north vietnamese sks

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I have a north vietnamese sks that has been chromed,as a trophy I think,and I was wondering what it might be worth.It had the attached bayonet also chromed and it looks good and shoots greatI would lost pics but I don't know how.I have heard that the north korean is the holy grail to sks collectors and that the north vietnamese was a close second.Any help would be appreciated.I have it for sale or trade on armlist now to see if I might be able to get a 22 magnum or 4 that I am interested in,like the kel tec pmr 30 or excell 22 magnum pistol and carbine.I saw where on sold years ago on gunbroker for 1200 but with the curren madness I need some help in deciding a fair price.Also with it being a true war rifle and a rare make of one should I keep it?Thanks to you all for any input.
 
if it's been chromed then that seriously injures the value of it. it doesn't matter what model it is that a person collects, they want original and unmolested, even cleaning the rust off can harm the value on some guns if done improperly. chrome or nickle plating is an irreversible alteration that takes away any unique quality that the rifle once had. I'm afraid that even with the madhouse that is the US arms market right now you would be hard pressed to get more than $500 for it. if it hadn't been chromed it MIGHT have been worth $1200 depending on condition but now it will probably never have that value ever again.

sorry to be the bearer of bad news, pictures would help though, you can upload pics to photobucket.com and then copy the direct link URL and paste it here using the 'insert image' button in the message editor. pictures would really help determine the value.
 
If its cromed, AND you have the "Capture papers" theres no harm in value, as long as you can trace it back to Viet Nam and the guy who brought it back as a trophy. Croming trophys was common back then, and with papers, its not a problem, its valuable.\

Without the associated papers, its a good story and a finnsh on your rifle that wont be easily rusted through, but , like said above, then the value wouldnt be so great , to a collector.


Now a fella who wants to use his alot and not worry about the finish would have a dandy weather proof rifle there.....
 
The papaers I brought home with my SKS were:
1. War Trophy Registration
2. Temproary Export License from Republic of Vietnam
3. Ammendment to my Orders which listed the rifle by serial number

After I had been back in the World for a couple of months, I received the Official Export License from The Republic of Vietnam. This is on official letterhead stationary and in Vietnamese.

The rifle itself is a mismatched serial numbered type 52 carbine without bayonet. without the paperwork it's value is very minimal and I'm sure the papers are worth much more than the gun itself.

Thanks,

Grapevine
Phu Cat AB, RVN 1970 -1971
 
I read one story where a person brought back a north vietnamese sks and the gentleman validating its entry into the country wrote it up as soviet.He gueesed due to the star on the receiver.
 
The person I bought this rifle from told me a couple of interesting stories about when his troop won a battle and took trophies.I got to thinking it would be kewl to find out which north vietnamese soldier was issued this weapon and what battle he lost it in.One person did tell me that with this rifle having the five point star with a 1 in it on the receiver that it did not need papers.I assume have matching numbers helps the value some but I have never heard how much.
 
crimsontidertr...

Isn't the star a Tula (Russia) manufacturing stamp?
The early Sino-Soviet SKS Type 56 Carbines manufacured in China had a 5-pointed star on the side that indicated Soviet Assistance in manufacture.

Tula Star on the receiver cover indicates just that, Manufacture at the Tula works.
 
The reason I ask is because mine does not have the paperwork but when I was told about the five point star with the 1 in it I looked up pictures of north vietnamese sks's and I saw several that started with 64xxxx with the 1 in a star after it and it also looks styled just like them.After looking further I saw where one sold at auction for 5000 dollars and another man was asking 6000 on gun broker.
 
those $5000 dollar examples are oddities. you have to understand that originality and condition apply greatly to determine overall value. these rifles were rebuilt so many times that it is difficult to find one that doesn't have chinese and russian parts in it. if you do find one that is 100% north vietnamese then condition comes into play, does the stock look like it was dunked in a vat of oil and lit on fire? deeply gauged, chipped, dinged and otherwise abused? the addition of chrome falls under the same category as drill holes for a scope mount and cutting the barrel down to cut down. $5000 and $6000 are guns in perfect condition or people trying to profit from a panic stricken buyers market.

case in point people are selling Romanian AK47 clones for $1300 dollars where 3 weeks ago they were selling for $650.
 
Not 100% on this, but I seem to remember reading that North Vietnam never produced it's own SKS's (or AK's for that matter) That they we're imported in from all the Com-Bloc countries, China being the main supplier.
 
I did read that North Vietnam made very few sks's because we bombed their plant early in the war.That was the reason a lot of the serial numbers on theirs was so close together.If you look up pictures of theur sks's you will see what I mean.
 
north vietnamese sks.

I have seen a picture where an american general was being presented with a north vietnamese sks.
 
I remember reading long ago that people will always tend to believe what they read first.It was a communist that wrote that.He was the one that said if he could get all american children for the first six years of their lives he would create a communist world,or so I read.:eek:
 
AFAIK the Vietnamese never produced any weapons in any quantity and never produced anything as complicated as the SKS or AK/AKM
All of these weapons were received from Chinese and Russian sources.
I would love to see detailed pictures of this NVA SKS.
 
I am amazed that i can pull up pictures of a north vietnamese sks and I can see where they have been sold online and I can read how valuable they are and I can google pictures of them and they come up with serial numbers very close to mine in those pictures and some researches have written about their existence and people still say they never made them.I am not saying that a group of people could not have splattered the internet with false facts about them being out there with pictures to back it up.The north korean and the east german sks may be an internet hoax also.I choose to beleive there are north vietnamese sks's and I got lucky and bought one for a norinco sks price.I love to look at it and I love to shoot it and to think I have a rare piece of history worth a lot of money in nice also.:)
 
I just visited gunboard forums and they were discussing my rifle,they even have a picture of it,and one gentleman says it maybe wirth 3 or 4 hundred and another gentleman says he has had 5 pass through his hands in the last couple of years and the lowest priced one went for 1200 and the others went for around 1500.
 
I would like to give a special thanks to Jimmyraythomason for helping me to identify certain sks's by sending me that sight.
 
were all of the $1200-1500 NVA SKS' chromed as yours is? those of us that are skeptical about your expectations are not saying the value is low because we think it's not NV production, we are telling you that it has severely diminished collectors value.

a man looking to collect a 1903 springfield is not going to want to pay ticket price for a rifle that was converted from 30-06 to 300 win mag, that is not a historically accurate representation of those rifles.

just like a man looking to collect an 1896 mauser is not going to pay full price for a rifle who's stock has been cut down to make it lighter for hunting purposes, such a rifle is not a historically accurate representation of those rifles.

it is the same manner that your north vietnam production SKS is is not a historically accurate representation of those rifles because none of them were chromed by the VK.

$1,200-1,500 is not an unreasonable price to ask for these rifles at all but those are the prices for unmodified, unmolested, and historically accurate rifles. I will almost bet you that none of them were wearing tapco stocks, TS sights, chrome plating, and scope mounts, they were all in the condition which they were the moment they left their user's hands for the last time.
 
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