Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Spot the problem

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    City of London
    Posts
    9,736

    Spot the problem

    with this auctioneer's (Holts) description:

    "AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE BOXED .177 BREAK-BARREL AIR-PISTOL, MODEL 'TELL 3', serial no. 406,
    one of only approximately 50 produced between 1936-1940..."
    Vintage Airguns Gallery
    ..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
    In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Alkmaar The Netherlands
    Posts
    682
    As Dennis Hiller mentioned in his book, he noted a Tell 3 with serial number 59 and this (Holts) one has number 409.
    So why does Holts state "only 50 produced"?


    --------------------------------
    Frank

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    1,098
    Possibly there was a typo in Holts description missing a zero?
    BSA Super10 addict, other BSA's inc GoldstarSE, Original (Diana) Mod75's, Diana Mod5, HW80's, SAM 11K... All sorted!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Wooster
    Posts
    3,513
    Quote Originally Posted by Garvin View Post
    with this auctioneer's (Holts) description:

    "AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE BOXED .177 BREAK-BARREL AIR-PISTOL, MODEL 'TELL 3', serial no. 406,
    one of only approximately 50 produced between 1936-1940..."
    How can you have serial number 406 with only 50 produced? Myths die hard when money is to be made! Lol. No typo they always quote the old reference.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    1,098
    Must have been a typo in the original reference then?
    BSA Super10 addict, other BSA's inc GoldstarSE, Original (Diana) Mod75's, Diana Mod5, HW80's, SAM 11K... All sorted!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    W-s-M, Somerset
    Posts
    2,565
    Quote Originally Posted by 45flint View Post
    How can you have serial number 406 with only 50 produced? Myths die hard when money is to be made! Lol. No typo they always quote the old reference.
    It says that only 50 were produced between 1936-1940. It doesn't say that there was no production outside those dates.
    ... 'My Good Deals' - see >here<, post #538
    BASC
    >visit their website< & find out how to join

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Ashby-de-la-Zouch
    Posts
    939
    I don't know much about old pistols, but did the company produce any other pistols/rifles?
    Maybe they were like Weihrauch any just used sequential numbering, regardless of what model it was?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Winchester, UK
    Posts
    15,344
    Quote Originally Posted by cooper_dan View Post
    I don't know much about old pistols, but did the company produce any other pistols/rifles?
    Maybe they were like Weihrauch any just used sequential numbering, regardless of what model it was?
    Webley were also known to use similar numbering at times.

  9. #9
    micky2 is offline The collector formerly known as micky
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    boston
    Posts
    2,140
    The reason is because Beeman in is blue book, says that there was only 50 produced, and that's the info Holts have gone on. we now belive that there is a lot more.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Gloucester
    Posts
    580

    Serial number

    Quote Originally Posted by 45flint View Post
    How can you have serial number 406 with only 50 produced? Myths die hard when money is to be made! Lol. No typo they always quote the old reference.
    Some manufacturers start their batch number with something other than '1' , and can be 1001 or 401 , so this serial number suggests ...if the rest of the info is correct , the seller has assumed that this is rightly unit No 6 - if indeed the batch started with '4...' .

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    City of London
    Posts
    9,736
    It's true that some manufacturers have used a numbering system starting at eg. 1,000, presumably to inflate the impression of output, but in the case of the Tell 3 there's evidence they started at number 1 or thereabouts and carried on sequentially.

    The estimate of 50 made in total is wildly out of date and so many of these pistols have emerged since it was first mooted that Holts really should know better than to rely on it, or repeat it.

    There may even be 50 surviving examples known already! I don't know, but it can't be far off. High selling prices, probably partly fuelled by assumed rarity (but also because they're lovely guns to own) have brought a lot of Tell 3s out of the woodwork recently.

    There was even a pistol sold on eGun recently that claimed to have the serial number 1,000.
    Vintage Airguns Gallery
    ..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
    In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    Farmington, MI, USA
    Posts
    349
    Gents, this has been hashed before. I myself have owned 6 examples of Tell 3, and there's no way I could have glommed onto 12% of production. I am confident the total number is around 1000.

    Don R.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •