I believe a major reason for collectibility comes from the perception that when it comes to polymer vs metal, polymer manufacturing continues to improve, while a lot of metal manufacturing is 'they don't make 'em like they used to.'

Do I have to point out the droves of SF members who gush over West German made Sigs in their triple SN & proofed glory? Is there anyone who'd prefer a 2020 Colt Python over a vintage one?

When it comes to S&W revolvers, the pre-lock, pre-MIM models are universally preferred. The older pinned & recessed models are desired further still.

While some Gen 1 Glocks are becoming collectible, I doubt anyone believes the Gen 1 frames were better made than current Gen 3-5 frames. If we're discussing AR-15s, I doubt anyone would argue the polymer stocks from the 1960s were better made than the ones today.

I know a lot people who collect vintage Pyrex, Corningware, and other glass and ceramic bakeware, but none of them care about vintage Tupperware. There's not cachet or mystique to old plastic.

Have you ever seen old tupperware that was still serviceable ? I haven't. Wood and steel deteriorate as well, but no where near as fast as tupperware. "Modern polymer" blah blah yea I know, but tupperware is tupperware in 100 years. Probably. I'm guessing.

This stuff again.

Show me a "deteriorated" H&K VP70 or P9S. Those pistols can be upwards of fifty years old. Show me one that's falling apart.

Show me a "deteriorated" first generation Glock G17. You'll find examples of G17s which are about thirty-five years old.

You've got the internet at your fingertips. Show me one of these pistols- even one- which has the polymer components falling apart.

BTW, when my wife's uncle died, we were given his Tupperware. We are actively using Tupperware which appears to be from the 1970s. We use it daily. A couple of these are in my fridge right now. The lids get flexed all the time, yet, no cracks. They get washed weekly. No fading or discoloraton. We've got one of these, too.

We've got this entire set (ours have the lids). 1970s vintage, and except for dinnerware marks at the bottom of the bowls, you might think the stuff came out of Wal-Mart last week.

I've got an H&K P9S proofed 1980. I don't see any cracks, discoloration, or deformation. I hear this stuff from time to time, about crumbling pistol frames, but it appears to be all theoretical. Prove me wrong. Let's see some evidence.

I'm not a collector, but I have a significant number of firearms, spread over several safes in several rooms. I fell into that category of evil "super gun owners" that were talking points a few years ago. Lots of guns.

As it turns out, I have more polymer firearms presently than I do metal framed firearms. I have plenty of metal framed firearms, but the plastic pistols have swelled. Presently most models of Glocks are represented, some in multiples. I don't call this a collection; my motivation has been grabbing good deals, and picking up firearms that interested me, or that I found worked for me. I bought firearms that would be available to family should purchase become a problem in the future, and I've given a number away to my kids.

I think the thread is talking about people who collect for the sake of a collection; collecting a set by model. Mine are user firearms, some are unfired, but I don't buy them to store them. They're all meant to be used. I've never bought them to fill a slot by getting the full set of this or that, though I do have those, including some with consecutive serials (by accident).

My point, I guess, is that for whatever reason one "collects," polymer pistols are as collectible as any. It's hard to argue with some of the precision craftsmanship of some classic firearms; look at the P210. It's a work of art. I like single action revolvers. I have a bunch, but I don't collect them. Same for polymer...they've swelled in numbers over the years because they work, they last, I fully anticipate that they'll be around as long as me and well after. I don't worry in the least about aging plastic pistols. I suppose that if they were left laying around in the back yard in the sun and occasional rain, for years on end, it might be different, but I'm fairly certain that I could carry these daily for the remaining years and have no concerns.

There's no reason why someone can't or wouldn't collect polymer pistols, bit it S&W, Sig, HK, Ruger, Glock, Walther, etc.

A while back I was at the range and I looked down at my bench at a Belgian Hi Power and and a Glock 19. Both had shot one inch groups at ten yards but if someone offered to buy the Glock I would have sold it instantly because I could easily buy another just as good. I wouldn't sell the Browning at any price. I love it for the beauty of the human crafted precision. I can't speak for others, but in my case I collect pistols for how they are made and not the material they're made of.

I think the most all polymer pistols will never be collectible. Mainly because most all of them have been made in such large quantities. Also they are generally made cheaper/quicker and not as esthetically as pleasing as the classics than some of the traditional classics. They also lack the visual craftsmanship that collecters seem to love in 1911's, colt's blued/nickel pythons, BHP's, and the likes. Nobody goes crazy over a 20 year old Glock, a S+W revolver or BHP yeah.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
My point, I guess, is that for whatever reason one "collects," polymer pistols are as collectible as any.

I agree and that was my point about Beanie Babies. As for collecting guns, there are countless guns that were acquired with no intention of shooting them. Unless a manufacturer’s polymer frames become a pile of crumbs at some point (however unlikely that might be), such guns might still be desirable to collectors in some far future. Who would turn down owning a revolver that could be proved to have been owned by J. E. B. Stuart even if it were completely pitted from rust and was missing a wooden grip panel?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Show me a "deteriorated" H&K VP70 or P9S. Those pistols can be upwards of fifty years old. Show me one that's falling apart.

Show me a "deteriorated" first generation Glock G17. You'll find examples of G17s which are about thirty-five years old.

Indeed.

Plus, the Remington Nylon 66, a .22 rifle with a polymer receiver that represents the first polymer-framed mass production firearm, predates them all. The earliest examples of those are over 60 years old (1959).

next time you see a toy collectors show advertised in the penny saver,

go take a look at what they are charging/getting for collectable toys, plastic collectable toys.

take an extra diaper , you might need it.

as long as there are people and money , there will be crazy people with money .

Polymer will never be collectable because they're ugly to begin with.

They're cheap to make, so there's a million of them. Unless you have a pristine version of a rare gun.... which is how it works for all guns.

Just look at collectible cars, the prices of the older classics are starting to go down, the 60-70's are peaking. 80-90's are going up. Same thing will happen with gums.

But the same thing that makes a Glock a good sidearm today is what will keep them from being valuable or collectable. An old Colt or S&W will lose their luster as it were, after decades of honest use. Your Glock will look probably look exactly the same after decades honest of use. So nice ones won't be hard to find, there won't be anything rare or unusual about them.

There’s a local shop that had a Gen 1 Glock 17 in fairly well-worn condition with the original box, manual, and two second gen FML mags instead of the original NFML U-notch thin baseplate mags. They had it priced at just under a grand.

I think as time goes by, the older polymer guns will continue to appreciate in value. I have no reason to believe otherwise.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I know a lot people who collect vintage Pyrex, Corningware, and other glass and ceramic bakeware, but none of them care about vintage Tupperware. There's not cachet or mystique to old plastic.

Look at bendable's post. Then look up pricing for certain rare 1960's GI Joe action figures, or early Barbies, etc. 1950's plastic toys are collectable, a number of them in mint condition, and some very valuable. Plastic has nothing to do with the value of an item.

Take my original Ruger PC-9, before the the new takedown model was released; used ones fetched as high as $1000 bucks on Gunbroker a few years back, and I paid $325 NIB.

Collectible or valuable? There is a difference.
Metal guns cost more to make and earlier guns had little or no rust protection unless they were cared for or stainless. Your dog can't chew them up but many show their age and lose value due to their less than pristine condition. Those that remain in good to excellent condition go for good money, eventually.
Polymer, costing less and being produced in higher numbers, are being produced in high volume. They age pretty well.
The metal parts on most modern polymer guns have excellent rust protection and stay nice with only basic maintenance. The guns are being improved (mostly) with each new model. People don't look at them as a work of art like a metal gun may be. Those early Glock and H&K's are the exception.
So it ends up as a numbers thing to make them valuable to a collector. You need more buyers than sellers. Compared to other investment options, I've never considered guns as anything special except for their intended use. A few maybe, but there are better ways to make money long term.

So far in this thread one, one poly gun has been pointed out as being collectable. The Gen 1 Glock.

Beanie Babies, seriously? There was a very short time when they were 'collectible'. Now most garage sales and Thrift stores can't even sell them for $0.25 to $1.00. Why, because they were mass produced, cheap and the concept was copied a dozen times over by other manufacturers.

Hmm, sounds similar to the millions of poly guns being made today. A striker fired poly gun is a striker fired poly gun in the sea of sameness.

That specifically points away from, not towards, an item as being 'collectible'.

I suspect the very same posters up to this point could list dozens, perhaps hundreds, of metal gun from more manufacturers than some of us know of that are or will be collectible.

Just a thought, yours may be different and only time will bear out what actually happens.

like a dumbass, i traded away my "Blueline". Despite it being in 40 S&W, I'd say it's somewhat collectible. Hop just posted this review yesterday-seemed timely.

Two items make items worth money and sought after, "Scarcity" and "Popularity." No one can predict what firearms will be sought in the future. Doubtful, but Glock could cease production or a new material may be the standard for handguns. Predicting the future for collecting is hard. For those working when Star Wars movie first came out, one would have made much money if one had stocked up on those toys.

quote:

Originally posted by TN Mark:
Beanie Babies, seriously?

Yes, that’s called an example.
In that case it’s an example of the point I was making that people will “collect” virtually anything for any reason, and sometimes for what appears to normal people to be no reason at all. The fact that (most) people have stopped collecting BBs merely demonstrates that tastes change and a collectable treasure today may become trash in the collection bin tomorrow.

At one time I was acquiring about all the current Smith and Wesson revolvers available, and many for no good reason other than that I didn’t have a particular model—i.e., I was collecting them. In time, though, I realized I had no good reason to have most of them and sold them off. They had some value and therefore didn’t suffer the trash bin fate of most Beanie Babies, but the principle was the same.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

I owned the fist polymer hand gun about 12 yrs before the Glock was introduced. My H&K VP70 was DAO 19+1 was my first hand gun. It was traded for an H&K P7 PSP, in my opinion the very finest 9mm hand gun EVER produced and I do have a Sig Sauer P210 Target.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I know a lot people who collect vintage Pyrex, Corningware, and other glass and ceramic bakeware, but none of them care about vintage Tupperware. There's not cachet or mystique to old plastic.

Look at bendable's post. Then look up pricing for certain rare 1960's GI Joe action figures, or early Barbies, etc. 1950's plastic toys are collectable, a number of them in mint condition, and some very valuable. Plastic has nothing to do with the value of an item.

You're overgeneralizing my statement. Re-read my post. Some things develop a demand, because people perceive the vintage stuff to be better made, and they can no longer get something made to that standard w/o it being cost prohibitive. Guns are like this. Cast iron pans are like this. People pay over $100 for Griswold skillets that are over 100 years old. Violins made over 300 years ago are perceived to be superior quality than modern ones.

I'm aware of vintage toy markets, but I don't think any collectors claim that Barbi and GI-Joe figures made in the 1960s were made better than ones in the 21st Century. Vintage toys, comic books, baseball cards, etc - their collectible value is not base on their superior construction.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I know a lot people who collect vintage Pyrex, Corningware, and other glass and ceramic bakeware, but none of them care about vintage Tupperware. There's not cachet or mystique to old plastic.

Look at bendable's post. Then look up pricing for certain rare 1960's GI Joe action figures, or early Barbies, etc. 1950's plastic toys are collectable, a number of them in mint condition, and some very valuable. Plastic has nothing to do with the value of an item.

You're overgeneralizing my statement. Re-read my post. Some things develop a demand, because people perceive the vintage stuff to be better made, and they can no longer get something made to that standard w/o it being cost prohibitive. Guns are like this. Cast iron pans are like this. People pay over $100 for Griswold skillets that are over 100 years old. Violins made over 300 years ago are perceived to be superior quality than modern ones.

I'm aware of vintage toy markets, but I don't think any collectors claim that Barbi and GI-Joe figures made in the 1960s were made better than ones in the 21st Century. Vintage toys, comic books, baseball cards, etc - their collectible value is not base on their superior construction.

On guns a lot of it isn't even quality. It's the finish or looks or the trigger. Look at a vintage Colt Python, they weren't known as a gun that you'd shoot cases of full house .357's out of (or a model 19 S+W). BUT, the blueing on both of those is far nicer/prettier than any blueing you see on anything made in the last 10 years....