ST Louis PD auctioning off 29 '30s era Thompson Machine Guns

[hornadylnl]

who says government doesn't create wealth?!

They can kill it just as easily as they created it.

They can either a: repeal the nfa making your $30,000 machine gun now worth $1000 or b: ban nfa leaving you with nothing while they melt them down.

A whole lot of machine gun owners are rooting for the status quo.

 

[30calmachinegunner]

Collectable machineguns (original aka Colt Thompsons) would still retain their value even if new manufactured guns were allowed. Just as a Faberge egg would retain it's value if new ones were made

They can kill it just as easily as they created it.

They can either a: repeal the nfa making your $30,000 machine gun now worth $1000 or b: ban nfa leaving you with nothing while they melt them down.

A whole lot of machine gun owners are rooting for the status quo.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Collectable machineguns (original aka Colt Thompsons) would still retain their value even if new manufactured guns were allowed. Just as a Faberge egg would retain it's value if new ones were made

Some of their value. There is the full-auto value and the historical value. The latter would be all that remained.

 

[Leadeye]

Back in 1980 I remember seeing Numrich 1928s with the two piece actuator sell for $400 while a Colt 1921 in good condition sold for $3200. That's probably the biggest historical comparison I remember. Remanufactured WW2 guns like Stens and MP-40s were selling for about half of what an original sold for.

 

[ShootnCut]

The value of a Colt Thompson, like so many other things is determined by many factors. Desirability and rarity are what immediately come to mind.
I bought mine way back when when they didn't cost what a new car cost. If I had to do it today it wouldn't happen, simply because I cannot afford or justify that kind of expense. But I wanted to hold in my hands and shoot what I saw on "The Untouchables", "The St Valentine's Day Massacre" and all the other gangster shows and movies. However the value to me was based on a number of things.
1. Looks. I personally think the Thompson is one of, if not the most visually pleasing firearms ever made.
2. Quality. Most automatic weapons aren't made with the care you see in a Colt TSMG. The nice matte bluing, the precision of the machined parts and the gorgeous walnut make them one of the finest examples of old world craftsmanship there is.
3. It's a machine gun. My favorite type of firearm. Wish I could afford more.
4. History and notoriety. They truly did make the twenties and thirties roar, and not always in a positive way. And who doesn't recognize a "Tommy Gun"?
5. Reliability. With decent magazines and ammo they are as reliable as any automatic weapon ever made. (Yes, even with 50 and 100 round drums.)
6. Accuracy. Although an open bolt sub isn't renowned for accuracy it's surprising how well you can hit with one.
7. Wow factor. I've taken my gun to ranges and it always brings a smile to anyone's face who handles or shoots it. And that applies even to other collectors who have many automatic weapons in their own collections.
That's why I value one so highly and why so many other collectors I've spoken with do as well.

You have to consider the fact that only 15,000 were ever made. Period. Although no one is sure, current estimates figure there are between 2500-3500 available on the NFA registry that us common folks can legally own. (With most leaning toward the higher figure.)
Many were shipped overseas. Many were destroyed. Many are forever locked in the departments who originally purchased them due to failure to register them. And I'm sure there are many locked away in closets across the country that will never be able to be legally owned. If you go with the higher figure of 3500 and figure the states which allow their ownership that comes out to less than 100 per state. Are they worth $30,000.00? Of course not. But what's the last thing we had to buy that we figured was worth the inflated price?
The closing of new automatic weapons in 1986 and the assault weapons ban of 1994 really screwed us. Between 86 and 94 the prices rose but not as much as one might think. Then in 94 when greed made an AR15 a $1500.00 item, Anyone with a $1500.00 M16 decided their gun was worth a whole bunch more. That thinking spelled the beginning of the end for affordable machine guns. And just like the 22 ammo, as long as there are people willing to pay the ridiculous prices there will be people willing to collect them. And the prices will remain high. An Ingram M-10 at one time sold for less than the $200.00 tax. Mine cost me around $1200.00. Now they're pushing $5,000.00. Outrageous, yes, but welcome to the world of machine guns.

To get this thread back on track, I researched the records and found 23 Colt Thompsons registered to the St Louis PD. As I stated before the records aren't 100% as far as numbers or models are concerned. For 13 years Thompsons were sold without regulation so the records were based more on inventory and the business concerns than anything else. Some were shipped out with the wrong model designation. With that in mind, of the 23 guns, three are listed as 1927AC, one as a 1927A, and 19 as 1921ACs.
The St Louis County Sheriff Dept which is located in St Louis purchased one but whether or not it's going up for sale remains to be seen.
Roger Cox stated in the supplement to his book that St Louis purchased their guns prior to 1934. So they either registered them when it became necessary or the police chief has a big surprise coming to him. Although I would really like to see them find good homes in private collections, I can't help think about how amusing it would be if they were indeed unregistered. Just to see the dollar signs in that police chief's eyes fading away as an ATF agent informs him that the very restrictive type of laws he seems to support just came back to bite him in his financial butt, would be priceless. I hope however that doesn't happen as he would probably chop them up in a temper tantrum just to get political attention.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

The latest: St. Louis Police pull trigger on Tommy gun sale as part of $1.2 million deal

 

[Gunaria]

I think Midwest Dist will come out on top while Bill Hicks & Co will be lucky to brake even.