Consecutive serial numbers

Coach Z

New member
I was wondering if anyone buys pistols with consecutive serial numbers on purpose.


I just won a gun broker auction with a pair that has this and while I think it's kind of a neat thing to have in the collection I did not bid any higher then I would have for the two pistols.
 

DaleA

New member
If you're buying guns for shooting I wouldn't think it would matter. If you're buying guns as some sort of an investment or more for collecting rather than shooting maybe it makes sense.

I could kind of see it if a guy wanted a western two gun rig then it might be fun to have consecutive numbered guns.

Maybe some of the more serious collectors could chime in as to whether or not they'd pay more for consecutive serial numbers.
 
^^^ Exactly... my CAS revolvers ( early Ruger Montados ) were consecutively serialized... on purpose, but they were purchased from my local dealer, from his "group" of revolvers, & didn't cost me any extra...
 

DA/SA Fan

New member
Not really related to this thread but I thought it interesting. When I picked up my 10mm Steel Witness from my FFL he was filling out the paperwork and remembered that he had transferred another 10mm Witness a couple days before. It came from a different gun store than mine but was a consecutive serial number to mine! What are the odds of that?
 

Sevens

New member
Uhhh, I would say the odds of that are pretty darn low! But higher on a somewhat scarce import than a high volume gun. Even still, crazy odds.

As to the OP, it's one of those things... Someone who owns a consecutive SN pair likely puts a genuine value on exactly that but until a potential buyer agrees with his money, it's all for the sake of argument.

I would add another angle--
That would be ANIB/NOS/unfired. Seems to me that if you truly wanted to market a consecutive pair, they simply become an interesting mathematical anomaly immediately upon being used.

Gunbroker had an interesting pair of NOS guns that I was really interested in-- but it was quite simply that it was a gun that I wanted. Was a consecutive SN pair but I just wanted one. A buddy of mine was interested and our diabolical plan soon came to be-- we would bid and win this consecutive SN pair of NOS guns and we'd split the cost and we each would own one.

His would have gotten shot for sure. And mine would have gotten HUNDREDS through it on first range trip and countless through it going forward.

But alas, we got NOWHERE near the sales price. Gunbroker is a dream crusher quite often, it seems. To us, it was two handguns. To the two other parties who jacked the bid to the moon, it must have been a "collectible pair of consecutive SN guns."
 

James K

Member In Memoriam
Several years ago, a poster asked about the value of two consecutive serial numbered Colt .45 GI pistols. He was thinking of shelling out a big bunch of bucks as an investment. I would have told him to take a pass in any case, but fortunately he had pictures and I was able to tell him that the numbers on both guns were fake, that they not only were not worth the money the seller was asking, but that they were illegal to possess. Amazingly, he believed me and passed up the "once in a lifetime" deal.

So it is wise to be skeptical of sellers asking a high price for special serial numbers or consecutive serial numbers. Yes, Colt SAA #1 sold for over a million, but that gun had been authenticated to a faretheewell by several experts. Remember, any serial number, by the nature of serial numbers, is "absolutely unique", "not another gun like it."

Jim
 

jasmith85

New member
I have never paid any thought to something like consecutive serial numbers. I guess I can see the appeal with show pieces, but if I was going to use the guns I would not pay extra for consecutive numbers.
 

22-rimfire

New member
On a random buying basis, the consecutive serial number thing has interest. But to simply buy two guns with consecutive SN's really doesn't have much appeal to me from a collector point of view.
 

Vt.birdhunter

New member
Ive got three kids. Picked up 3 consecutively numbered AR-15 lowers for them to outfit as they see fit, when I see fit.

Store had a stack on a shelf, nearly all consecutive. I dont see it as a monetary advantage on something as common as an AR lower, but I certainly see the sentimental desire in it.
 

Peter M. Eick

New member
My shooting buddy and I have several consecutive guns. We agreed he would take "odds" and I "evens". That is what happens when you go to the gun store together.
 

kilimanjaro

New member
Next thing you know we'll be like banknote collectors, looking for ascending, descending, radar, solids, zeroes, and Chinese fortune numbers. 1234567, 7654321, 1234321, 3333333, 123400, 100000, 8888888, 4444444.

A matched pair is going to worth more at resale time, fired or unfired. You have to sell both of them, though. "One of a matched pair" won't help, unless you're Bill Hickock's grandkids.

A pair of Taurus revolvers? Maybe in 44 Special, an extra hundred bucks. Otherwise, not so much. Pair of Colt Pythons? Name your price.

The semiautos pictured above? The time spent selecting them at the counter was worth it. How much is an unknown, but time will tell.
 
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Joe_Pike

New member
A friend of mine used to carry an HK P7M8 and liked it enough that he bought three more that are consecutively serial numbered and have never been fired. He bought them years ago. No telling how much they would bring if being sold as a set.
 
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