1900 American Eagle or byf 42?
 

I enjoy collecting rare firearms. Which pistol would you choose: An American Eagle in the 21xx sn range very good overall condition with fair bore @ 7 out of ten and 1 original mag or a byf 42 in excellent/mint condition with two matching mags and holster? Thanks.

Posted my answer over on Jan's forum. Bet you can't guess without looking what I chose!:)

Thanks for the quick response. I'm considering a trade. I would estimate a fair value on the byf 42 to be $4,500; would you estimate the value of the AE, based on the description given, to be comparable?

Don't worry, I'm not going to curse anyone for the advice they give if things go south, I'm just interested in getting "knowledgeable" "informed" "sincere" "fact-based" (I can almost hear the laughter) opinions. Would you consider this a savvy trade or savage burn? Thanks.

No

and I collect American eagles

But you will have a much harder time selling the AE than the byf and those prices are very extreme.

If the byf is truly 2x mag matching and in 'mint' shape, it is worth a lot but I have trouble thinking of it as a $4500 gun, but then you are having us guess as to what either one looks like....

Ed

Hey Ed,

Just what were you saying no to? Value not comparable? Does that mean the value of the AE is less or more than 4500? You know my descriptions are pretty accurate if not understated. The byf is REALLY nice, minty. Other than the bore the AE is really nice too. Tough choice. Thanks again for the response.

I have not sold any AE's for $4500

I have sold byf's for more than AE's

(head-cold so I am slow and fuzzy this morning {its 10 am here})

I like the early number of the AE and would choose that over a WW2, but $4500 seems a lot for either, however, condition is everything and the nicer it is, the higher the value. A 96% gun vs a 98% gun can be a thousand dollars or more difference in price in my opinion.

ed

Hey Ed,

My estimates are based on the prices asked on Collector's Forum, Simpsonltd, etc. I know a lot of people consider their prices high, but when I see shows like Antiques Roadshow, and see what the appraisals for non-Luger related crap are , I reconsidered what too much is for a Luger. Would you consider that pretty little Walther HP a fair trade for that AE value wise. And what did you think of the price I had on the HP; I considered it very fair at about 1500 less than comparable pistols on those sites?

What you say is true. I have had several lower grade HP's, but never any really nice ones.

1900's, well most collectors seem to feel they should own at least one, but they are harder to sell at the higher end in my opinion.

It depends on how much you paid for an item and whether you think its a good deal?

We are going on conjecture, and you know the gun better than us. As i said before, the nicer the gun is, the quicker the price jumps up in value.

So, a 'average' 1900 might be $1600-$2200 and one in very nice shape could be double that....

Ed

Really appreciate your help Ed. They wanted 6,000- 7,200+ for the AE because they believed the flaming bombs were indicative of a Test Eagle. Haven't told them it isn't a TE yet; don't know if they'll care. Haven't looked at the Blue book value yet on all these items. My goal would be to keep the byf and trade the HP. It all depends on their mood and what the BB values are. Because its a Luger they know it'll go quick so they're hesitant to trade. But very few people are willing to drop 6,000 + on pistol. Thanks.

sotexjay, regarding the byf 42. If the magazines have black plastic bottoms without numbers, then okay.

If the magazines have aluminum bottoms with numbers that match the pistol, NOT SO GOOD. Mauser pretty much quit numbering Military Mauser Lugers after the U-Block of the byf 41 Production. I would like to see a picture of the magazines and the Luger serial number.

BE CAREFUL!!