Krag Value on American Pickers

[Kerz]

Repost from CMP forum. Also another said it had a commercial rear sight. Just a FYI:

"I just saw the best of American Pickers whose theme is militaria.
One guy inherited from his dad a Krag carbine sn 13 or 15XXX which puts it at the time period of the Rough Riders or close to it.

The stock was reworked a little for hunting purposes.
Mike Wolfe sent photos to his military expert for an appraisal.

I estimated the value to be $1200 tops with an unaltered stock. His expert says the rifle in its altered state would bring $2K.
Mike bought the rifle for $1200 and is asking $2000 for it.
Without pics to see the rifle, as I described it, is $2K about market price for a Krag carbine?"

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=221860
Vic

[Dick Hosmer]

Well, for starters (which no one [yet] here - or there, with many "experts" - has mentioned) that s/n is not, and never was, a carbine, period. So, it is a Bannerman POS, except to a shooter/hunter, worth no more than $300-$400.

I kinda like the show, and would never dream of challenging them on their knowledge of old oil cans, but they very clearly have little to no interest or expertise in guns, or else it is a bias of their producers. I keep waiting for guns to appear on the show, but they virtually NEVER do. Consider the areas they visit - you think a LOT of those hoarders don't have large stashes of guns?

My wife actually called them and wanted to set up a visit on their California swing a few years back, and was going to surprise me with it. Thank my lucky stars I found out about it in time and squelched the deal.

[Fred G.]

Way long ago, some wanna be Civil War collector who didn't know his subject at all commissioned them to find and procure a Civil War gun. A guy with a lot of Civil War collectibles in his shop sold them an old 1816 type flintlock musket that had been converted to percussion. They paid $1,200.00 for it with his money that he'd given them. Upon presenting it to him, the new owner was pleased. What nobody including the seller knew was that the musket had been converted to percussion in a Confederate arsenal. It had a unique type of what I call a Snail type bolster that was only produced at a Confederate arsenal during the War Of Northern Agression. Unmistakable. Had they been aware of that fact, they and the buyer would've been tickled pink. Nobody knew of course.

[Kerz]

Well, for starters (which no one [yet] here - or there, with many "experts" - has mentioned) that s/n is not, and never was, a carbine, period. So, it is a Bannerman POS, except to a shooter/hunter, worth no more than $300-$400.

I kinda like the show, and would never dream of challenging them on their knowledge of old oil cans, but they very clearly have little to no interest or expertise in guns, or else it is a bias of their producers. I keep waiting for guns to appear on the show, but they virtually NEVER do. Consider the areas they visit - you think a LOT of those hoarders don't have large stashes of guns?....

You the man! No surprise to me.
Vic

[psteinmayer]

I think I saw that episode... or maybe another. The one I saw was a sporterized Krag, with an obvious 1903 front sight. I told my wife that it was worth between $300 and $400 tops. I about fell out of my chair when their "Expert" told them it was worth $2000+!!!

I like the show too. They did an entire episode with my cousin in Wisconsin (episode was about Beer and Oktoberfest, and they were picking Frank's Oktoberfest buddy - my cousin). I remember he was showing pictures from WWII where his father (My grandfather's brother) was a surgeon. Seeing my Great Uncle in those pictures what a bit of a thrill for me!!!

[madsenshooter]

Expert's last name must've been Merz!

[reincarnated]

A: It is a TV show, with all the PC baggage that goes with it.

B: However much of their business is real would run a lot smoother without dabbling into FFL record keeping & all the laws that change from state to state. If I ran their store, I would say NO to post-1898 guns or anything that came close, like most 1898 Krags.

C: If you were the guy that had all the junk, and if you had a room full of old guns, would you want them on TV? It is not that hard to figure out where some of the places are.

D: It is a TV show (again). If you had anything to do with it, would you want to give an opportunity to some crusading troublemaker to cause you legal trouble?

[Whig]

The Pickers show, like Pawns Stars, are all staged and often run afoul of common sense to real collectors of certain items like firearms. Neither of these two shows have FFLs and can only deal in antique firearms, of course.

I also watch these shows and laugh at the things I know more about than they do that are mis-valued. But, they are entertaining and I do learn about lots of different things I don't collect. Whether they make a great deal, or not, is irrelevant, though. They are getting paid a lot for having a hit TV show.

[sds1861]

I also enjoy these shows for their entertainment value, but have been informed, by various participants, that little to none of it is real. This also includes the storage locker shows.

My opinion is that there is only one reality show that is "now" correctly policed and controlled by the producers and is truly real. It's name "Antiques Road Show".

Steve Stevens

[butlersrangers]

What!!! How about "The Curse of Oak Island"??!! ;D