Cheap and tawdry then, valuable collectables now.

[ccdjg]

I wonder which vintage airguns that were once cheap and little more than toys, are now highly collectible and correspondingly sell for high prices. Three in my collection that seem to fit the bill would be the American Sportsman Jr. and Boone pistols, and the German Nova pistol. With the best will in the world these were never intended for anything more than a bit of fun, but would now cost you more than a Webley Senior.



Any suggestions for others that fit into this category?

[Garvin]

I wonder which vintage airguns that were once cheap and little more than toys, are now highly collectible and correspondingly sell for high prices. Three in my collection that seem to fit the bill would be the American Sportsman Jr. and Boone pistols, and the German Nova pistol. With the best will in the world these were never intended for anything more than a bit of fun, but would now cost you more than a Webley Senior.



Any suggestions for others that fit into this category?

It's interesting how there's a ceiling to the value of some cheaply-made airguns, even quite rare ones. I notice this with the values of, say, tinplate prewar Dianas and Haenels. There seems to be a limit how much anyone will pay for one, even in spectacular condition. I share this, although I suppose someone might pay a lot for an extremely rare one to fill a gap in their collection. For example, how much did Beeman offer you for the little Bulldog?

[Abasmajor]

Pop-out pistols like the Briton, Brittania and particularly the Lincoln Scout spring (forgive the pun) to mind.




Brian

[Epicyclic]

The Garanta bundled with a Diana pop-out fetched a meagre £60 hammer at Stroud recently.
Henry Krank has had one for years at a hopeful £295...
I forget how much the boxed example fetched a while back but it was low, not reflective of its scarcity...

[micky2]

The more recent Milbro Typhoon pop out comes to mind.

[ccdjg]

It's interesting how there's a ceiling to the value of some cheaply-made airguns, even quite rare ones. I notice this with the values of, say, tinplate prewar Dianas and Haenels. There seems to be a limit how much anyone will pay for one, even in spectacular condition. I share this, although I suppose someone might pay a lot for an extremely rare one to fill a gap in their collection. For example, how much did Beeman offer you for the little Bulldog?

I guess everything has a ceiling price, but at the end of the day, it boils down to scarcity, the motivations of the collector, and how many collectors there are looking for that particular item. For some collectors, quality is everything, for others it may be box ticking, the desire to own something that few others will have, or historical significance, design significance etc.

In the case of Robert Beeman and the Bulldog pistol, he never made me an offer, as he knew I had no interest in selling, so I do not know what his ceiling price would have been. I know he would not have paid anywhere near what he paid for the Haviland & Gunn pistol, as it had no historical American airgun significance, something that was very high on his radar.

The Garanta is probably an example of a rare British air pistol with only a limited number of suitably motivated collectors in the market wanting one. When I acquired mine several years ago, it was only the second one known, and I happily swapped a couple of better quality pistols for it, probably worth £150 altogether. Now that a few Garantas have been in circulation, I suspect that all the collectors keen to own one now have an example and hence the ridiculously (IMO) low price of £60 bundled at Stroud. Either that, or there was a general lack of awareness of its rarity.

The Scout is interesting, as it has a very large ceiling price compared to other pop-outs of similar vintage and quality. I think the Lincoln Jeffries connection must play a part here.

A Scout in about 1926 cost 12 shillings new, equivalent to about £40 in today’s money, taking into account inflation over the past 100 years. If you wanted one now for your collection, even unboxed, it could cost you near £400. (See this interesting thread http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....s-Scout-Pistol)
In contrast a new Webley Mark 1 in 1926 cost 30 shillings, about £100 today. You could now pick up an unboxed, good condition vintage example for about £200. Such is the penalty of having build quality!

[Abasmajor]

I guess everything has a ceiling price, but at the end of the day, it boils down to scarcity, the motivations of the collector, and how many collectors there are looking for that particular item. For some collectors, quality is everything, for others it may be box ticking, the desire to own something that few others will have, or historical significance, design significance etc.

In the case of Robert Beeman and the Bulldog pistol, he never made me an offer, as he knew I had no interest in selling, so I do not know what his ceiling price would have been. I know he would not have paid anywhere near what he paid for the Haviland & Gunn pistol, as it had no historical American airgun significance, something that was very high on his radar.

The Garanta is probably an example of a rare British air pistol with only a limited number of suitably motivated collectors in the market wanting one. When I acquired mine several years ago, it was only the second one known, and I happily swapped a couple of better quality pistols for it, probably worth £150 altogether. Now that a few Garantas have been in circulation, I suspect that all the collectors keen to own one now have an example and hence the ridiculously (IMO) low price of £60 bundled at Stroud. Either that, or there was a general lack of awareness of its rarity.

The Scout is interesting, as it has a very large ceiling price compared to other pop-outs of similar vintage and quality. I think the Lincoln Jeffries connection must play a part here.

A Scout in about 1926 cost 12 shillings new, equivalent to about £40 in today’s money, taking into account inflation over the past 100 years. If you wanted one now for your collection, even unboxed, it could cost you near £400. (See this interesting thread http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....s-Scout-Pistol)
In contrast a new Webley Mark 1 in 1926 cost 30 shillings, about £100 today. You could now pick up an unboxed, good condition vintage example for about £200. Such is the penalty of having build quality!

I remember reading in your book that you recall a Lincoln Scout selling for more than quite a nice Westley Richards Highest Possible at auction some time ago.
I guess size really isn’t all that important after all.

Brian

[ptdunk]

I remember Protek had a Nova for sale (bottom pistol in pic) for over a year at the seemingly high price of £350, but it eventually sold.
I suppose some things come up for sale so rarely that a collector may not have seen one sell before to give an indication of value.

Matt

[norris]

I was recently bidding on a auction and one of the “lots” was a boxed GAT air pistol which sold for £150.
That was just the hammer price, without auction fees.

[Strimmer]

I was recently bidding on a auction and one of the “lots” was a boxed GAT air pistol which sold for £150.
That was just the hammer price, without auction fees.

I bid one to £50 recently and would of given more tbh 😍

[ccdjg]

I bid one to £50 recently and would of given more tbh 😍

I think we also have to add sentimental value into what might motivate a collector. There is no doubt the Gat started a lot of us on the airgun obsession.

[Strimmer]

I think we also have to add sentimental value into what might motivate a collector. There is no doubt the Gat started a lot of us on the airgun obsession.

100%
I grew up not very well off and that's all dad was willing to spend.
Think I was the lucky one tbh, most only had catapults.
I have a gat, it's in my shotgun cabinet, just I'd like one boxed as new.
Oh and a gat rifle. But I'm a bit sad like that

[walnutfarmmick]

It is a paradox in the vintage motorcycle world that some of the budget models way back when were fitted with barely-fit-for-purpose ignition systems that would be replaced with better quality when opportunity arose. Anyone now wishing to restore such a beast will have to pay more for less because the originals are likely to have been junked.

ATB, Mick

[ccdjg]

One very low-end pistol I would happily pay quite a bit for is this Japanese Eagle:









Why? Well, firstly it is the only Japanese spring air pistol currently known. Secondly, I have puzzled over this pistol for a long time, and I just cannot figure out how it works, or even loads, and I would love to get my hands on one to take apart.

It is not just simple pop-out, as it seems at first sight. More pics in the Gallery here: https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....ols/#post-6840. In fact I willingly offer a nice chrome vintage Gat to anyone who can provide a plausible explanation as to how it works, to my full satisfaction.

[Garvin]

One very low-end pistol I would happily pay quite a bit for is this Japanese Eagle:

Why? Well, firstly it is the only Japanese spring air pistol currently known. Secondly, I have puzzled over this pistol for a long time, and I just cannot figure out how it works, or even loads, and I would love to get my hands on one to take apart.

It is not just simple pop-out, as it seems at first sight. More pics in the Gallery here: https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....ols/#post-6840. In fact I willingly offer a nice chrome vintage Gat to anyone who can provide a plausible explanation as to how it works, to my full satisfaction.

I've got a feeling it is a conventional pop-out that loads as usual from the rear and cocks by pushing that visible barrel section as far as the front of the frame. The spring may well be quite a bit longer than we can see.

I admit I haven't figured out the loading part yet!