[TTAG] The Best (and Worst) Guns to Collect for Investment

[samnev]

Excellent article especially the part that the author list best guns to buy for investment.

[Steve_In_29]

The problem with buying guns as an investment is that using said guns for the purpose they are actually designed for will often greatly lower their value.

Often what turns a gun into an investment is beyond the control of the buyer. Such as the 86 Ban on full-auto weapons that turned $150 HK full-auto sears into $15K+ ones. That's just for the sear not the rifle itself.

That article is not really accurate either as some supposedly non-worthwhile guns are indeed increasing in value. For example a Saiga AK47 bought for $200 when first imported is now selling for over $1K (some even up to $2K) on the secondary market. The same goes for Chinese versions of the AK that again sell for close to $2K. The author is confusing the current crop of low cost offerings (especially American built ones) with versions that people prefer and are willing to pay a premium to acquire.

[Flash]

I bought a Perazzi Competition I in 1970 for $700.00 and the last time I took it to the range got 2 different offers of $3,500.00.

That's actually a pretty poor increase in value and I wouldn't really call it an investment, just something that holds its value.

An investment would have gone up from $700.00 to $25,000.00 or so in that period of time.

[Steve_In_29]

While I didn't buy it as an investment, the Colt Kodiak I paid $500 for back in the day and then sold for $1700 later went on to be worth $8K the last time I checked.

The driving force behind the increase in value was that Colt stopped making double action revolvers and some people just HAD to have only a Colt. Had they not ceased production the pistol would have remained a $400ish price range used revolver.

[Flash]

The fastest money I ever made on a gun was a S&W Model 29 in 1975. Because of the movie "Dirty Harry" every collector had to have one so in spite of the fact that the MSRP was $200.00, they were selling for around $450.00 or so. Montgomery Ward in Anchorage had a raffle, $1.00/ticket for the chance to buy one for $200.00.

I won, took it home and wondered what to do with it. That night at work at Western Airlines, a fellow employee who was a collector offered me $200.00 plus a Super Blackhawk cut down to 4-5/8" with 5 rounds through it plus a box of ammo plus dinner at the best place in town for me and the wife.

So I flipped that puppy and ended up with my money back, a free Ruger, ammo and dinner in one day.

[Tenring]

Wish I would never have sold my Colt Pythons, or Anacondas, or Cobras ... oh my