Antique arms boom eases

Press, 23 October 1978, Page 2

Antique arms boom eases

By

DERRICK ROONEY

Collectors of firearms and militaria had, if not a day of bargains, at least a day of relief from soaring prices at their annual outing on Saturday at the New Zealand Antique Arms Association’s conference and auction. Private collectors and dealers from many parts of New Zealand attended the auction in Christchurch. More than 700 lots, ranging from a hand-grenade casing to an English flintlock pistol, changed hands. But the buyers showed a reluctance to delve into their chequebooks when the price went above $lOO. The top lots went for less than observers had predicted, and the only items that sold readily were in the lower price range, between $3O and $BO. The annual auction is restricted to members of the association, but is regarded as a guide to the prices that collectors of firearms, edged weapons, badges, medals, and other associated items will have to pay at public auctions. Unlike last year’s sale, when an air of urgency pervaded the proceedings and bidding was brisk for nearly every item, Saturday’s auction was mostly in a low key. Lassitude overcame the bidders in the afternoon. They started with a great burst when bidding shot up to $375 for a Colt automatic pistol — a United States Army model, a late entry not listed in the catalogue.

But nearly 100 more Jots changed hands before any reached three figures. No item reached the magical four figures, and not many managed even three. The top price was paid for a military item, a sergeant’s model .75 calibre “Brown Bess” musket — a flintlock piece, dating from perhaps the early nineteenth century, but in good working order. This made $550. Another piece offered by the same vendor, a .577 Volunteer percussion rifle by Pritchett and Sons, of London, fetched $4OO. Only one other item went to more than $400; a German percussion jager rifle by Rosch. This fine rifle went for $525, and many people at the auction thought the buyer got a bargain. Unlike the “Brown Bess.” which was very well made but a plain military piece valued mostly for its rarity (few come up at auction in New Zealand), the jager rifle stood out for its fine lines and craftsmanship. Fully stocked, it has an octagonal swamped barrel with a flipup sight, double set-triggers and an ornate trigger guard with an acorn finial. The stock is finely chequered at the wrist and fitted with a sliding patchbox, and the; metal parts have bold scroll; engraving. Bidding ran up briskly for'] this item, but stopped quick-! ly once $5OO was passed. i Towards the end of the] sale it was obvious that bid-] ders were running out of!

' steam — or cash. A number of desirable items, including some hard-to-get Winchester rifles, failed to reach their realistic reserve prices. But there were some raised eyebrows when an 1822 British cavalry trooper’s sword went for $l5O, and when bidding on a single-barrel muzzle-loading shotgun by W. H. Tisdall shot up to $270 in short order before it was knocked down. The reluctance of buyers to dip into their bank balances for the top-priced lots obviously was a sign of the tough times, but it was also an indication that the quality of the items offered was not as high as it has been in some previous auctions. ] Bayonets were there io plenty, though, at firm prices, and some of them were types seldom seen in New Zealand. Ammunition collectors aho had a field day. One rare item, three packets of original brass-foil 577/450 Martini cartridges, went to a postal bidder for $52, and 10 Kyr-och Express No I blackpowder cartridges went for $53, but top price was paid for a packet of 577/500 canying the White Elev label — big-game calibre, powerful enough to bowl a charging rhino head over | heels, for which a collector .paid $73, and seemed happy enough to do so. None of this ammunition will be fired; it is too valuable. Collectors of medals and badges, who specialise in the esoteric, were not very well

served on Saturday, but one or two rare items changed hands. A New Zealand [Maori War medal, with name inserted, topped the poll at $65, and two American medals, one from the Civil War and the other from the Indian Wars, made $6O each. The auction included a scattering of unusual items. One, a brass air rifle by Benjamin, went for $35. This was in two pieces, and not working, but gladdened some collector’s heart. A World War I New Zealand “lemonsqueezer” hat with a hole in it went for $l6, and a World War II Sten gun (deactivated) fetched $3OO from a postal bidder. Books, too, met a ready demand, as always, and some went for inexplicably high prices. One buyer paid $27 for a copy of “Guns of the World,” which was recently “remaindered” m several Christchurch bookshops for about $B.