Alvin
I watched the RIA auction this weekend as well.As usual, I didn't see many deals. Lots of so-so guns went for big money.
I do not understand what the attraction was for a Navy luger that went for 100k!?
A nice cased luger carbine went for 20k,not bad.I guess it was refinished,however.
The old car hobby seems to be turning away from restoring every old car to better then factory new condition. Led by the Europeans,if a noteworthy car is found in unrestored (but well preserved condition),it is now considered bad form to restore it. There is now a preservation class at the Pebble Beach Concurs for unrestored cars. At some of the high end auto auctions,the well preserved cars are bringing all the money. The reasoning is the same for the cars as for the guns. You lose all sense of history of the item.
As the pundits say in the collector car hobby " a car is only original once!"
That being said,the collector gun hobby is truly blessed by having a Master Craftsman like Thor doing gun restorations. If he decided to restore old cars instead of guns,with his attention to detail and perfectionist attitude,he would be earning 100 times what he is earning now.
Bob