Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

[ACo.]

Re: Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

All these comments and no one has yet mentioned this fact.

A dealer in Civil War related artifacts, Mr. Dave Taylor, saw this item, negotiated for it, and settled on a price to be paid for it.

At that point when he realized where it had come from, he did the honest thing and told the seller and helped arranged its return to the MOC.

I daresay this community should appreciate such honesty, and regard for history.

Bully for Dave Taylor.

I agree. That being said, look for future sales of the few existing Spiller and Burr revolvers, indeed Confederate revolvers in general to rise since sellers and those estimating values professionally can now legitimately point to this example. Not too surprising really, prices on all antique firearms have risen drastically in the last 25 years, especially on Civil War arms. If anyone had told me in the early '80s that a real Richmond Rifle Musket would sell for more than $950 at the turn of the 21st Century I probably would have laughed. I had just paid $325 a few years before that for a well abused Fayetteville and felt that I had made a mistake. Wish I had kept it.....

[Matt Woodburn]

Re: Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

If all it takes is a bogus article price to kick the price of artifacts up dramatically, owners, dealers and people everywhere would be turning in articles. Since John and I buy and sell this stuff every week I'll go with our experience and valuation. And yes Dave did do the right thing and he's actually a good guy to get to know. He usually has fair prices on his wares. But Dave wouldn't price it at $50K and also knows not to call me with a Spiller and Burr for $50K. I'm glad it's back at the MOC where it was stolen from.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

prices on all antique firearms have risen drastically in the last 25 years, especially on Civil War arms. If anyone had told me in the early '80s that a real Richmond Rifle Musket would sell for more than $950 at the turn of the 21st Century I probably would have laughed. I had just paid $325 a few years before that for a well abused Fayetteville and felt that I had made a mistake. Wish I had kept it.....

Collectable arms have always been good investments, even through tough times like the Great Depression. When I started in this hobby, a good '16 conversion could be had for somewhere around $250, as could a Lorenz. '61 Springfields were in the $400-$1000 range. Today, ANY good original musket for under $1000 is a good buy. The same could be said for all genre of arms collecting, whether USGI WWI or WWII, or whatever. Over the last 10-20 years everything has doubled or more and I doubt that it will plateau.

If you find a good example of a collectable arm that you want, but the price is a li'l high, consider how long you plan to keep it. If you're going to hang onto it for 10+ years, then paying the high price doesn't make you foolish, just slightly ahead of your time. ;)

[ACo.]

Re: Museum recovers $50K Civil War gun stolen in 1975

Collectable arms have always been good investments, even through tough times like the Great Depression. When I started in this hobby, a good '16 conversion could be had for somewhere around $250, as could a Lorenz. '61 Springfields were in the $400-$1000 range. Today, ANY good original musket for under $1000 is a good buy. The same could be said for all genre of arms collecting, whether USGI WWI or WWII, or whatever. Over the last 10-20 years everything has doubled or more and I doubt that it will plateau.

If you find a good example of a collectable arm that you want, but the price is a li'l high, consider how long you plan to keep it. If you're going to hang onto it for 10+ years, then paying the high price doesn't make you foolish, just slightly ahead of your time. ;)

You are 100% correct, when I started any Lorenz priced over $75 had to be in new condition. My first US M1863 in NRA Antique Exc. condition cost $325 from Governor's Antiques in Mechanicsville, the same gun today would run a little higher - I like to think that I was ahead of my time when I bought it because it was very expensive for 1971.

I can't agree with you Matt sad to say, but you can certainly go with your "experience and valuation", more power to you. Maybe after a few more years of "experience" you'll understand that I am right. Keep in mind that I didn't say that I think it is worth $50,000, just that many "investors" may see that price as reasonable.