A S&W as an investment?

[gobsauce]

I bought this 686 stainless in 1978 for $310. Price now $725 + or -. The $725 now would buy about what the $310 would then. Good investment? Probably not. View attachment 1146018

Well, according to this inflation calculator:




So then going backwards:

(Not sure how it's calculated, but what do I know)

 

[Riomouse911]

OP, once you add tax, dealer fees, State fees (if any) you’ll be looking at roughly $775-$800 for the gun, OTD.

You should be able to get all of your money back, plus a bit, if it is unfired and you decide to sell it after a few years. Or, you can shoot it a bunch and enjoy owning it and still probably get all of your money back if you decide to sell it after a few years.

Like many here, I have never bought a gun just to sit on it. There are a few I own that I have yet to shoot, but that’s only because I haven’t had the chance to.

Stay safe.

 

[GRIZ22]

Investment? No.

It might keep in track with inflation. Investment to me means it will exceed inflation in value.

 

[NorthBorder]

I live in a free state. No tax, dealer fees. Or state fees.
However ya'll have convinced me it is probably no great investment. And I wasn't really wanting it.

 

[NorthBorder]

Investment? No.

It might keep in track with inflation. Investment to me means it will exceed inflation in value.

With Brandon in the White House...uh, never mind.

 

[TacticalJanitor]

If you want to buy a Smith as an investment and can keep yourself from firing/fondling/molesting it...buy one of the Scandium NightGuards. They are going up, and up, and up.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I bought this 686 stainless in 1978 for $310. Price now $725 + or -. The $725 now would buy about what the $310 would then. Good investment? Probably not. View attachment 1146018

what was 1978 $310 in today’s money… bet it’s at leases $1500

 

[lincen]

Guns at least hold their value, some more than others. I would rather put money into guns than a new car or truck. Granted they are different in that the vehicle provides transportation but ten years later, which has gained in price ? Having a few guns that “may” increase in value can be a sound investment.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Very few guns appreciate significantly. That’s been covered pretty well. Compare goods to similar goods over time and you figure out that its all relative.

That said, there are guns that do appreciate quickly, generally due to something less than fortunate. Right now TC stuff is hot because the brand has basically been put on ice with all tooling being used for other purposes and the brand name being up for sale. There are still TC fans out there driving the prices up for what’s available. The things that seem to be jumping in price are things that are short lived but very interesting. Hudson H9 as an example. Was HOT stuff the second it was announced. I don’t know what happened to the company but they don’t seem to be putting out the pistols much if at all, and prices have been crazy. That will die down though when they are either a has-been, a never-was, or the next big thing pops up for people to go wild over. Short term, you could possibly do well on oddball stuff like that, but long term your missing the peaks and settling for the averages, or even the value valleys.

To be honest though, after having had an Encore with a 20" .50-caliber muzzleloader barrel, and a 20" .45-70 barrel, TC was/is kind of over-rated for their "quality."

As for the Hudson H9, they over-promised, over-extended and under-delivered. There were a lot of bad parts from subcontractors, lots of poor accuracy and parts breakage on production guns, and the company was unable to pay their suppliers and creditors. If prices are going crazy on the examples out in the wild, it's more due to the novelty and uniqueness of them than any inherent quality in the design. You couldn't GIVE me an H9 even if reselling it would net me 100% profit.

Now for the OP, I also wouldn't purchase that pistol thinking of it as any kind of investment. As soon as I saw the -9 in the model, my first thought was "oh, ho-hum, a late engineering change version." It may be pre-lock, but that doesn't always mean "more valuable".

Oh, and @DDDWho there's no way a 686 could be from 1978. But 310 1981 dollars are worth about $1000 in 2023.

 

[Tallball]

As others have said, if you buy it and don't shoot it, it will probably be worth about $700 (plus or minus "inflation") in ten years. It's not an investment, but you're not losing anything.

My thought would be buy it, shoot it carry it and enjoy it, and it will probably be worth about $600 (plus or minus "inflation") in ten years. I would call that a win.

I will leave my daughter a house, half a pension, and a bank account. She also knows that if she works patiently with a professional, she can eventually get a lot of money out of my firearms.

My dad had dozens of guitars. My stepmom wanted to load them all in a van and take them to the guitar store. Instead my sister and I kept a few, and sold the rest patiently on ebay with careful research. According to the receipts he saved, most of them appreciated a little, and we broke even on the rest. It wasn't an investment per se, but his kids got the money back.

 

[Thomasss]

But you can also look at the other side of the coin. I got over $15,000 in a rainy day fund saving account and I got $1.81 in interest/year for the last 5 years. Now I'm investing it in "I" type savings bonds and am making 6.8%. The same is happening to firearms. I bought that Trooper for $400 and my sister-in-law gave me $650 for it two years later.
She needed it and that was what she thought it was worth that to her. In the meantime, I enjoyed it while I owned it. What is owning an antique worth. You don't depreciate your car and gas everytime you go to the gun range, do you? Did I shoot 5 or six. Well, did I, huh?.....lol Ya got to take all this in perspective,

 

[ANATION]

The only firearms that can really qualify as "investments" are transferable MGs. Those have risen considerably over the past 40 years, all well over 200 %, but if you want to play in the pre 86 MG world you are looking at $8500 plus to get started with baseline Reisings, Sten Tubes or MACs. Even then, I still do not think they make the best investment because they are subject to legislation (pro or con) that could wipe out their value. Although I do not think that is going to happen either way, it is still something to consider.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have a pretty sizeable collection of Smith and Wesson revolvers, the oldest shipped in 1859.

I never buy firearms, no matter what brand, as investments. You will do better in the long run investing in the stock market, unless you find something incredibly rare for an unbelievably low price.

By the way, that is not a Ladysmith.

These are Ladysmiths. Left to right, 1st Model, 2nd Model, and 3rd Model. Made from 1906 until 1921.






These were tiny M frame, seven shot revolvers, chambered for 22 Long. (Not 22 Long Rifle)










I always delight in pointing this out. S&W 'recycled' the name Lady Smith for the J frame 38s, but they spelled it this way, Lady Smith. Not Ladysmith.

 

[Old Dog]

As others have noted, inflation pretty much negates the investment value of S&W revolvers. I have one unfired Model 15 that I bought for $300 about twelve years ago, that I've been offered a grand for -- maybe that'd represent a little profit, but there's a lot of other investments that realize far better returns.

Maybe some Colt SAAs, WW II pistols or 1911s with historical provenance could be considered "investments," but S&W revolvers are better suited as shooters, not collectibles.

 

[Mark_Mark]

As others have noted, inflation pretty much negates the investment value of S&W revolvers. I have one unfired Model 15 that I bought for $300 about twelve years ago, that I've been offered a grand for -- maybe that'd represent a little profit, but there's a lot of other investments that realize far better returns.

Maybe some Colt SAAs, WW II pistols or 1911s with historical provenance could be considered "investments," but S&W revolvers are better suited as shooters, not collectibles.

I collect Colt Pimp Guns from the 60’s! Gold & Silver plated! LOVE … yes they will all be shot

Got 2 so far

 

[earlthegoat2]

As others have noted, investment needs to beat inflation. That is why returns on your stocks and bonds and 401(k)s need to need to typically be better than 2-3% (much more in recent times)

The gun has to be something special. Either a true rarity (not what most call rare these days) or something of somewhat low production that by chance in later years finds itself a renaissance of interest which of course is hard to predict.

Pre-lock Smiths fit the second category though that doesn’t mean they are all good investments. A 45 Colt Mountain Gun that also happens to be a pre-lock would get you closer since it is an unusual configuration say, compared to a Model 15 38 Spl with 4” barrel.

Rare guns are not 35 Rem Marlins or 2.5” Model 66s as I have seen both called rare recently. Rare guns are full auto FG-42s or some other such that you may one day be lucky enough to just see in a museum but will never even have the opportunity to buy even if you had the money. That is what rare means.

And there is a lot of ground between all this. That is to say that just because something is not often seen at LGS or pawn shop in your area does not make investment material.

 

[silicosys4]

Don't buy guns as an investment. Period.
YMMV,
Dave

Guns are just a commodity like anything else.
If you invest unwisely, your return will be poor.
If you invest wisely, your return can be quiet good.
You have to know what you are doing.

I've done quiet well so far this year with investment quality guns.
I picked up one USGI 1911A1 that I could immediately turn for a 300% ROI,
and a nickel 1908 that I could immediately turn for a 400% ROI.
And several others that, should I care to sell them right now, would net me a tidy profit even after accounting for inflation.

Buy low, sell high.

 

[silicosys4]

That is to say that just because something is not often seen at LGS or pawn shop in your area does not make investment material.

There is great truth to this.
As one LGS owner told me when I was trying to sell a marlin 880sq
"Son, sometimes rare just means that nobody bought them because nobody wanted them....and sometimes things don't change."

 

[ontarget]

I look at it this way.
Guns are a durable good.
Things like my wife's $1500.00 patio furniture is not.
In 10 years her purchase will be in a landfill, but my gun that I purchase at the same time, for the same price, will likely sell for what I paid, plus inflation.
More of a low yield savings account than an investment I would call it. But I always try to buy low, so maybe I can beat inflation by a couple of percent if I'm lucky.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I look at it this way.
Guns are a durable good.
Things like my wife's $1500.00 patio furniture is not.
In 10 years her purchase will be in a landfill, but my gun that I purchase at the same time, for the same price, will likely sell for what I paid, plus inflation.
More of a low yield savings account than an investment I would call it. But I always try to buy low, so maybe I can beat inflation by a couple of percent if I'm lucky.

but the difference in a savings account and a gun is … you get to shoot it.

my best advice is to buy what gun you like. Enjoy it and don’t sell it until you need to