The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps placed their first order for .45 Reising Submachine Guns in January 1942,just one month after America's entry into World War II. Produced throughout the war, Reisings saw service in both the Pacific and European theaters, with security personnel domestically, and with law enforcement and correctional agencies after the war
Few countries trust their citizens with firearms as does the United States, safeguarded by our Second Amendment right. As a result, vast quantities of surplus military small arms are imported annually. Of these most will make excellent shooters, however, in terms of financial investment how can a collector separate the wheat from the chaff?
Appraisal will always be more an art than a science, but this author proposes a technique that provides a bit of predictability to the valuation of military arms.
Each year tens of thousands of surplus military small arms are imported into the United States for commercial sale. Of these, most will make excellent shooters, however, in terms of financial investment, how can a collector or dealer distinguish between the two? In contrast to blue books that just describe the current value of specific firearms, this article intends to identify and explain certain variables that can measure the potential of any modern military firearm (post 1898) to appreciate in value.
For this purpose a Firearm Appraisal Scale is presented later in this article to score a firearm.
