Deact Prices Go Crazy....

Walking around the stalls at Beltring '08, I noticed a distinct ( or total ) lack of some of the 'sexier' Third Reich era deactivated weapons.

I saw only one 'new spec' ( ie welded-up ) MP40 - for the 'show special' price of £875. There were no MP44s, very few Luger pistols ( at high prices), although there were still some reasonable K98s and P.38s at fair prices.

Looking through the latest issue of 'The Armourer' magazine, I see an old-spec deact MP40 at £900 and a 'Very Scarce old-spec MP44 retaining most original finish, dated 1944 - complete with replica strap'

Before you all start reaching for your chequebooks, the asking price is £2,295.....

 

Those prices are rediculous. You can buy a real workiing sample for less than those listed prices. Around here, you can still get a nice Walther P-38 all matching and in very good condition-for about $425.00 or so.

 

To be fair, P-38s were among the cheaper deacts at Beltring ( between £200 - £300 ). It's the MP40s and MP44s which have gone truly crazy.....

 

Hi Martin, sorry I have not been around to reply to you.

The price for the deact P-38s about matches our prices for non-deacts. I will almost bet that the deact MP-40's and 44's are well over the 2,000 pound mark.

 

The Recession seems to be having little effect on this market : I see in the latest issue of 'The Armourer' a dealer asking - for a new-spec ( welded up ) MP40 - £1150.00.......

 

Ooops, for that price you´ll get a new made one over here! OK, only a semi auto version.

 

all Militaria pricing is zooming..........interesting is it not ?

 

very much so......means my pockets get lighter and lighter! ......at the same time it's good to know that if 'the collection' (can I say that!) ever needs to be sold, it wont be at a loss.

 

Seen at the Beltring fair last weekend.......



Not a lot I can say, really......on another stall I saw a Third Reich-era Luger, quite nice ( but then, it would need to be, at £995....... )

 

You can say that again. I bought a Garand (production date oct. 1940), which is in a very good state for € 695 last year. This year a saw some others in less better condition for € 800 - € 900. Seems that investing in militaria starts to be more secure than leaving your money at the bank.

 

A German dealer just sent me details of a nice, 1945-dated MP44 he currently has for sale. No sling, parkerized ( not blued ) finish, a nice example...............for 3,000 Euros.

 

That's the highest asking price I've heard of for a Sturmgewehr44!

The most expensive that I've seen at militaria shows is around £1850

I'll bet your wishing you had got a dozen when you bought yours, Martin?

 

Well - I've just checked the seller's website and the MP44 is sold already !

I certainly wish I'd bought two back in the day....................

 

Way to expensive. One explanation is possibly that both the UK and the U.S. haven only imported ones, unless former occupied countries where they were left behind and found by the locals back in the day. They can also be found on former battlefields. I know a guy who had two relics in a fairly nice condition for a three digit price.

 

Those prices are shocking to me. Mainly because I could never pay that much for anything I wouldn't be able to actually fire.

 

Exactly! A different story if they were talking about original firing condition.

 

But that's the point, isn't it ? If the weapons in question could be fired, then most Countries in Europe wouldn't allow their private ownership at all. After all, you can hardly call an MP40 a home-defence or target-shooting weapon.

So the deact prices are high because they offer the only possible way for collectors to legally own an example of such historic, fully-automatic firearms.

 

Understood Martin but the asking price is way too much for museum piece offered which was my point. Not stating that they should be in firing condition.

 

That's the situation here in Canada as well. If active, most of these collectors guns are prohibited to own unless you have the appropriate license classifications (which you can't get anymore). These are some of the "going rates" for deacts in Canada right now:

Luger - $800+ (the nice one are usually around $1000)
C96 - $800+
Bren Gun - 2000
MG34 - $3000+
M1928 Thompson - $2000
M1 Thompson - $1000
PTRD or PTRS - $2000/$1000
Sten - $400

Apparently some companies (GSG is one) are going to start selling reproduction legal-to-own semi automatic versions of some of the German guns over here. After that I expect the price for the german deacts will go down a bit.

 

I suppose it must simply be the old 'supply and demand'....15 years ago there were warehouses full of good deacts : now that they have been snapped up by collectors, museums, and re-enactors demand exceeds supply, especially for those Third Reich weapons with a special 'cachet'.

Incidentally, the same German dealer who sold the E3000 MP44 has just sold another, rather rougher one....at the same price.

For sure, it's all 'way beyond my means. I'm just glad I started collecting when I did......