ROCK ISLAND APRIL AUCTION

Big Norm · 03-11-2004, 12:15 PM

TomA,
I keep a folder, outside the internet, of things that I thought are of special importance about Luger collecting. Most of the articles are ones that you have written, but Ron Wood is a close second with Pete galloping upward. You saved me a bundle on a certain 1904 navy that I thought about buying which turned out to be a repro. I won't forget that.

We seem to like the same era and types of lugers so I tend to read your information more closely. I started my Luger collecting by going after artilleries and initially thought that I could never afford a navy. As time went on, my financial situaltion changed and I started going after navies and then Kreighoffs. I stopped going after Kreighoffs when I realized that I wasn't smart enough. Just too many fakes and they are just too expensive to make a mistake on. But I do have four beauties.

Am I envious of you? Heck yah! Do I want to best you? Yep! Do I want to imitate you? Nope! Good Lugers are hard to find without paying what I consider an arm and a leg for. Sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for a window of opportunity to open up. The hunt and work to find them gives them personnal value. Luger collecting is also a fun thing to me and, as such, buying them carries with it a certain degree of entertainment value.

But this collecting also is part of an investment stategy. Now that I am retired from real estate investing, I wanted to find something else away from being totally invested in the unpredictable, but liquid, stock market. I have a conundrum here in that on one hand I believe that cash is king. But, in these inflationary times, I have to entertain the thought that cash is trash. Personally, I don't believe Greenspan when he says that inflation is under control. With my investment thoughts being thus, I believe that the ownership of highly desirable, collectible "things" such as Lugers to fit nicely into my grand financial strategy. A side benefit has been to get more interested in the history of WW1. The history of Germany did not begin and end with Hilter. Too bad that I don't know more about the geographical layout of Europe.

I sincerely hope that you did not glean any hostility from my previous post. I have always enjoyed your posts and I hope that I will continue to do so. I never ment to give the impression that this is something akin to an athletic contest. I desire no ill will towards you and your current or future collection. There may be no reason to since I probably have a better collection of WW1 artillery Lugers than you have anyway. :&gt

Happy hunting.
Big Norm

03-11-2004, 12:15 PM	#13
Big Norm RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 1,864 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	TomA, I keep a folder, outside the internet, of things that I thought are of special importance about Luger collecting. Most of the articles are ones that you have written, but Ron Wood is a close second with Pete galloping upward. You saved me a bundle on a certain 1904 navy that I thought about buying which turned out to be a repro. I won't forget that. We seem to like the same era and types of lugers so I tend to read your information more closely. I started my Luger collecting by going after artilleries and initially thought that I could never afford a navy. As time went on, my financial situaltion changed and I started going after navies and then Kreighoffs. I stopped going after Kreighoffs when I realized that I wasn't smart enough. Just too many fakes and they are just too expensive to make a mistake on. But I do have four beauties. Am I envious of you? Heck yah! Do I want to best you? Yep! Do I want to imitate you? Nope! Good Lugers are hard to find without paying what I consider an arm and a leg for. Sometimes you just have to be patient and wait for a window of opportunity to open up. The hunt and work to find them gives them personnal value. Luger collecting is also a fun thing to me and, as such, buying them carries with it a certain degree of entertainment value. But this collecting also is part of an investment stategy. Now that I am retired from real estate investing, I wanted to find something else away from being totally invested in the unpredictable, but liquid, stock market. I have a conundrum here in that on one hand I believe that cash is king. But, in these inflationary times, I have to entertain the thought that cash is trash. Personally, I don't believe Greenspan when he says that inflation is under control. With my investment thoughts being thus, I believe that the ownership of highly desirable, collectible "things" such as Lugers to fit nicely into my grand financial strategy. A side benefit has been to get more interested in the history of WW1. The history of Germany did not begin and end with Hilter. Too bad that I don't know more about the geographical layout of Europe. I sincerely hope that you did not glean any hostility from my previous post. I have always enjoyed your posts and I hope that I will continue to do so. I never ment to give the impression that this is something akin to an athletic contest. I desire no ill will towards you and your current or future collection. There may be no reason to since I probably have a better collection of WW1 artillery Lugers than you have anyway. :&gt Happy hunting. Big Norm