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Thread: Recap On Benjamin Franklin

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    london nw2
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    Recap On Benjamin Franklin

    Before I put this rifle back in the Loft
    A little History of Benjamin Franklin FRS-FCS. should not go amiss

    A recent television program on his life.

    Benjamin Franklin was one one of the founders of The USA.
    He was a prolific Inventor too many to mention, he lived at 38 Craven Street off the strand in London, for 15 years. A museum is now in that location. He was the owner of many slaves in the US but became a pro Abolitionist.

    This is a collectors piece...Dont make them like this any more
    been in the loft over 35 years
    My Benjamin Franklin 342... could be yours for 250.00 plus p/p
    Serial number T382362 . .22 nice brass butt plate. No black finish.

    Few light dents in varnished walnut stock nothing bad.
    Has not been 'been fired for several years but holds the charge.

    Best way to be sure of getting me is by Email .....if interested
    Regards
    abewilson.
    Last edited by abewilson; 24-07-2018 at 04:07 PM.
    abewilson.
    ''The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens''
    Baha'u'llah 1817-1892.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    1,073

    Benjamin

    The American B.B gun
    The one book that did have reasonable prices when it was published was The American B.B Gun by Arni T. Dunathan. But it was only published one time, then republished decades later without attempts to update prices. As a result, nothing in that book has been reliable, price-wise, since the middle 1970s. Also, this book only covers BB guns, leaving pellet guns high and dry.

    The Blue Book has been published annually since its inception, and each edition gets progressively better. The fifth edition is due out in a short time and will be the most comprehensive book published to date.

    Don’t trust internet prices!
    Some gun dealers and internet sellers haven’t got a clue what they’re selling. I see “Benjamin Franklin” airguns for sale all the time (no such airgun ever existed!). Their owners don’t know they have common Benjamin airguns, worth very little because all the black nickel and silver nickel underneath has been rubbed off. So they ask $250 for a “Benjamin Franklin” 130 whose brass has been shined up like a trumpet. Such a gun would be worth $50 if it held air – and most don’t.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
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    725
    Quote Originally Posted by series2a View Post
    The American B.B gun
    The one book that did have reasonable prices when it was published was The American B.B Gun by Arni T. Dunathan. But it was only published one time, then republished decades later without attempts to update prices. As a result, nothing in that book has been reliable, price-wise, since the middle 1970s. Also, this book only covers BB guns, leaving pellet guns high and dry.

    The Blue Book has been published annually since its inception, and each edition gets progressively better. The fifth edition is due out in a short time and will be the most comprehensive book published to date.

    Don’t trust internet prices!
    Some gun dealers and internet sellers haven’t got a clue what they’re selling. I see “Benjamin Franklin” airguns for sale all the time (no such airgun ever existed!). Their owners don’t know they have common Benjamin airguns, worth very little because all the black nickel and silver nickel underneath has been rubbed off. So they ask $250 for a “Benjamin Franklin” 130 whose brass has been shined up like a trumpet. Such a gun would be worth $50 if it held air – and most don’t.
    Got my first copy of Dunathan in the 80s and his prices were ridiculously low then. But, he was collecting in prime BB gun territory and no doubt around Detroit and vicinity, BB guns would be at the lowest possible price. In the 60s would Dunathan prices be realistic? Perhaps.

    It's my view that the Daisy prices are going down (those seen on ) a lot of very desirable models have been coming up for sale and not selling. There have been model 21s all over the place and usually not selling.

    With vintage pellet guns, an entirely different market in the US, things have been very active with some items selling for fantastic prices. Mint Benjamin rifles from the 70s with all the paper in the box have gone for $1000 plus. Crazy, yes, but, there it is. Still, some really rare items escape attention and get picked up for cheap. Anyone looking to lay down heavy money for an American vintage airgun should post here or on the AVA and get an opinion.

    I have the 8th edition of the BB, is there a different Euro edition?

    I helped in the first editions and went over with the editor (Beeman) on the prices. They were consulting a good number of people but the prices were determine entirely by opinion and are in no way related to any actual sales, other than those considered by those consulted. I pushed back on a lot of later Benjamin prices because they were just wild guesstimates with no basis in reality, but, that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    christchurch
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    7,138
    I have a “ Benjamin Franklin” 122 front pump pistol.
    The original finish is long gone.

    Baz fitted a new polyurethane seal and it shoots well.

    It is an excellent spider ‘remover’ (no pellet,two pumps)
    Only for monsters that I can’t easily remove and put outside.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Wooster
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    Quote Originally Posted by DT Fletcher View Post
    Got my first copy of Dunathan in the 80s and his prices were ridiculously low then. But, he was collecting in prime BB gun territory and no doubt around Detroit and vicinity, BB guns would be at the lowest possible price. In the 60s would Dunathan prices be realistic? Perhaps.

    It's my view that the Daisy prices are going down (those seen on ) a lot of very desirable models have been coming up for sale and not selling. There have been model 21s all over the place and usually not selling.

    With vintage pellet guns, an entirely different market in the US, things have been very active with some items selling for fantastic prices. Mint Benjamin rifles from the 70s with all the paper in the box have gone for $1000 plus. Crazy, yes, but, there it is. Still, some really rare items escape attention and get picked up for cheap. Anyone looking to lay down heavy money for an American vintage airgun should post here or on the AVA and get an opinion.

    I have the 8th edition of the BB, is there a different Euro edition?

    I helped in the first editions and went over with the editor (Beeman) on the prices. They were consulting a good number of people but the prices were determine entirely by opinion and are in no way related to any actual sales, other than those considered by those consulted. I pushed back on a lot of later Benjamin prices because they were just wild guesstimates with no basis in reality, but, that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong.
    It does not surprise me to see Daisy prices going down. At Airgun Shows I go to in the US they are everywhere, stacks of them. As a new airgun collector I just don’t see the appeal other than reliving a childhood memory. But the joy of collecting is everyone has their own focus.
    Last edited by 45flint; 17-09-2018 at 05:46 PM.

  6. #6
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    Jul 2012
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
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    725
    Quote Originally Posted by 45flint View Post
    It does not surprise me to see Daisy prices going down. At Airgun Shows I go to in the US they are everywhere, stacks of them. As a new airgun collector I just don’t see the appeal other than reliving a childhood memory. But the joy of collecting is everyone has their own focus.
    Airgun shows are the place to get bargains thats for sure. I've been to 3 and that was enough to tell me to never bother bringing anything really worthwhile because nobody will pay the price. Only guns on the cheap get sold.

    At the last one in Calif, there were two sons trying to sell their departed father's airgun collection and just about zero luck. Can't imagine how frustrating it must have been for them. I was talking to them and looking over the list and it was for the most part just regular stuff. I got a nice modified 180 with an upgraded barrel from them just because it was different. Probably could have purchased the lot for a grand but then I'd have to deal with a 100 more airguns that had no premium value. Which is why I suggest that if you have a chance to get a Brown pneumatic get it! Entire collections have sold only because the buyer wanted the Brown. Two of the largest collections ever sold in the US were purchased for only a single air pistol.

  7. #7
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    Aug 2008
    Location
    Twickenham
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    422

    Benjamin Franklin

    My 177 and 122 Benjamin Franklins

    Both hold pressure and fire well

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
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    leeds
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    I have a 177 sadly like yours it's had the finish removed
    also have a 312 and a 347 that are the same

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
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    725
    To really make them sparkle, I use Flitz polish. Flitz is particularly good at not coloring the brass, unlike some other polishes.

    The problem with those that have the finish left is that they can't be shot without damaging the finish, so, they have be confined to the collection and that's no fun. Benjamin's are for shootin' not lookin'

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