Starting a modest WWII collection

Tom E Gun

Tom E Gun

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Hello;
Ever since I was about 7 years old I have been fascinated by anything World War II related. As a kid my bedroom was full of WWII model planes and AFV's. I have always loved WWII movies, documentaries and books. I also like to visit war museums whenever I get the chance (Calgary, Ottawa, Holland, Canberra). So I have recently decided to combine my passion for WWII and my passion for firearms and start a modest WWII firearms collection.

My goal is to slowly acquire affordable, collectable, WWII firearms that are likely to appreciate in value (I have told my wife I am "investing" in firearms, so while I don't intent to purchase for resale, It would be helpful to my cause if these firearms slowly increase in value over time). I intend to specialize in handguns and a few dewat SMG's. Here is my current wish list:

Dewat Thompson M1A1 (recently purchased)
Dewat Sten
Colt 1911A1 &/or Remington Rand 1911A1
Inglis Hi Power
FN (nazi)Hi Power
P38

The purpose of this post is to solicit general advice and information, for a beginner, from experienced WWII collectors. Sources of information, best places to find reasonably priced items, the best models to look for, things to avoid, etc. Any advice is welcome.
Cheers
 
What you need is a good Lee Enfield.....I'm in roughly the same boat you are. Long time shooter, but recent collector. I hope to pick up a few more before the increase in value kicks in. Best of luck, and lets see some pics of any treasures you come across.
 
kennymo said:
What you need is a good Lee Enfield.....I'm in roughly the same boat you are. Long time shooter, but recent collector. I hope to pick up a few more before the increase in value kicks in. Best of luck, and lets see some pics of any treasures you come across.
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I seems that Enfields are very popular misurp collectables, but long guns, especially bolt actions, are not really my thing. I intend to stick to handguns plus a few dewat smg's.
 
Alot of people will take your money and leave your quest unfullfilled.
If you go into it knowing that WW2 collecting is tremendously popular, and that fakes and misrepresentations are rampant, you should be fine.
Educate yourself by becoming an active member of the milsurp forum, and specific forums of the items you are interested in. Buy good quality books, and utilize the wise ones here. By spending a bit of time in the milsurp section, you will figure out who they are pretty quick.
Stay away from "rare variants" and go with mainstream, but quality pieces. Start with a 91/30 or an SVT40. Although it may be some time before they aquire value, they are rich in historical significance.
Good luck!
We are all here to help :)
 
Alex_Zues said:
How much $$$ do you have? Collectors Source here in Ont has a huge number of military firearms, but they don't come cheap

They've got your Sten, P38, Colt, and Inglis
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I don't have a stack of money to invest, but I can afford to set aside a few hundred here and there over time. Thanks, I had not heard of Collectors Source, I will check them out on line.
 
kennymo said:
Best of luck, and lets see some pics of any treasures you come across.
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This should be arriving any day, so this is the only pic I have for now:
020-1_zps00c61845.jpg
 
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You will realize the most increase in value if you buy surplus while it is still common and being imported as surplus, and not from the secondary collectors market.
 
If I was starting out again on a fixed budget, I'd go for a 91/30, svt40 and a tt33. Even though these are off your radar right now, just remember you are holding history there. Even a clumsy bolt action, with a 42 or 43 dated receiver, gives me severe pleasure, refurbed or not. And they are very affordable at this moment. And then you can find a decent RC k98 for around the $500 mark, you've got the Eastern Front just about covered.
You remind me of myself as a boy, model tanks and planes in my room, reading Sgt Rock comics, playing with the bringback Luger Dad had. Great times indeed.
 
Everything has gone up in value since I started collecting in 1989 except the SKS. The average Mosins have not gone up much more than inflation but the rarer stuff, like a true 91 and not the 91/30s have become pricey. Crap I bought a 1912 Mosin for $20 from Century Arms in 1990....if I kept it I could likely get 20x that price.

So if the past 24yrs is any indication - and you are putting an emphasis on resale anything you buy should be good...except the common Russian stuff. Just too many of the suckers made.

Personally I think the service rifles and handguns of the major WW1 and WW2 powers are the way to go. You will pay a lot for them today, but I think they are going to continue to be in high demand. Plus they are cool and they impress your friends. Everyone knows what a luger is.
 
No1 MK3, No4MK1, Webley in.380 and .455.
Thje only way prices wil go is UP!

Being below the border, My Sten, Bren, Lewis, and vickers all work:D
And the current prices are INSANE compared to what I originaly paid for them
 
Nifty wish list!

What you're looking for is collectible already (as suggested already for a start, on a budget, Russian gems are the "now" items), so do some research on market value, get your $'s together n' snipe. You might need a few years to find the right gem in your budget! As soon as you find what you're lookn' for you'll be ready. Put your "local" feelers out too...most of my local buddies don't use cyber-space, and my favourites have popped up local n' cheap
 
PM Stencollector here on the board, he's your man for a dewat Sten.

For the handguns, if you want quality vet bringback pieces, expect ot pay dearly. The bright side is they are all pretty common if you keep your eyes open at the usual dealers and selling forums.

If you just want representative examples, there's a dirth of Russian Capture P38's on the market right now. I'd check Weimajack in the equipment exchange if that interests you.

1911's and Inglis guns have gotten silly. Get ready for those steep prices.

I sold some 1911A1's recently and have been watching the market. Decent guns are starting around the $1200 mark these days. About $900+ for decent inglises too. P38'sare more reasonably priced, maybe $700 for a decent one.

Nazi HP's sell cheaper than Inglis guns, but are tougher to find in collector condition. For some reason a LOT of them were buffed and reblued to a commercial finish post-war by new owners.
 
Was not that long ago, that there were not many Russian SKS rifles for sale in Canada. I remember one selling here for almost $500, these were the ones brought in many years ago. Around the same time I sold a very nice, but refurbed 91/30 for $300 (remember I couldn't get the bayonet off and had to sell locally LOL?). Now I know it will be many years before we see prices like these for these rifles again, just based on the availability and sheer numbers. Who can tell what factors can influence the price of firearms? A (gasp choke choke) liberal majority (puke), UN bs, who knows?
 
Claven2 said:
PM Stencollector here on the board, he's your man for a dewat Sten.

For the handguns, if you want quality vet bringback pieces, expect ot pay dearly. The bright side is they are all pretty common if you keep your eyes open at the usual dealers and selling forums.

If you just want representative examples, there's a dirth of Russian Capture P38's on the market right now. I'd check Weimajack in the equipment exchange if that interests you.

1911's and Inglis guns have gotten silly. Get ready for those steep prices.

I sold some 1911A1's recently and have been watching the market. Decent guns are starting around the $1200 mark these days. About $900+ for decent inglises too. P38'sare more reasonably priced, maybe $700 for a decent one.

Nazi HP's sell cheaper than Inglis guns, but are tougher to find in collector condition. For some reason a LOT of them were buffed and reblued to a commercial finish post-war by new owners.
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Claven;
I am definitely more interested in the "vet bring back" pistols, the Russian refurbs, not so much (I have seen the ad for Weimajack's Russian P38, I bought the M1A1 from him) . I believe it was a recent ad of yours for a 1911A1 with a minor scratched out area on the "Property of US Army" that got me really interested in the Remington Rand 1911A1's. The ad was quite detailed and educational! I just missed out on a nice P38 on the EE recently because I was not familiar enough with pricing (lesson learned).
Thanks for all the info.
 
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