Assets

[dlmac]

I do know the book. A fellow i employed as a translator years ago gave it to me and accused me of being that

I'm glad you are taking the lessons and making your own way. Pisses me off to no end when I see the poor little rich kids whining about whatever they perceive as their problems as they live off someone else's hard work and sacrifice.

It is called walking on dead mans legs.

 

[fourfive8]

The ones who make money on stocks, coming or going, are the brokers

Get rid of debt, diversify and hedge one investment against another would be my only advice.

“You pays you money, you takes you chances”

 

[SETH RINGER]

CD IS WORTH JUST AS MUCH AS IT IS WORTH.
A GOLD BAR HAS A BIT OF PIZZAZ WORTH A BIT MORE THAN ITS VALUE.
SOME NICE ARTWORK IS SOMETIMES HARD TO PUT A PRICE ON.
BUT HOLDING A FINE FIREARM IN YOUR HANDS IS PRICELESS.

 

[Flbt]

Hindsight is 20/20. Knowing what I know now? I'd have bought so much of the crap surplus stuff I pulled out of boxes, covered in cosmoline, at gun shows.

I've only sold a few guns from my collection over the years. One of them was a Yugo SKS I picked up at a show for $125 in the early 2000's. I despised the thing. It wouldn't cycle, I eventually fixed the gas valve and it did, shot it a few times and it just lived in the safe. One day I looked at it and said "I hate this thing."

I listed it, local, for $600. Some guy committed to buying within the hour. Met him at the local FFL the next day and did the transfer.

Had I known? I'd have bought the entire crate.

Yea I know I kept the good stuff or what I consider good.
But that surplus never got into it much. I passed on the ska when they we $69
I had a few bot sporter I liked. But never bought many when you could get a 30-30 at a pawnshop for $75

 

[steve white]

Well, I'm not worried. As soon as a certain Nigerian prince in exile gets his money out of escrow, we are gonna party.
I seem to sell just before collectibles soar. Sold a '37 Ford P/U for $5000--now they are $30K in the same condition. But I didn't lose money. Only money I ever doubled?....I folded in two and stuck back in my wallet.
Only really smart thing?...talked my wife into living on just her income and used mine to pay off our house in two years when the real estate market was low.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Yea I know I kept the good stuff or what I consider good.
But that surplus never got into it much. I passed on the ska when they we $69
I had a few bot sporter I liked. But never bought many when you could get a 30-30 at a pawnshop for $75

It's region specific. Here in NJ, everyone thinks they are a SWAT operator and wants SBRs, AR15s, AK variants, and all sorts of surplus crap.

You could probably offload 20 Yugo SKS's here for $600 before you could sell a high-end double rifle at a discount.

A lot of the stuff that holds a ton of value is often tough to offload.

 

[mrpoindexter]

One challenge is the market for such weapons may be slowly shrinking and if it is, durable goods start becoming increasingly difficult to sell.

 

[uplander01]

Firearms are more or less a way to hold money and have something tangible that you can turn into cash, if you're buying right and the right stuff you can usually get your money back but not make much. Also depends on how much you use them, I'm not one to just let them sit there. Another risk, and this is one that is being talked about in the gun industry a lot right now, is this younger generation does not look at vintage type collectible guns the same way most of us on AH. This is why you see a lot of low-cost bolt, tactical, very utilitarian type guns being produced. They view them more as a tool, that's a very different mindset than someone that can appreciate a fine rifle or shotgun that is a work of art. The discussion is about how much more expensive new firearms can get before people will just stop buying them, or will that even happen?

 

[rookhawk]

My brother and I had a very in-depth discussion last week about tangible assets versus money in the bank.


I'm into firearms. He's into musical instruments.

We started comparing the value of our collections, versus the value of American dollars over time.

Both of us started "collecting" about 30 years ago.

In almost every case, a Certificate of Deposit (CD) that made 5% APR would have been worth more now than almost any item in our collection of firearms or instruments. (Of course, dollars could be worthless almost overnight, given the circumstances.)

I didn't do in-depth financial research, but I didn't have a gun that made this mark (& he didn't have an instrument):
$1,000 x 5% interest x 30 years = $4,321.04

Gold (and some luckily picked real estate, with stupid expensive insurance and property taxes) were about the only thing we could come up with that would have made us more without being actively involved, than just money in the bank collecting interest...

Gold - 1995 vs 2025 - $390/oz then - $3,400/oz now - 7.5% APY


IMO, real estate is really a "roll of the dice," because of property taxes and insurance.

In some cases homeowners insurance in Florida is going to go up 600% because of weather this year.

Ideas???




'

Most firearms, even high-end firearms either go down in value, or provide a ROI far below CDs or bonds. There are some exceptions to this that are worth mentioning:

Dakota Rifles
Griffin & Howe Rifles
Heym Double Rifles
Smallbore British Shotguns

Are their returns meteoric? No, but it is functional art that you can use and enjoy the examples above have definitely provided an 8% YoY increase over the last decade.

What guns have performed very poorly on the other hand, but are generally considered "high quality"?

Win Model 21s
Parker Shotguns
Custom American Rifles on win70 and CZ actions
12 bore British shotguns from best makers HH, Boss, Purdey, Westley, etc.
Modern double rifles by all makers except Heym

I think the four "good" investment examples I gave above are so good because they have two factors going in their favor: 1.) The collector that has to have one, and 2.) The anti-collector that couldn't care less, but a used one costs a lot less than a new one and is driving their prices up in relationship to new MSRPs.

It always feel good when you buy a product and it holds its value or better. (Specific guns and specific rolexes being examples of functional art that may be considered appreciating assets)

 

[rookhawk]

Fine sporting firearms are somewhat non-liquid during a poor economy.

@C.W. Richter I wholeheartedly agree in general, but disagree in specific. This is whether we're talking about fine guns as art or literally fine art. In 2009 while the world was recoiling from the economy collapsing, fine guns and fine art went into the toilet in general. However, simultaneous with that, the best-best-best 1/10th of 1% were seeing record high sales at auction.

It took such an economic gutting of the global elite that it got "That bad" and very well off families shook loose of things that may only come up at auction once in a lifetime. Those that had the money to buy were all fighting tooth and nail over the very best fine art.

Weapon examples: A hartmann and weiss rifle set went for around $400,000 if I remember correctly, several Dickson and MacNaughton small bore shotguns entered the nose-bleed section at auction. The parallel in art were Rembrandts, Klimpts, Van Goghs, were doing great, but never heard of him Dutch Masters were selling in the toilet.

 

[Doug3006]

Very few people made their fortune buying and selling fine art, automobiles or fine firearms….or Precious Moments figurines, Beanie Babies, or Baseball cards! They made their money in other ways, and that allowed them to dabble in the collectibles market. I’m not talking about those who established a business in collectibles, like Barrett and Jackson in the vintage auto world. People like these are not primarily collectors, but auctioneers.

I know plenty of people who’ve done well for themselves by running businesses, buying and selling land, or investing in the equities markets. I know a few that got rich selling their services (one is a retired master woodworker who could charge pretty much what he wanted and still had a waiting list.) I don’t know anyone who got rich buying and selling muscle cars, firearms, art or collectibles.

By the way, anything made and sold as a collectible, like special-edition Winchesters or numbered art prints, is almost certain to lose value over time. If it comes with a letter of authenticity, then it’s 100% certain to be a bust.

 

[Flbt]

Very few people made their fortune buying and selling fine art, automobiles or fine firearms….or Precious Moments figurines, Beanie Babies, or Baseball cards! They made their money in other ways, and that allowed them to dabble in the collectibles market. I’m not talking about those who established a business in collectibles, like Barrett and Jackson in the vintage auto world. People like these are not primarily collectors, but auctioneers.

I know plenty of people who’ve done well for themselves by running businesses, buying and selling land, or investing in the equities markets. I know a few that got rich selling their services (one is a retired master woodworker who could charge pretty much what he wanted and still had a waiting list.) I don’t know anyone who got rich buying and selling muscle cars, firearms, art or collectibles.

By the way, anything made and sold as a collectible, like special-edition Winchesters or numbered art prints, is almost certain to lose value over time. If it comes with a letter of authenticity, then it’s 100% certain to be a bust.

I am not dis agree with you.
But some times if things hit just right. ( all most like wining the lottery)
There was a man here that had a meat store.
He also collected ww1 and 2 full autos. 86 came and because of government laws/ enter Fearance he became a millionaire.

 

[Doug3006]

I am not dis agree with you.
But some times if things hit just right. ( all most like wining the lottery)
There was a man here that had a meat store.
He also collected ww1 and 2 full autos. 86 came and because of government laws/ enter Fearance he became a millionaire.

For sure, a gold mine occasionally falls on a guy. Anyone who filled their basement with crates of Pappy Van Winkle is sitting pretty. As for my financial future, I like playing the odds.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

My brother and I had a very in-depth discussion last week about tangible assets versus money in the bank.


I'm into firearms. He's into musical instruments.

We started comparing the value of our collections, versus the value of American dollars over time.

Both of us started "collecting" about 30 years ago.

In almost every case, a Certificate of Deposit (CD) that made 5% APR would have been worth more now than almost any item in our collection of firearms or instruments. (Of course, dollars could be worthless almost overnight, given the circumstances.)

I didn't do in-depth financial research, but I didn't have a gun that made this mark (& he didn't have an instrument):
$1,000 x 5% interest x 30 years = $4,321.04

Gold (and some luckily picked real estate, with stupid expensive insurance and property taxes) were about the only thing we could come up with that would have made us more without being actively involved, than just money in the bank collecting interest...

Gold - 1995 vs 2025 - $390/oz then - $3,400/oz now - 7.5% APY


IMO, real estate is really a "roll of the dice," because of property taxes and insurance.

In some cases homeowners insurance in Florida is going to go up 600% because of weather this year.

Ideas???




'

Gold.

Resale value of most other things is prone to fluctuations depending upon various variables.

I’ll give you an example. When I went on my life’s first African Safari to Kenya in 1974, I had the good fortune to visit the famed Kenya Bunduki gun store in Nairobi. The secondhand rack was a double rifle lover's paradise. Best Grade English double rifles of the highest quality could be had for mere peanuts, because the sole manufacturer of Nitro Express ammunition at the time (I.C.I Kynoch) had ceased operations in 1969. I had the opportunity to purchase a very beautiful lightly used .600 Nitro Express sidelock ejector built by James Purdey & Sons in 1946 (regulated for the higher velocity 110Gr cordite loading). Along with the original rosewood case and all the cleaning accessories. For an amount of money which is less than what a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum costs today. I didn't avail the opportunity, because I was worried about the absence of factory loaded ammunition for the .600 Nitro Express. Looking back to that day 49 years ago, I immensely regret my decision now. I could have had the most beautiful .600 Nitro Express in existence for a dirt cheap price. And I didn't take my chance. An opportunity like that never presented itself to me ever again. Due to easier availability of factory loading ammunition (or at the very least, reloading components), the demand for those double rifles has peaked again. And with it, so has prices.

 

[Flbt]

For sure, a gold mine occasionally falls on a guy. Anyone who filled their basement with crates of Pappy Van Winkle is sitting pretty. As for my financial future, I like playing the odds.

I hear you.
I have timber mostly for the kids.
But it pays in hog, deer and a lot of fun now.
Have the kids starting on rasing bees.
I found out how much money can be made with them now.
It’s changed breeding queens, renting them out to farms and the honey. Especially if you are around Tupelo trees and rasing clover for hay all ready.
I want them to lean something that will pay on the farm.
I am renting the land for bees when it takes off.
If everything goes right that rent will be turned to gold or silver and left back to them.

 

[Flbt]

Gold.

Resale value of most other things is prone to fluctuations depending upon various variables.

I’ll give you an example. When I went on my life’s first African Safari to Kenya in 1974, I had the good fortune to visit the famed Kenya Bunduki gun store in Nairobi. The secondhand rack was a double rifle lover's paradise. Best Grade English double rifles of the highest quality could be had for mere peanuts, because the sole manufacturer of Nitro Express ammunition at the time (I.C.I Kynoch) had ceased operations in 1969. I had the opportunity to purchase a very beautiful lightly used .600 Nitro Express sidelock ejector built by James Purdey & Sons in 1946 (regulated for the higher velocity 110Gr cordite loading). Along with the original rosewood case and all the cleaning accessories. For an amount of money which is less than what a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum costs today. I didn't avail the opportunity, because I was worried about the absence of factory loaded ammunition for the .600 Nitro Express. Looking back to that day 49 years ago, I immensely regret my decision now. I could have had the most beautiful .600 Nitro Express in existence for a dirt cheap price. And I didn't take my chance. An opportunity like that never presented itself to me ever again. Due to easier availability of factory loading ammunition (or at the very least, reloading components), the demand for those double rifles has peaked again. And with it, so has prices.

My aunt that help dad rase me.
Got gold in to my head at a young age.
She knew I liked guns especially colts .
She pointed out that the last year we used gold as money that a 20$ gold pice and a 20$. Bill could buy one.
And that if you had the 20$ gold pice it’s value in good condition would still buy one in 80
And I believe it still will today where the 20$ bill will not buy a box of shells.

She said it was not so much that the gold was more valuable but through things like inflation the government had stolen the value of our money.

 

[Betterinthebush]

The only person who consistently makes money on collectibles regardless of economic climate is the auctioneer dropping the gavel.

 

[steve white]

I hear you.
I have timber mostly for the kids.
But it pays in hog, deer and a lot of fun now.
Have the kids starting on rasing bees.
I found out how much money can be made with them now.
It’s changed breeding queens, renting them out to farms and the honey. Especially if you are around Tupelo trees and rasing clover for hay all ready.
I want them to lean something that will pay on the farm.
I am renting the land for bees when it takes off.
If everything goes right that rent will be turned to gold or silver and left back to them.

My brother is in bees part time. He knows of a young man who got the vision and said to employer, "don't pay me at all--just give me bees of equivalent value." Before long he was loading them up on trucks to pollinate the almond trees in California, the fruit orchards from Mi. to N.Y. and making honey near Beaumont, TX. He became a millionaire by age 21!

 

[Flbt]

My brother is in bees part time. He knows of a young man who got the vision and said to employer, "don't pay me at all--just give me bees of equivalent value." Before long he was loading them up on trucks to pollinate the almond trees in California, the fruit orchards from Mi. to N.Y. and making honey near Beaumont, TX. He became a millionaire by age 21!

One of my dads friends grandson.
Told me about it to get me started with them. A few years ago he told me he was getting 15k a barrel of honey and he filled 3 semi trailer with honey. Said renting them out to farms brought more. And if you rased the queens they brought $30-$75 apiece and most comerical bee options bought all there queens. That’s thousand of them.
He started bees in 4h and has only worked for his grandfather and himself I think he’s 25.
House and land payed for his bee yard and honey house ( dammed factory) is payed for.

My boys like the woods and everything outside
I think they can make a good living out of this.