I have just been watching a rare version of the Diana Original 2 pop-out pistol in an auction (Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood) to see if anyone appreciated it for what it was, or if it would go for a knock-down price to an unknowing bidder. In the event, it never reached its reserve of £40 (with a full tin of Sussex Armoury pellets). So a bargain was missed for anyone who collects pop-outs and doesn’t have one of these. I have only ever come across a handful of this particular variant in 35 years of collecting.





This raises a question that has always bothered me. If someone spots a rarity in an auction that is very likely to be missed by other collectors (for example if it has been poorly photographed, or if it is partly hidden in a job lot), is it a good thing or not to post a heads-up? Obviously if you want the item for yourself then it is no-brainer, but if you don’t, then you could be doing another collector a big favour by bringing it to his attention. The downside is that if the collector has already spotted it and is keeping things close to his chest, you could scupper his chances of getting something that he really wants at a good price.

What do others think?

In this particular case I discussed it before the auction with Danny, and between us we decided it would probably be best to keep stumm and let the pistol find its own price. We hadn’t bargained for the item not reaching its reserve, so no one was done a favour, least of all the seller !