Worth a Look
 

Fellow Luger enthusiasts,
You might want to take a look at this Luger on Simpson's site.

Mike

http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_in...5761f195d90ebd

Thats quite a prize for somebody who has lots of money. Opinion - is it worth 50 big ones?

Charlie

Curious as well. What makes this one going crazy, MM? How much is a regular 1906 9m/m on today's market?

Some better photos here.
http://www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com...k/7178mmgl.htm
I thought I'd seen it before.

Problem with something like that is, who could you sell it to when the time comes?

FN

Fred, if one were fortunate enough to acquire this presentation piece, then its sale would probably occur as an estate sale on a known auction site, such as Julia or Rock Island. Whether such a piece is worth $50,000 is very much up for speculation as it is no doubt one of a kind. It would be nice if "MM" was a well known historical figure, making its provenence impeccable and perhaps worthy of a high valuation. With other forms of investment now very much in question, "hard asset" valuables, such as gold coins, antique Colt firearms, rare antique clocks or furniture and, yes, rare desirable Luger pistols, will hold their value, and most probably increase in value ahead of inflation, even in these troubled times. Witness the recent sale of the famous "Sears Single Action Colt Revolver" on the Julia auction for almost $800,000!

I found this luger also in Lugers At Random, pages 108-109. It was formerly in the collection of Dr. James O. Willoughby, an "old time" collector. This puts this luger as "known" since the 1970's.

Regarding Colt Single Action..... not in my affordable range so I did not pay much attention. But on glimpse, there are so many of them sitting in wood boxes carring house price tag. Recently, I saw a Gun Digest (? not sure I remembered right) in Borders talking about gun collecting, the whole thing introduces antique revolver collecting.

Were those really very popular? how could that be possible for its price range? Also, with its volume, how does it sustain at that price.... probably demand also being high?

No other gun represents mid american history and the "taming" of the west more than the Colt SAA. That fact and the glamorization of these guns by Hollywood left deep impresssions on kids who are now in a position to more or less afford these guns.
There are three generations of Colt SAA revolvers, the first being the most desirable, etc.
Serial number one sold for more than 1MM some short years ago.
I think part of the issue is that the Colt SAA was the first true "collectible" handgun in the US, which means that collections were being amassed earlier and longer than any other handgun. So the vast majority of interesting Colts are already in major collections or museums, thus leaving precious few for a new collector out there. THis is why there are such high premiums on interesting pieces. The only place I ever bought Colts at a reasonable price is while living in Mexico. You could find them at the Sunday fleamarket in Tepito and they exchanged hands with no paperwork or control whatsoever.
I left my collection of about 10 pistols with an advanced collector in Mexico City rather than go through the headache of importing them to the US.

Doug (alanint) hits the old nail right on the head. To get a desirable Colt SAA would require (1)patience, (2) much money, and (3) perusing the auction catalogs, because these items are coming up on estate auctions when the collector "buys the farm", so to speak. I suppose it's more likely (maybe slightly) for a "walk in" at a gun show to bring a desirable rare luger, but hope springs eternal. The whole point here was whether this presentation 1906 luger was worth $50,000 and I was simply saying it's in the eyes of the beholder. There is no question in my mind that it is fully priced at this time, but down the road, when Obama inflation takes firm hold, who knows. It may look cheap then!

The Colt Single Action Army is truly symbolic of American history. While the first generation guns are out of sight costwise, the Second generation models are considerably cheaper. The Third generation Colts can many times be bought for about the price of a nice matching number but not pristine Luger. IMHO the Second and even moreso the Third generation SAAs are the collectibles of tomorrow because they aren't making any more and they are still affordable.

Charlie