So over on the current "you will buy a revolver" thread, someone claimed that metal pistols are special because polymer pistols will never be collectible.

There are a lot of metal pistols that some people apparently thought would never be collectible. In some cases they're right (remember that Chinese knock-off of the German pistol that allowed you to cycle the slide by pulling back on the front of the trigger guard?), but in some cases they were wrong (Confederate home-brew designs and knock-offs of Colts and Remingtons, Merwin and Hulbert revolvers in general).

So why would early polymer pistols never become collectibles? In some cases it hasn't really happened yet (some early S&W designs seem to be deservedly floating off into obscurity while Colt 2000 and HK VP70 prices seem to be randomly pulled out of peoples' butts), but why would they absolutely be precluded from becoming the darlings of the safe queen set?

Might it have something to do with some people assuming polymer "won't last"?

The polymer used in handgun frames is not the same polymer as the cheap plastic used in a Chinese toy, that gets brittle and cracks within a few years.

I dont think anyone can say what people might view as collectible in the future.
Examples:
Corvairs.
Edsels.

If people will collect Beanie Babies, why not guns with polymer frames or grips?

That said, who can demonstrate that any polymer used in firearms will not deteriorate in 100 years? Anyone have any examples to point to?
I do believe most of it is as special and durable as is available, but shortly after I brought back an SSG-69 rifle from Germany and was cleaning it, I spilled a little of the standard solvent I used on my guns on the plastic magazine well/trigger housing. The plastic immediately crazed and started to deteriorate not long after. Correcting that totally unexpected consequence was quite expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Might it have something to do with some people assuming polymer "won't last"?

The polymer used in handgun frames is not the same polymer as the cheap plastic used in a Chinese toy, that gets brittle and cracks within a few years.

It’s perhaps less to do with durability and more to do with desirability.

As with many products, newer materials can be as - if not more - effective & efficient, but the older materials have an intangible appeal as to feel, etc. And this difference is usually furthered by modern styling that, while attractive to a pre-teenager, has a short life-cycle for adults.

People don’t buy old homes and old cars because they work better or last longer. They buy them because they have a classic style & feel.

I think when people say polymer guns are not collectable, they mean by themselves.

Generations that come after us may very well feel about older Glocks as many in my generation feel about old Smiths and Colts.

I think people who are saying that are hung up on the nostalgic notion of some walnut and blued steel gun that was given to them by their father and they will give to their grandchildren. They think plastic means cheap and disposable. Of course countless blued steel guns have been ruined by rust.

On the bigger picture anything that is no longer made can become a collectors item. Remember when SKS rifles were selling for $99 in the 1990s so people thought they were junk. Nice SKS rifles are now selling for $500-600.

I was on Glock Talk (I know, I know...) they were talking about Gen 1 Glock 19 pistols going for up to $10K. Yes I am serious.

Is a generic 50 YO Smith Model 10 collectable? The quintessential anonymous cop gun? Whether it is or isn't in 40 years will what is now a 10 YO Glock 17 or 19 be any less collectible.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there weren't very many Gen 1s made. The quickly moved to gen 2. If so, scarcity always drives up price.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGWALLY:
I was on Glock Talk (I know, I know...) they were talking about Gen 1 Glock 19 pistols going for up to $10K. Yes I am serious.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there weren't very many Gen 1s made. The quickly moved to gen 2. If so, scarcity always drives up price.

Correct. There were a total of 16 Gen 1 G19s produced. They were actually made from cut down G17 frames.

They were produced as a custom order for the Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control agents.

When the standard Gen 2 G19 was introduced shortly thereafter, these 16 agents were offered new Gen 2s in trade, and Glock sold off the handful of prototype Gen 1s as police trade-in guns to a dealer. They were then bought by customers as basic used PD trade-ins, probably rather cheaply, but have since risen dramatically in value and collector appeal once folks realized how few of them there actually are...

quote:

Originally posted by FHHM213:
People don’t buy old homes and old cars because they work better or last longer. They buy them because they have a classic style & feel.

Well, by that logic the polymer pistols of today will appeal as 'classic' to those who are teenagers today but will be relatively wealthy middle-aged people down the road, and the M17 will become a 'classic' once it's taken us through a major war or two. All that's really required is use and the passage of time.

I think that logic is more correct than not.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmo952:
I think that logic is more correct than not.

Yep. Nobody thought M1 Carbines were worth a crap back in the 80s and 90s. You could get one free with a turkey sammitch.

Well... shooting today with a forum member.
His aluminum framed Sig P220 Compact SAS developed a cracked frame (near the mag release button)... while my Polymer framed Glock kept on chugging..
I know this is an extreme example and will likely fire up some folks, but... just saying, that it takes decades for some of us to change our thinking.
Collectible Polymer? Probably!

There are tons of collectable Glocks that go for serious money. Yes a Gen1 Glock 19 will go for well over 10k. I had all 6 RTF Glocks with gills and sold 4 of them all over original price with the G23C going for $3400.

I still have the Glock 19 with gills because I just like it and the most rare of all Gilled Glocks the 22C which no one has seen sell on the auction sites in years. There are estimates that less than 150 were ever made and could go for as much as $5000 to someone that has the other 5 and is only missing the most rare 22C.

As polarizing as polymer guns can be among the some shooters and collectors, the original Gen 1 Glock 17 is arguably one of the most significant handgun designs of all time. They are already quite collectible and are only going to go up in value.

quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
As polarizing as polymer guns can be among the some shooters and collectors, the original Gen 1 Glock 17 is arguably one of the most significant handgun designs of all time. They are already quite collectible and are only going to go up in value.

Gen 1 Glock 17's can go for as much as $1500. Right now there is a box and manual for a G1 Glock 17 and it's almost up to $900 by itself. Yes that is with no gun. Crazy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283912141305

IN the future all guns will be outlawed, the only place you'll see them is in a museum, probably in the Hall of Violence...



Some poly guns will be collectable, first gen guns typically do well, as do the odd custom or short runs.

It’s perhaps less to do with durability and more to do with desirability.

As with many products, newer materials can be as - if not more - effective & efficient, but the older materials have an intangible appeal as to feel, etc. And this difference is usually furthered by modern styling that, while attractive to a pre-teenager, has a short life-cycle for adults.

People don’t buy old homes and old cars because they work better or last longer. They buy them because they have a classic style & feel.[/QUOTE]

Bingo, we have a winner!


100’s of mostly black motorcycles at a rally or a ride go largely unnoticed and unappreciated regardless of the big money most spent. For the bike and it’s accessories. Then someone rides in on an old Honda 750 chopper and those 100’s of owners are drawn to it like moths to the light. Finally, something different in the sea of sameness.

I walk through most gunshops and look at the sea of sameness of black poly guns from every manufacturer looking nearly identical. Same for many AR’s. Blah, blah, blah, boring, boring, boring. Take the logo off most of them and few could distinguish between them.

I quickly look for a revolver to break up that sea of sameness of the black fantastic plastic pistols. All trying to be noticed and different. But in reality, they mostly really are all the same.

I wouldn’t trade my 20+ year old P229 or P239 for any of them.

An old stainless Ruger Mark II or most older and newer (Ruger, Colt, S&W etc) revolvers, and I’m all over it. There’s a reason my motorcycle is gloss pearl white from a different American manufacturer.