DelGrego Restoration

[John Taddeo]

2 cents worth... Just like anything , if at any time a particular item becomes "the thing to have" and the availability is outweighed by the demand then the price tag and collectability will follow no matter what the beliefs of the past may have been.. Think back on what you "could have bought" and at what price.. I guess diversity in the old gun safe portfolio isn't always a bad thing, and speculation is what it is, because the prices very seldom drop and you never know when the old dust collector might be tomorrows fad.. People bought pet "Rocks" at an astounding rate for Gods sake..

[Patrick Butler]

Originally Posted by John Taddeo

2 cents worth... Just like anything , if at any time a particular item becomes "the thing to have" and the availability is outweighed by the demand then the price tag and collectability will follow no matter what the beliefs of the past may have been.. Think back on what you "could have bought" and at what price.. I guess diversity in the old gun safe portfolio isn't always a bad thing, and speculation is what it is, because the prices very seldom drop and you never know when the old dust collector might be tomorrows fad.. People bought pet "Rocks" at an astounding rate for Gods sake..

You are right there are fads. I knew Gary Dahl (Pet Rock) in Los Gatos, CA and he laughed all the way to the bank...

However, I do believe that the movement from restored to original objects will continue and as an investment an original high-grade SXS like Parker is the way to go. Given the fact that anyone can have a well-worn Parker fully restored for say $3,000, there tens of thousands that could be produced.

I agree that demand is fickle, but price always reflects demand and the number for sale. I do remember a recent comment from DelGrego that his three generations have worked on 60,000 Parker guns. Given that many Parkers you wonder how many have been passed as original by other individuals, especially as DelGrego Sr. had the original Parker parts to work with...

Regarding Parkers as an investment, I plan to keep most of mine, but I'm, like many members, well over 65 and I wonder if in the next 10-20 years James Julia and the like will have a lot of great high-grade original Parkers (you know, the ones we never sell) at auction?

Back to the price equation of demand and numbers, what if the next two generations have much less interest in these incredible guns? When I shoot sporting clays, all you see are autos, nice U/O and I'm asked, is that a reproduction? Perhaps Parkers will be a long-term fad. I sincerely hope not.

Patrick

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Patrick Butler

Back to the price equation of demand and numbers, what if the next two generations have much less interest in these incredible guns? When I shoot sporting clays, all you see are autos, nice U/O and I'm asked, is that a reproduction? Perhaps Parkers will be a long-term fad. I sincerely hope not.

Patrick

Adding to this thought, I suspect when the day comes that lead shot is banned demand and price for classic doubles will fall off a cliff for all but the high condition high grade guns and even those may be effected.