My small collection - future values

[first-model]

Every generation predicts that the next generation will somehow stop valuing the "important" things, but history rarely demonstrates these prognostications to be true.

The current lower prices are more political than anything; the "Trump slump" has caused a general decline in sales, and recent paranoia has not resulted in any significant legislation, at least at the federal level. Supply of new and used guns is plentiful, so prices accordingly go down.

At the local gun shows I still see a lot of people spending money, and it's not just older balding white men. Plenty of young people are interested in shooting sports. And even though they may start with a plastic Glock or Springfield, some of them will naturally find their way to the older stuff.

So, I don't believe that we're on the brink of a precipitous price drop in older firearms. If anything, I think we're going to see a slow appreciation in value. Really high grade stuff will continue to command high prices.

As for antiques versus C&R's versus "new" stuff like gen 1 Glocks ... these are just cyclical things. Right now I'm scooping up antique S&W's because the most intense collecting interest seems to be in early to mid 20th century stuff. For me, that makes it a buyer's market for antiques. The pendulum will swing and people will "discover" antiques, and we'll see rejuvenated interest in the old stuff again.

In terms of the original poster's guns ... unless they're in extraordinarily good condition (or are otherwise rare and highly collectible variants), I'd say that they're going to appreciate about as quickly as money in a savings account. A trickle of appreciation that's a gnat's hair over inflation. Whether that's worth taking up precious gun safe space is up to him.

As an aside: gun collecting organizations NEED to think about how they're going to appeal to younger generations of collectors. I worry about that a lot more than I worry about the value of my Model 1's.

Mike

 

[AJ]

In terms of the original poster's guns ... unless they're in extraordinarily good condition (or are otherwise rare and highly collectible variants), I'd say that they're going to appreciate about as quickly as money in a savings account. A trickle of appreciation that's a gnat's hair over inflation. Whether that's worth taking up precious gun safe space is up to him.

Mike

A friend had to take out $8K from a 401K in January. He put it in a Savings Account at his local bank. In September he monitored the account and found he had only made $2.00 interest on the $8K. He took the money out and bought three Garands from CMP and some other firearms from the LGS. Figured since he wasn't making any money, he may as well have fun with the money.

 

[first-model]

A friend had to take out $8K from a 401K in January. He put it in a Savings Account at his local bank. In September he monitored the account and found he had only made $2.00 interest on the $8K. He took the money out and bought three Garands from CMP and some other firearms from the LGS. Figured since he wasn't making any money, he may as well have fun with the money.

$8,000 in my money market savings account would accrue about $150 in interest over a year. A paltry return, but respectable for short-term savings (which is all a savings account is really good for). In the long term the Garands will probably do better than that, so maybe it wasn't a bad purchase after all.

Mike

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Rayfan87, if you haven't already, I recommend buying a copy of the Standard Catalog of S&W, 4th Edition by Supica and Nahas. Read through it multiple times and you'll begin to get a feel for what to look for as to rarity and condition. There are plenty of lengthy threads here, with pictures, that delve into minutia on different model guns. Reading through them can give you a lot of perspective. There are members here that I follow around like a puppy dog because they have so much knowledge, it just drips off them like water. I learn something new every day. What you'll learn is S&W was the original Skunk Works of the gun industry. They birthed the metallic cartridge (.22 S&W), Winchester, Henry, inside lubricated bullet (.44 Russian), automatic casing ejection (top-breaks), the .357, .41 and .44 Magnum cartridges and handguns and the top selling military & police revolver ever made: the .38 Special cartridge and .38 M&P revolver. Their history is fascinating and their products were engineering marvels that still marvel today.

 

[AJ]

$8,000 in my money market savings account would accrue about $150 in interest over a year. A paltry return, but respectable for short-term savings (which is all a savings account is really good for). In the long term the Garands will probably do better than that, so maybe it wasn't a bad purchase after all.

Mike

For my friend it was a no-brainer to buy guns and get the enjoyment out of them. He will never sell the Garands.

 

[The Gila Bender]

Up front, my thing is pre-war, pre-model N frames. I love 'em, especially those wearing number-matching pre-war Magna stocks! When the stars align, the numbers match, the condition is very good or better, and the money is right, then I'm a player. BUT, originality is key. I learned that from Jim Supica and Old Town Station, and the same is often repeated by reputable dealers, collectors, and forum members. Take the advice given by Sal (model3sw) in post 27 above. My money is on the NM3 because I like big old S&W N-frames; the NM3 is the granddaddy and a representative example will be the prologue to my modest N-frame collection that spans a century, from 1912 to 2008. No predictions of future value but originality, quality of condition, and relative scarcity will likely bring the highest price.

 

[one eye joe]

Well, I've just recently gotten into S&W collecting and I'm 31. For quite some time now I've liked the top break design. Sure I have some polymer guns; an AR, XD, and others, but there are still those of us that have an appreciation for the classic stuff, the wood and blued steel guns. If the boomers want to make sure the next generation wants these old guns, you guys have to teach us to appreciate the quality of those guns.

IT WARMS THIS OL' GEEZER SOOO MUCH TO READ THIS, Rayfan87....

I WISH YOU MANY HEALTHY AND HAPPY YEARS OF SHOOTING AND COLLECTING YOUR FAVORITE FIREARMS.........

 

[Rayfan87]

Rayfan87, if you haven't already, I recommend buying a copy of the Standard Catalog of S&W, 4th Edition by Supica and Nahas. Read through it multiple times and you'll begin to get a feel for what to look for as to rarity and condition. There are plenty of lengthy threads here, with pictures, that delve into minutia on different model guns. Reading through them can give you a lot of perspective. There are members here that I follow around like a puppy dog because they have so much knowledge, it just drips off them like water. I learn something new every day. What you'll learn is S&W was the original Skunk Works of the gun industry. They birthed the metallic cartridge (.22 S&W), Winchester, Henry, inside lubricated bullet (.44 Russian), automatic casing ejection (top-breaks), the .357, .41 and .44 Magnum cartridges and handguns and the top selling military & police revolver ever made: the .38 Special cartridge and .38 M&P revolver. Their history is fascinating and their products were engineering marvels that still marvel today.

Got a copy a while back, it sits right next to my chair. Right now it's on loan to a family friend who wanted to look into a pair of revolvers his grandfather acquired in the 1880s.