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As prices increase, thieves targeting gun dealers
First the bad news. The current high demand for firearms has lured some brazen crooks out of the shadows who have targeted dealers on their way home from gun shows. On Dec. 21, a dealer was robbed of 26 guns while he was inside a restaurant. They are valued at $200,000. Three guns belonged to another dealer. Most disturbing is that 14 rifles were classified as Class III weapons, also known as selective fire machine guns.

On Sept. 21, a New York State gun dealer had his vehicle robbed of 40 handguns. The dealer had parked at a restaurant.
Authorities believe the thieves had window-shopped at the gun show, knew which dealers had what, and then waited at a distance to follow the dealer, hoping he would stop. The ATF is involved in these cases and a $10,000 reward is offered. If you have information, call the ATF at 1-800-283-4867.

In Mechanicsville, Va., near Richmond, the same stalking tactic was used to rob a dealer leaving a gun show on Oct. 21. Like the other cases, this dealer stopped to get dinner before driving home. He emerged from the restaurant to find his locked trailer and SUV had been entered and antique guns removed, valued at $23,000.
From his SUV, cash, a handgun and a credit card reader were taken.

The difference in this case is that antique muskets and edged weapons were stolen, hardly items that could be resold to criminals on the street. The Hanover County police are seeking information at (804) 365-6140.

These types of crimes are not limited to gun dealers. Jewelry sellers leaving antiques shows have also been followed and robbed.
The good news is purchasing antique guns as investments and modern firearms as a hedge against possible future gun control show no signs of slowing-down.

Auction houses large and small report big crowds and strong bidding on every category of guns. Gun shops and shows are likewise busy.

One shop I spoke with, Chesapeake Guns in Stevensville, Md., has had to ration some ammo to one box per buyer due to the shortage.

Following the March 16-17 James Julia Gun Auction where $11.5 million was spent (AntiqueWeek, March 30), collector attention shifted to the West Coast. Greg Martin was having his first auction at his new location, a hotel in Anaheim, Calif. Now working out of Irvine, he had been based in San Francisco for many years. He maintains an office there.

Martin’s March 29-30 sale grossed about $3 million.

In addition to a roomful of gallery bidders, more than 500 were registered online. Many lots sold very well. Five engraved Colt single actions brought $74,750, $48,875, $25,875, $34,875 and $25,875. A deluxe, engraved Smith carbine reached $48,875. A Henry rifle brought $25,300. A 28 gauge Parker DHE shotgun sold for $48,150. A miniature .22 caliber Gatling gun on a tripod made $7,475.

Regional auctions also are drawing good crowds. It had been six or seven years since I had attended a gun sale at Redding Auction Service in Gettysburg, Pa. Early Sunday morning on March 29 I drove 2 ½ hours to check it out.

My route took me through Gettysburg battlefields where, in the thick fog at dawn, statues of soldiers appeared to come alive and literally rise out of the ground in the mist. I wanted to stop and pay my respects to the 46,000 Americans who were killed or wounded there on July 1-3, 1863, but I had to continue driving to the auction just up the road. Arriving at Redding’s I mingled with several hundred bidders who had gathered to vie for an array of military items that included Civil War shrapnel (about $45 a box), World War II US messenger pigeon cage ($150), US Vietnam War field altimeter ($20), early Nazi helmet with real bullet hole ($240), and a 1919 framed photo of the battleship USS Florida in New York City ($15).

Following a few hours of selling militaria, the guns began at 12:45 p.m. Here’s a sample of what sold: Japanese Nambu pistol, dated June 1945, $1,075; German GEW-98 by Simson, dated 1916, $310; German P38 pistol, byf 43, with holster, $900; Russian Cold War SKS, $360, Broomhandle Mauser with holster, $3,100; Springfield 1903 NRA rifle, $1,900; Winchester M1 Garand with Springfield barrel, $850; German Luger, nickel-plated, $300; H&K M-91-A2 pre-ban, with many extras, $3,300; M1 carbine by IBM, $1,000; Nazi Radom pistol with holster and clips, $675; and an M1 paratrooper carbine by Inland, $5,100. These antiques arms sold: Volcanic pistol, SN 479, $4,600; Colt M-1860 Army conversion, $1,400; Colt 1851 Navy, matching numbers, $850; Sharps M-1863 carbine, $1,250; and a Savage Navy revolver, $900.

A Sharps M-1863 full stock musket was also offered. Curious if there was any history on it, I used the magic of the Internet a few days earlier to check its serial number. To my delight, there it was! I found the same gun had been sold at Cowan’s auction in Ohio on Dec. 7, 2006. Price: $2,500. Adding 15 percent buyer’s premium the total came to $2,875. That provided a clue to its market value. Armed with this secret knowledge, I waited for it to come up, hoping it would go cheap.

I never raised my number. It went for $2,800, nearly identical to what Cowan’s got for it. It was reaffirming to know a gun is worth about the same no matter what state or auction you’re in. (There’s no buyer’s premium at Redding’s.)

This experience also taught me that unless you buy a gun well under market, it takes more than two years for it to significantly appreciate. Like stocks, you need to think long-term.
Speaking of stocks, while the market has suffered significant losses, investors in the only gun companies on the New York Stock Exchange have been making a profit. Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company, have seen their stocks rise dramatically.
Ruger (symbol RGR on NASDAQ) went from a 52-week low of $4.36 a share to $13.06. Smith & Wesson (symbol SWHC) went from a low of $1.53 a share to $7.77. As a comparison, General Motors shares dropped from a high a $24.24 to $1.95.

The online auction company, Soldusa.com, ended its March 21-22 sale with strong prices.

Of particular interest was a rare Winchester three-panel, triangle, die-cut poster in the style of a hanging mobile. Patented Feb. 9, 1909, it displayed game birds and animals with ads for cartridges with which to shoot them. It sold for $13,080, a new world record for this kind of three-panel hanging advertisement.

A Winchester neon hanging clock circa 1930 brought $6,215. A vintage Winchester gun shop poster promoting guns and ammo showing two hunters taking a large buck sold for $3,237. A Winchester bullet board from 1890 sold for $22,600, the auction’s top lot.

Chris Roberts, Sold USA’s president, repeated the thoughts of other gun auction executives nationwide: “This sale supported my belief that there’s no evidence the economy is affecting tangible investments whatsoever.

High prices and, in some cases record prices, were paid across the spectrum. We had more than 10,000 individual bidders, the most we’ve seen in 20 years, and we took over four million hits the last two days of the sale.”
4/30/2009