. I asked them in broken Spanish what they wanted for the "old rifle." They replied that they wanted $100 for it. I only had $50 on me, so I told them to hold it for me, and I'd be back with the money. I ran frantically around looking for my wife, and when I found her, I asked her to give me $50 and not to ask me any questions!

I went back and gave the fellas their money, walking away with a Model 1873 Winchester carbine in .44-40, engraved, with somewhat worn nickel plating. Its only real defect was that it was missing the action cover (not unusual for these guns); the bore was clean and the action worked perfectly.

I sent off for factory records and found it was not factory engraved, but still it was a pretty decent job.

I set up at a gun show following receipt of the records and brought the gun along. Right next to me was a Winchester collector. He asked me my price, and I told him $900 (worth a lot more in today's money).

He asked me if I'd take $800, I agreed, and didn't regret it; I was not into old Winchesters.

Best deal I ever made in those years!

John

 

[Buford57]

In 1979 I was dating my current wife and she indicated an interest in taking up deer hunting. I had read the standard Hemingway, et al praise of the 6.5x54, 6.5x55 and .257 Roberts as "lady's rifles". LGS had two 6.5 Arisakas, a crudely shortened late-production fence post for $125 marked as "6.5 J@p" and a reblued, Bishop stocked specimen with a nicely crowned 18" barrel, Lyman front sight and Redfield receiver sight for $65 dollars marked "6.5x.257". Salesman said the lower price was due to the wildcat chambering and no dies available. I bought the nicer, cheaper gun and two boxes of .257 Roberts ammo. While searching the catalogs and Shotgun News for dies (which we used to do before the Internet) I decided to fire form the cases. A .257 Roberts would not chamber. But a 6.5 Arisaka would. Still have the woman, who still has the rifle.

Some of you have seen the post-war 3.5" nickle Pre-27 I used to own. It was purchased for $500 including shipping a few years ago on one of the auction sites, wearing ratty Pachs and marked as simply a "S&W .357 Magnum" which, ironically, was NOT a mismark, but apparently obscured its identity as something other than a 27-2, 19-3 or other more common item.

Cleaned up and lettered it was just too nice to keep and I converted it into a 25-5 and a BHP.

 

[panther]

A few years back I was in a pawn shop and looked at their shotguns. They had one that had been painted with a flat green paint. I could see that it was a semi auto 12ga. I could just barely read the Winchester name on the barrel. It was marked at $89. I got it, and decided to strip the paint off it. I figured at $89, It was worth the risk. Under that paint was a very nice Win model 50, pre 64 serial number, good bluing on the metal, nice walnut stock.

 

[gregintenn]

Another estate auction...this was advertised as a 308 rifle. I didn't really know what it was when I had the high bid of $150.
After getting home and doing some googling, it was a Santa Fe M59. Probably not a true prize, but worth multiples of my high bid.

 

[hkcavalier]

Another estate auction...this was advertised as a 308 rifle. I didn't really know what it was when I had the high bid of $150.
After getting home and doing some googling, it was a Santa Fe M59. Probably not a true prize, but worth multiples of my high bid.

At $150 I'm assuming this auction was about 40 years ago?

 

[DWalt]

Sometime back in the mid-1980s, I went to a general auction in Midland TX. One item that came up was a big relic-condition C&B revolver, missing stocks. I didn't get a chance to examine it closely before it came up but I was pretty sure of what it was. I went ahead and bid on it and got it for, as I remember, around $200. It was a real Colt Walker and the markings were still legible. Got a fairly nice condition trapdoor Springfield at the same auction for not much more than that, and a fairly roachy Winchester 73 rifle in .32-20 with the bore rusted out. I sold the Walker a couple of years later for around $1500 at the Fort Worth gun show. I thought that was OK for a rusty relic, but I sort of wished I had kept it. Would probably be worth a lot more than $1500 today. I sold the 73 at a San Antonio gun show for about double what I paid. I still have the trapdoor Springfield.

 

[H Richard]

A few years ago I was looking for a Mod 39. As I roamed through an on-line gun business, I saw several Mod 39's. Not knowing if I would like one as much as I thought I would, I elected to looking at the lower priced ones. This store was pretty proud of most of it's guns, but this one didn't have a box but looked to be in really nice condition so I went for it, and it was old enough it was C&R eligible so it could ship to my door. It came looking even nicer than I thought and listed in to Roy for a shipping date. He responded with the date and a "This one is interesting, you should letter it", comment. I did, and it was by S/N in the area of the steel frames, but was an alloy frame and a single gun purchase by the Swedish Air Force as a test gun. As I was inspecting it it had no indication of ever having been fired. It had no re-import marks anywhere. It was so nice I decided not to shoot it, and a couple years later sold it for about double what I had paid for it, and still gave the buyer a good price on it.

 

[jamestx]

I got off GB a few years ago an RPB Sm11A1 Open Bolt MAC for a steal! $400 it was marked as Cobray 380 which is a different mfg and a closed bolt m12 380. An RPB open bolt is rare , rarest of the 3 made
In 1981 before the ATF stopped there production basically a well placed dime or a Quick file job on minutes makes them full auto. Avg price $1500-$2k year I'd say I stole it at $400.

 

[Glashaus]

The two 4" Heavy Duties that I have were both miss marked.

One was listed as a M10 M&P, the other was marked as a .38 Special S&W, Model 516-1, that was the assembly number on the crane. Both these were on GB auctions by different sellers.