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November 19, 2006
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wolfbait said
The picture of the gun in the RIA auction is how I described this gun. $75K. It would be interesting to see the bid history, to see if just 2 guys went crazy.
I have had a trapper cleared by ATF many years ago. It was easy then. I sent them pictures and a description and they made it a C&R.
$75K for that carbine is unbelievable to me. When Henry estimated a top end price of $50K, I’ll bet he was envisioning an example in far better condition than the RIA example. Despite the RIA winning bid, given the condition, I would be with Henry’s estimate on the lower range he provided.
I suppose if you acquired the carbine, the way to possibly fetch the price RIA obtained, is to list it with RIA. I can’t think of anyone I know who would pay what that bidder paid. Sometimes I question if RIA high bidders even reside on this planet.
March 6, 2011
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steve004 said
$75K for that carbine is unbelievable to me. When Henry estimated a top end price of $50K, I’ll bet he was envisioning an example in far better condition than the RIA example. Despite the RIA winning bid, given the condition, I would be with Henry’s estimate on the lower range he provided.
I suppose if you acquired the carbine, the way to possibly fetch the price RIA obtained, is to list it with RIA. I can’t think of anyone I know who would pay what that bidder paid. Sometimes I question if RIA high bidders even reside on this planet.
Do you own one? Does anyone here own one? Would you like to own one? Bragging rights among other collectors. At any show people would come around just to look at it. There are very wealthy people, including Winchester collectors, who are looking for items to spend their money on that gives them pride of ownership. They are at an age where they either spend their wealth, or die and give their wealth to someone else to enjoy.
March 14, 2022
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I would love to own one but once again the questions remain, is it original?, does it letter?, will it be cleared by the BATF? If those concerns can’t be confirmed, that’s not something I would even consider, especially no BATF clearance or it’s illegal. However, you’ve peaked my interest and hope that all can be confirmed and you acquire it. Jmo
Rick C
March 6, 2011
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Rick C said
I would love to own one but once again the questions remain, is it original?, does it letter?, will it be cleared by the BATF? If those concerns can’t be confirmed, that’s not something I would even consider, especially no BATF clearance or it’s illegal.
I agree. I can answer those questions when I examine it. The question was, how much should I pay. I guess I will just have to decide how bad I want it.
November 19, 2006
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wolfbait said
Rick C said
I would love to own one but once again the questions remain, is it original?, does it letter?, will it be cleared by the BATF? If those concerns can’t be confirmed, that’s not something I would even consider, especially no BATF clearance or it’s illegal.
I agree. I can answer those questions when I examine it. The question was, how much should I pay. I guess I will just have to decide how bad I want it.
Maybe I missed it, but is this carbine in the letterable range? That would be a huge factor in determining what I would pay for it. If it hasn’t been cleared by the BATF, I would have much more optimism that that process would go quite smoothly if a factory letter showed it was shipped with a 12 inch barrel.
March 6, 2011
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If it has an ATF letter, good. A factory letter showing 12″, good. If neither, I am out. So far, the only actual price estimate is from one that sold, $75K. That one sale proves nothing, other than that one sold for that price. Extremely rare, extremely desirable guns are difficult to value.
The poor condition, modified, 1892 cut down carbine that John Wayne supposedly held one time in the movie Stagecoach sold for $113,000. Go figure.
March 14, 2022
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wolfbait said
Rick C said
I would love to own one but once again the questions remain, is it original?, does it letter?, will it be cleared by the BATF? If those concerns can’t be confirmed, that’s not something I would even consider, especially no BATF clearance or it’s illegal.
I agree. I can answer those questions when I examine it. The question was, how much should I pay. I guess I will just have to decide how bad I want it.
I wouldn’t pay anything until those questions were confirmed!
Rick C
November 7, 2015
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Interesting situation. In most cases value is based on condition, rarity and originality. In this case legality has a huge influence. These days all common sense seems to go out the window when aggressively promoted by a big auction house. Any reasonable estimate of value would be qualified by the first four factors. I agree with Steve that Harry has a very reasonable estimate of this rifle’s value. I think the $75K price is an outlier but if you can legally buy it for $10K and sell it for $75K you could definitely put a big red mark in the win column!
Mike
March 6, 2011
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“I think the $75K price is an outlier” An outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations in a dataset, representing an extreme value that is much higher or lower than the rest.
Having only one sale to observe, that only one sale can not be called an outlier.
A really important piece of information is the bidder history. If even 5 people were bidding at over $50K, that would indicate what serious buyers believe the gun is worth.
November 7, 2015
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OK, so $75K is the norm. Good luck with that. 
Mike
March 6, 2011
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TXGunNut said
OK, so $75K is the norm. Good luck with that.
Mike
By any definition it is. Until someone can show others that sold for more or less.
March 20, 2009
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Well, I guess that someone might be me. This 12″ SRC sold for $21,850 at Julia in 2012 Lot 1042. BUT… It has been restored.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
March 20, 2009
Online
This 12″ SRC sold for $28,750 at RIA in Sept 2018 as Lot 1003. Fairly poor condition.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
March 14, 2022
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I honestly don’t know why price is still being questioned when we don’t know if it’s original, letters, or will get cleared by the BTAF. 🤷🏼♂️
None of the above? parts gun if the wood and sights are original. 5-$600
All confirmed… $25k+ or whatever someone will pay!
Rick C
March 6, 2011
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Thank you for the links to other sales. Taking into consideration when those guns sold, what they sold for, and their condition, gives me a general idea what the current value may be. Without the information provided on those sales, I would have no idea of value. Now, when I look at the gun, I will at least have some information on previous sales to make an educated guess as to what I believe the gun is worth. Thanks again for researching those previous sales.
March 20, 2009
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wolfbait said
Thank you for the links to other sales. Taking into consideration when those guns sold, what they sold for, and their condition, gives me a general idea what the current value may be. Without the information provided on those sales, I would have no idea of value. Now, when I look at the gun, I will at least have some information on previous sales to make an educated guess as to what I believe the gun is worth. Thanks again for researching those previous sales.
Glad to help. I have been following sales of the Model 1892 rifles for around 13 years and have looked at more than 21,500 individual rifles in that time. There are NO set numbers for what a rifle may be worth at any one time. MANY factors come into play and any “cost/value estimate” may have a margin of error or +/- 30% or more.
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
March 6, 2011
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I agree. I have been buying, selling, trading Winchesters for 60 years. For most guns comparison shopping is available. Going to guns shows and talking to other collectors who buy and sell similar guns. And now sales on the internet. A 12″ 1892 is a rarity. I have never seen one in person or known anyone who had one. Now I have a few sales to refer to. The value is not definitive, but at least I have some information to work with.
July 8, 2012
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Wolfbait,
We would love to see pictures of it, and learn more about it once you have a chance to see it in person.
Good luck,
Al
November 19, 2006
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Let’s not overlook that the RIA carbine included a pair of beaver skin mittens and a Trapper’s pack/backboard.
March 20, 2009
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With a bit of time to kill this evening I dug into my data derived from the first 288,000 (almost) Model 1892 ledger entries. With regard to 12 inch barreled configurations, they were all SRC’s. There were 56 total of which 1 was in 25-20 WCF caliber, 14 in 44 WCF caliber and 41 in 38 WCF caliber. Any way that you slice it they are a rare configuration for sure.
I hope this helps
Michael
Model 1892 / Model 61 Collector, Research, Valuation
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