Jeepers Lois aka Knife Prices

[Horseclover]

I guess a lot of prices in general.  Is it my imagination that the more ordinary WWII knife prices have doubled in the past decade?

 

Working down a bucket list of wants and I just looked at 225Q prices 🤨

 

Some I have been aware of, as I had struck at the EGW knives some years ago but I used to see many, many 225Q knives out there and very good examples less than $100.  Even the previously pricy M3s seem to be fetching/priced at twice what they were a decade ago.

 

I have too many toys anyway but jeepers Lois.............................what's a poor boy to do?

 

Even the late 1960s Seiko market has gone bananas ?8^)~

 

Cheers

GC

[Blacksmith]

Howdy - Are you talking about asking prices, or actual selling prices?  And, where are you getting your data?  (online auction sold items, dealer websites, military shows, reality TV shows, neighbor's cat, etc)?

 

These topics come up a fair bit, and basically there are two camps - IMHO:

 

1) Folks that take the position that the market is only headed "up, up, up", and that "top shelf pieces will always command a premium"; and,

2) Those that view this market like any other collectable, with a beginning and end - then maybe sub-camps on where militaria is in its trajectory, whether it will / won't recover from the recession / depression, and the like

 

There are a host of reasons why we want the market to stay strong - especially for those folks that are sitting on a dragon's pile of military stuff.  Me personally, I never thought - or set the expectation at home - that these items were investments.  So I don't really care what the market is or is not.  I figure, if I see something, and I think the price is reasonable, I'll buy it.  

 

Again, there are a bunch of topics already on this, so I won't start listing the factors, such as:  Generational interest, spending money on physical items vs experiences, societal views, and so forth.  

 

In summary, we don't have any empirical index for militaria, so everything else is just opinions, hope, and guesswork.  

[Horseclover]

3 hours ago, Blacksmith said:

Howdy - Are you talking about asking prices, or actual selling prices?  And, where are you getting your data?  (online auction sold items, dealer websites, military shows, reality TV shows, neighbor's cat, etc)?

 

These topics come up a fair bit, and basically there are two camps - IMHO:

 

1) Folks that take the position that the market is only headed "up, up, up", and that "top shelf pieces will always command a premium"; and,

2) Those that view this market like any other collectable, with a beginning and end - then maybe sub-camps on where militaria is in its trajectory, whether it will / won't recover from the recession / depression, and the like

 

There are a host of reasons why we want the market to stay strong - especially for those folks that are sitting on a dragon's pile of military stuff.  Me personally, I never thought - or set the expectation at home - that these items were investments.  So I don't really care what the market is or is not.  I figure, if I see something, and I think the price is reasonable, I'll buy it.  

 

Again, there are a bunch of topics already on this, so I won't start listing the factors, such as:  Generational interest, spending money on physical items vs experiences, societal views, and so forth.  

 

In summary, we don't have any empirical index for militaria, so everything else is just opinions, hope, and guesswork.  

I think I outlined my thoughts pretty well and was mostly addressing the 225Q knives in particular.  For the million or so one might expect to survive, seeing the few dregs remaining at prices under $100 is a far cry from seeing sold prices for very good to fine examples ranging well under $100 a decade ago.

 

My data set is the market at large and this is certainly not my first rodeo. Nor a first read on this board.

 

I am under no illusion that my $20-$50 EGW knives horde of a dozen were not picked up by others for $10 in the 1990s, nor that $2500 for an Ames sapper's bayonet might be reasonable.  I am/was just somewhat amazed that the 225Q market has greatly dried up and a virtually unused example could be had for $75 a decade ago.

 

Cheers

GC

[Blacksmith]

3 hours ago, Horseclover said:

I think I outlined my thoughts pretty well and was mostly addressing the 225Q knives in particular.  For the million or so one might expect to survive, seeing the few dregs remaining at prices under $100 is a far cry from seeing sold prices for very good to fine examples ranging well under $100 a decade ago.

 

My data set is the market at large and this is certainly not my first rodeo. Nor a first read on this board.

 

I am under no illusion that my $20-$50 EGW knives horde of a dozen were not picked up by others for $10 in the 1990s, nor that $2500 for an Ames sapper's bayonet might be reasonable.  I am/was just somewhat amazed that the 225Q market has greatly dried up and a virtually unused example could be had for $75 a decade ago.

 

Cheers

GC

You’re welcome.

[capt14k]

We do have empirical index of militaria prices from Civil War Era Firearms and Accessories. Prices went haywire. Then plummeted and still have yet to recover.

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[Horseclover]

1 hour ago, Blacksmith said:

You’re welcome.

Gesundheit!

[dcollector]

I am a member of several fighting knife collectors pages on FB, was on many more, and the quartermaster knives have long been a BIG favorite, possibly because they were once cheap. Now you have collectors sharing well taken photos of their collections of multiple Q knives, and word spreads, they are no longer cheap.

One persons well articulated enthusiasm breeds more collectors, and the prices shift.

Not because the sellers are necessarily familiar with these FB groups, but because they see what the knives are selling for on Ebay, or elsewhere and adjust accordingly.

Many of these groups are in the 1000's of international members.

 

Same thing happens with the Fairbairn and M3 collecting pages, good luck finding $100 examples in any of the mainstream market places.

The ribbed and roped FS examples, which I always avoided, have now become more valuable than a second pattern, a few dedicated collectors talking enthusiastically and knowledgable have shifted the dynamic.

 

I collected FS daggers when they were $100 or se each and have dozens, it's interesting to consider where the prices will go. If they  are original WW2 knives in OK condition, M3, Q, V44, V42, I don't think the price will go down.

 

[DaBomb]

I don't think this shift has taken place with just knives. It's anything WWII. Knives, guns, gear, uniforms, etc. If it appears to be original, it sells. The problem today is seeing so much humped up stuff and differentiating real original vs bubbas help (lets add a laundry number here with a hero's story.)

 

Do a GunBroker search on Winchester M1 carbines and any 1911-A1. Last few fairly decent Winchesters have gone for over $4K. The new collectors on ePay and GB don't care if its been refinished and helped along. They just want it to look good. My fear is the previous mentioned Civil War bubble that popped and never came back.

 

Where will it end? Who knows.

[capt14k]

Prices are crazy high right now due to free government money. This is what hyperinflation would look like. Hopefully we can get debt under control before that happens, but based on current plans it does not look good. Collectible prices crash first, then housing, and eventually everything. Unless of course we have hyperinflation then prices go way up due to dollar being near worthless.

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[hyrax222]

You only regret the one you didn't buy.

hyrax 222

[lovnik]

A good example of this discussion: the Western G-46-8 @ auction in the link below has (@ the moment) 18 watchers, is @ $197.50 and w/ 40 hours until the end ofthe auction looks like it'll "hammer" @ (well?) north of $200. Prices are still climbing. All those "stimulus" checks and/or sensing a coming apocalypse and thus the need for adequate "tools"? Who knows.

 

AUCTION LINK: https://www.ebay.com/itm/373551947037/?mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&mkcid=1&campid=5336784792&toolid=10013&mkevt=1&customid=category-auctions

 

MOST of the photos of the ^^^ knife ^^^ listed in this auction:

1.

Looks like it's been sharpened. Also neither Blued nor Parkerized. (note: maybe was Blued but Bluing has worn away?)

 

2.

Name etched into sheath is "Bob Sharp" ... original carrier? Later owner? Be a good name for The Knife itself.

 

3.

 

4.

 

5.

 

6.

 

 

 

 

 

[sactroop]

It is "PAT'D" verses the later examples with the actual patent number.  All the WW2 G46-8's I remember seeing were blued.  Original sheath that was personalized.  Although, IMHO it would be better with say a laundry number.

It does seem a little high for an example with most of the finish gone.  On the other hand time has shown me that I've always found the first example on an item I was interested in more valuable than the ones that followed of similar condition.