Interesting auction

[No_0ne]

https://www.proxibid.com/aspr/3-RUSSIAN-MOSIN-NAGANT-BOLT-ACTION-RIFLES/38408691/LotDetail.asp?lid=38408691&scrollLocationOnCatalog=1436

It's the first of the three that brought such interest ...

Note: There's an additional 20% buyer's premium on top of the listed price, putting the buyer's total at $17k plus ...

Edited October 30, 2017 by No_0ne

[Chucktshoes]

Nothing about that makes any sense to me.

[No_0ne]

The first rifle listed is an original, matching 1896 Cossack rifle.  Similar to the early Dragoons, but specifically marked for the Cossack cavalry battalions, and far more rare, especially in matching condition.   It's essentially a museum piece, perhaps unique, thus the interest (and price).  It doesn't hurt that it came from the estate of one of the true greats in the milsurp collection world, and was auctioned by a company of similar notoriety ...

[Capbyrd]

On 10/29/2017 at 11:12 PM, No_0ne said:

The first rifle listed is an original, matching 1896 Cossack rifle.  Similar to the early Dragoons, but specifically marked for the Cossack cavalry battalions, and far more rare, especially in matching condition.   It's essentially a museum piece, perhaps unique, thus the interest (and price).  It doesn't hurt that it came from the estate of one of the true greats in the milsurp collection world, and was auctioned by a company of similar notoriety ...

But even the auction company put the lot value at 800-1100 dollars.   What did the buyer and bidders know that we are missing? 


Yes I know this over a year old but it was just linked in another thread. 

[No_0ne]

1 hour ago, Capbyrd said:

But even the auction company put the lot value at 800-1100 dollars.   What did the buyer and bidders know that we are missing? 


Yes I know this over a year old but it was just linked in another thread. 

Auction companies almost never identify the truly rare rifles correctly.  The auction was for the estate of a well-known collector, and the collection was available for viewing and inspection for several weeks ahead of the auction.  The number of collectors of high-end Russian weapons is fairly small, and very interconnected, so word travels fast when the unique pieces become available.  The buyer was present at the auction, as was the second highest bidder, if I remember correctly the third was a telephone bidder.  There are a couple other buyers of these types of rifles that had recently made other expensive purchases and sat this auction out, or it might have gone even higher. As for what these people knew, the information is out there, if anyone takes the time to avail themselves of it,. but the time involved is measured in years of study, not something you can get out of a Wiki article.  However, if you read the auction description carefully, there are a couple of clues:  "K A 3" means it had the Cossack marking (it's actually the Cyrillic characters for "kaz", meaning "kos"), the stock is an early dragoon length (no recoil crossbolt), the rear site is the early "flat type" and the handguard is the "type 1", which wraps around the rear site and is virtually never found intact.  I saved this particular auction in my watchlist solely on those clues, I had no idea if the rifle was a completely original, all-matching example or not, but those characteristics meant it would go high in any case ...

Edited November 8, 2018 by No_0ne

[jhc77]

Should not have searched on there. Apparently I need to get another safe for a rifle of mine, which needs motion and heat capabilities. sheesh

[No_0ne]

4 hours ago, jhc77 said:

Should not have searched on there. Apparently I need to get another safe for a rifle of mine, which needs motion and heat capabilities. sheesh

If you have a rare one, post it.  Even though I can never afford them, I still like to see pics ...

[jhc77]

52 minutes ago, No_0ne said:

If you have a rare one, post it.  Even though I can never afford them, I still like to see pics ...

It’s under one of the lever gun threads. If the pictures have disappeared I’ll make a new thread instead of stepping in this one.