Need some help with military surplus ammo!

[chrisluh]

Hey guys,

I have come by some old military ammo from a friend of mine and would like to figure out the value of it if any so I can help him sell it.

There are two 250 ammo cans of Caliber .30. They are both cloth belted together for a Browning M1917 or M1919 machine gun. one is M1909, blank ammo and is head stamped for the Des Moines Ordnance Plant 1957 so not too interesting but it looks like it was made yesterday (except the can that is rusting on the bottom). The other is the interesting one, it is Head stamped for the Denver ordnance Plant 1944 and is 4 to 1 amour piercing to tracer round and again looks new except the can. Everything is original and is all marked right with only a couple of rounds from the belts used.
i am wondering if this is just worth market value and an interest in the cans or if it has a collectors price to it. Any input would be appreciated as I am out of my element and I want to get a fair price for the ammo and some of my friends guns as he needs the money just being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[Dantforth]

Chris, I would think this ammo has collector value so make sure you have all of your ducks in a row before pricing it. Surely some of the more knowledgeable guys will chime in here in the circumstances. Dave

 

[chrisluh]

Yea, I will leave the post for a bit and see what input I get but I will not sell it until I know more about it for sure.
Thanks

 

[Caydel]

It's worth $50 / can. Contact me and I will send my money by EMT. Don't mention this deal to anyone else....

 

[camster]

LOL

I'll give you 51$'s and, I'll tell the whole world (via my new EE lisintg!)

 

[Caydel]

LOL

I'll give you 51$'s and, I'll tell the whole world (via my new EE lisintg!)

Hehe. I am actually curious what this will end up going for when he sells.

 

[camster]

Whew...

Hehe. I am actually curious what this will end up going for when he sells.

I was hoping for the "Hehe" and not an angry PM! OP, when you do get some "realistic" quotes, share thm...I am curious too

 

[john@]

Are the ammo cans ww2 vintage (or earlier)? How bad is the rust? They'd be worth something too.

 

[bearhunter]

It's worth 75-80 cents a round. The belts are worth 10-15 dollars and the cans are worth 5 dollars each. $200 per can for the fmj/tracers and $125 per can for the blanks. The fmj is corrosive and the blanks, may or may not be.

 

[chrisluh]

No angry PM's just HeHeHe, as I expected the responses (always get a couple when you ask how much

The one can is original WWII and all stamped for the ammo inside and the other is the original can as well but it is from 1957. Rust is just on the bottom from sitting and is just surface.

Thanks bearhunter, that sounds about right to me form what I would expect. The blanks are no-corrosive and the fmj/tracers are from what I can tell.

 

[sunray]

"...the blanks, may or may not be..." Blanks are definitely corrosive. The U.S. stopped using corrosive primers in M2 ammo in 1952.

 

[chrisluh]

The blanks are from 1957 so they are non-corrosive but the other stuff is for sure.