Model 19-3, Completed Auction, Who Done It?

[PeteC]

Was anyone following this auction which ended today:

Spectacular Smith & Wesson Model 19-3 .357 Action Job & Original Box LNIB - Revolvers at GunBroker.com : 916317701

The price is obviously very high. Lots of pretty pics. S/N 7K1205 plainly visible on the box. I am wondering if I missed reading something between the lines here. It includes a statement about an action job being done and a polished trigger. Condition collectors for other guns I was familiar with in the past valued "unmolested" examples not trigger jobs. Casual shooters like me might pay extra for a trigger job, but also might not, depending on who done it, and not this much. Professional shooters had their own gunsmith to do exactly what they wanted. Am I missing something?

 

[luvsmiths]

Plus tax- LOL

 

[rbmac52]

I think the gun is barely worth half of the winning auction bid. In my opinion, the modified trigger is a minus, not a plus. And I have my doubts about any added value for an action job, no matter who did it.

Looking at the bidding history, it seems two fools with more money than brains got into a bidding war, neither of whom wanted to lose.

Edited to add: While the box is marked TT, and TH, the gun actually has neither.

 

[dickydalton]

WOW. Somebody hep them...

 

[PeteC]

Also today, a nice 19-5 with no visible wear sold for $722, sans box.

 

[JP@AK]

Absolutely nuts!

 

[schutz5]

Yikes!!!
So many other options at that price.

 

[RGNewell]

And people say go to that site to determine value. What a joke.

 

[Breakaway500]

Must be that inflation ive been hearing about...

 

[629shooter]

Wow! A fool and his money...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Heinz]

The trigger looks like it is showing some wear as does the hammer. I would also note the auction description at no point claims that is the original finish, just that it is in original condition.
I have been around Lugers too long, I get suspicious.

 

[Rifleman200-10X]

Musta been the word "Spectacular" in the title that brought in the $$$. Wow LOL

 

[PeteC]

The trigger looks like it is showing some wear as does the hammer.

I think that is the work they are referring to in the description, and part of the reason why I asked.

I know collectors value things I might overlook, like work by a well known gunsmith, a barrel length, the finish, s/n that identifies a gun as part of a special lot. Anyone see that here?

(When it reached $1.5K, my thought was that I liked the one in the classifieds here much better!!).

 

[LittleCooner]

It this proof that whiskey and on line bidding do not mix? please do not drink and bid!! Wow, what a hangover this morning, The billfold hurts the most.

 

[Lonestar57]

And people say go to that site to determine value. What a joke.

Yeah, tricky dealers try to use GB prices when selling you their gun. But if you're trying to sell them a gun they pull out the Blue Book for the value estimate. It's all a game.

 

[Narragansett]

Continued proof that alcohol and testosterone do not mix. The new owner depending on the state tax could have 3300 plus or minus into that gun. He is upside down for a lot of money. IMO, that gun has lost all collector value having been modified. I t is a high grade shooter.

I have a pristine 3T 19-4 unfired that I would let go for something less than that

P. T. Barnum was right

 

[Club Gun Fan]

I checked the site. Almost everything was rare, ultra rare or desirable! That's what brings the big money!

 

[LPD256]

My 19-3 is nicer than that one. I should DM the loser of the auction and offer them a "deal".

 

[mooreii1990]

The prices a certain handful of sellers get on GB is insane. It feels like money laundering sometimes.

 

[Walter Rego]

It looks like a high condition Model 19-3 with box and papers that should be worth $1000 or so these days. And that is with the original trigger and not one that has been ground and polished and an action job by an unknown "gunsmith".

I agree, alcohol and two bidder's egos may very well have been involved in the final bid.