Antique Firearms Auctions

[Nav]

Which ones do you watch? I dont buy much, but I like to look. Sometimes pieces go cheap, especially the ones with few or no marks, and no provenance.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Remember folks,
Talking about places good for finding originals, OR even used reproductions is fine, just don't post links to actual for sale items. IF it's already been sold, post that link is OK, according to the rules.

LD

 

[Nav]

Sorry, I thought just linking to the auction site/auction wasn't linking to an item, but I guess it's hundreds of items.

Anyway, icollector-dot-com links to all sorts of antique firearms auctions with lots of flints and caps, and sometimes they go for very little if you're looking for a way to add to your collection without breaking the bank. There are also many fine pieces with providence, but those don't go cheap. I just like thumbing through them and looking at the pictures. I've put in bids several times, but they were all low bids just looking to pick something up cheap. There are a lot more antique firearms floating around now than there have been in the last thirty years. I guess there are just a lot fewer collectors.

 

[wiscoaster]

... There are a lot more antique firearms floating around now than there have been in the last thirty years. I guess there are just a lot fewer collectors.

They're aging out and their heirs don't want the collections.

 

[French Colonial]

Here are some past auctions At James Julia

https://jamesdjulia.com/catalog-archive/?division=596

 

[Nav]

I look in the other direction. I'm interested in original flintlocks and caps selling for $200, not $20,000.

Conventional wisdom says demand is dropping and so will prices. My grandfather and father collected Colt pistols, and I am the current curator. Some of the first gen SAAs my dad bought from a barrel full of them just loose at a local hardware store for $1 each. He said he would pick through them and try to find the ones that still had three clicks. Seems back in the early 1950s no one was interested and the more beat up ones were sold as cowboy toys for boys. Oh the horror of a kid playing with a real six gun! As the boomers leave us I have heard it predicted that prices on wheel-guns is going to fall, but so far they've gone up-up-and-more-up. Even the Iver Johnsons keep appreciating.

I will say that when I open my safes to young people they are always more interested in the military black rifles, ARs, and sub-guns and don't seem to care about the antiques and more expensive stuff. Works for me if they don't buy and prices fall. I buy. I don't sell guns or land.

 

[dave951]

From time to time, there are some very interesting items on GunJoker, oops, GunBroker.

On any auction website, be very careful and know what you're bidding on. There are some great deals to be had, and some real scams as well.

 

[Nav]

Totally agree with randos on the internet. I only buy something on Gunbroker when I can't find it anywhere else and I NEED it. I've also bought guns face to face on Armslist, but often their pricing is as stupid as GB. The main auction houses are safe to deal with, and they usually are pretty good with their descriptions and estimates of value. So many of the flints and even cap guns don't have many markings, especially the reproductions, and they always say that in the description. You have to look through them to find the deals.

 

[Hawk54]

I look in the other direction. I'm interested in original flintlocks and caps selling for $200, not $20,000.

Conventional wisdom says demand is dropping and so will prices. My grandfather and father collected Colt pistols, and I am the current curator. Some of the first gen SAAs my dad bought from a barrel full of them just loose at a local hardware store for $1 each. He said he would pick through them and try to find the ones that still had three clicks. Seems back in the early 1950s no one was interested and the more beat up ones were sold as cowboy toys for boys. Oh the horror of a kid playing with a real six gun! As the boomers leave us I have heard it predicted that prices on wheel-guns is going to fall, but so far they've gone up-up-and-more-up. Even the Iver Johnsons keep appreciating.

I will say that when I open my safes to young people they are always more interested in the military black rifles, ARs, and sub-guns and don't seem to care about the antiques and more expensive stuff. Works for me if they don't buy and prices fall. I buy. I don't sell guns or land.

Agree. Younger people aren't interested in lever guns, wheel guns, Model 12's, and such. I have seen that in other collecting areas also such as militaria. The younger people have little interest. Shows fifteen to twenty years ago were packed with people. Not so much now. Some of the bigger shows are completely gone now. Items that sold easily before are now tough to sell or don't sell at all. WW1 and WW2 reenactments were real popular. We had some good ones all over. There are none now in our neck of the woods. Have some friends that still do it but it is a shadow of what it was. Flea markets were many and huge. Now they are few and much smaller.

 

[springfield art]

Perusing auction sites, one can see where an older or deceased person's long-time collection is being disseminated. One thing to avoid is having to sell one's personal collection in a 'panic', such as when one receives a serious medical diagnosis. It's hard for many to 'manage' a collection and 'let go' at a certain point; we only have a certain life-span.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I've had some issues with things I've gotten from James D. Julia's successor; Morphy Auctions. (Never had that problem with Julia, or Rock Island though.) Things like screws being broken off in front sights.

About half the stuff I've bought on GB and GunAuction I've had to return too for things that weren't disclosed. A lot of times the sellers will make you jump through a lot of hoops, and even enlist the help of the sponsor site to get your money back. Very much Caveat Emptor.

 

[Buckskinquin]

Which ones do you watch? I dont buy much, but I like to look. Sometimes pieces go cheap, especially the ones with few or no marks, and no provenance.

I watch on LiveAuctioneers.com. You can put names or product in a search engine and they will alert you if it one comes up in there auctions, nation wide. Download the app and have at it.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Interest in collecting 'old' stuff has dropped dramatically. Not just for guns but all kinds of antiquities. I'm currently trying to sell of my wife's considerable collections and, literally, cannot give the stuff away. Eventually, it will all go either into the dumpster or donated to Salvation Army where they can sell $300.00 items for one dollar.

 

[Poguetx]

If you're ever in Houston, check out Collector's Firearms. Their new store is about 60k sq feet, and have a great selection of antiques. I guarantee you'll spend at least 2 hours looking around. They have at least 6 double sided, double height racks of antique rifles. Last time I was there, I saw at least half a dozen original Brown Bess. The prices marked are high, but I've always been able to talk them down at least 10%, sometimes more. You'll do even better if you bring in trades. They list everything on Gunbroker and Gunsinternational, so you'd do better to call their store rather than bid on the sites. They've recently opened a small branch in Austin. I've been thinning out my collection lately, and have been pretty satisfied with the prices they've offered. But I've been bringing in decent stuff. They really like military stuff. I haven't had as good a luck selling my cowboy stuff. They said not as many people shoot cowboy action as they did 10 years ago. I know I could probably get 20% more if I put them on Gunbroker, but they save me the hassle of shipping.

 

[TobJohn]

I recently got a trio of locks from Cowan's auction. The fees were clearly laid out and it was easy to bid. It did take them about a month to ship, which is long, but they also said that beforehand. They did have one of the locks mistakenly labeled as parts missing, which worked out in my favor.

 

[kevin mcshane]

Which ones do you watch? I dont buy much, but I like to look. Sometimes pieces go cheap, especially the ones with few or no marks, and no provenance.

I do follow one bit never bid as everything ends up selling for more then it should even new guns never fired sell for more then a new one in the box

 

[SOLANCO]

It is rural here with patches of development. I watch the local papers for ads from the couple of auctioneers. Estate sales and, sometimes, gun auctions. Where possible, I will preview the sale either the day or morning before. It is good to have self discipline about how much you are willing to pay for a given item. Admittedly, that self discipline has vanished on one or two occasions.

 

[springfield art]

Interest in collecting 'old' stuff has dropped dramatically. Not just for guns but all kinds of antiquities. I'm currently trying to sell of my wife's considerable collections and, literally, cannot give the stuff away. Eventually, it will all go either into the dumpster or donated to Salvation Army where they can sell $300.00 items for one dollar.

I recall a few years back when the whole market for "Brown Furniture" went bust on the Roadshow!

 

[springfield art]

What the heck was the stuff? Selling at a general auction is one way to get things out of the house and underfoot!

 

[springfield art]

It is rural here with patches of development. I watch the local papers for ads from the couple of auctioneers. Estate sales and, sometimes, gun auctions. Where possible, I will preview the sale either the day or morning before. It is good to have self discipline about how much you are willing to pay for a given item. Admittedly, that self discipline has vanished on one or two occasions.

Tell me about it!!