"Hey, how much is my gun worth?"
"Do you have it with you?"
"No..."
"*sigh*"
Below are two Remington 51 .380ACP pistols, both of which could honestly be described by a non-collector over the phone to the poor gun store clerk as "Well, it's in pretty good shape..."
And they both are. They're both all there; the grip panels are intact and all the markings are clearly legible; their bores are both good and both function and still possess their original magazines...
The top pistol was probably made in 1919 (serial number in the mid 4-digit range) and is about a 95% gun. It has light wear on the high spots around the muzzle and a freckle or two here and there, and nosing around the web and looking at the Blue Book, I wouldn't be too embarrassed to hang a $600 price tag on it at a gun show to see if anyone bit.
The gun below it is also mechanically solid, all there, and functions fine. It's right on the borderline between a
Variant I and a Variant II (it has the Remington logo on the frame and the .380 marking on the chamber, but it still has the old 9-serration slide) which dates it to 1921. While it's all there mechanically, the finish is worn to a dull gray patina in most places and there's evidence of previous pitting on the slide... Let's call it 40%, which puts book at $225.
You can see why one of my least favorite phone calls was the ol' "How much is my gun worth?" (There was always an awkward silence as I fought back the urge to say "Hold it up to the phone where I can see it better.")
It always depends.
ReplyDelete"Hold it up to the phone where I can see it better."
ReplyDeleteWhat's cool is nowadays you can, if the people on both ends have smartphones. This futuretech is cool.
Thanks for reminding me why I don't (can't) work in contact with the public!
ReplyDelete"What's my {vague description} worth?"
"What gun is best for my grandma?"
"I shot a gun a long time ago, I think it was a rifle with a wood stock, but it might have been a plastic revolver ... can you help me find one?"
d: The third person obviously needs a Mosin-Nagant.
ReplyDeleteInsist that this rifle is the gun he shot a long time ago.
I have a fair idea which end of the gun the bullet comes out of, but what I really know well is older watches. It's what comes of growing up in a family of watchmakers.
ReplyDeleteWatch values are easy. There are three ranges and it's only for watches in running condition. So when a person says "How much is my watch worth?" I can simply say,
It's worth between X and X+Y depending on its condition.
gvi
Reminds me of a too-often phone call at work:
ReplyDelete"Why can't I enter this?"
What happens when you send it?
"It's rejected."
Ok, what does the reject say?
"It says REJECT."
And so on.
Kristophr:
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll now advise all people with that question that it was a M-N of some made-up-on-the-spot variant.
Much as I always identify vague "please ID this gun" online postings without pictures as velo-dog revolvers (and I'm right a surprising percentage of the time on those!)