Collecting question

[R. Porter]

I once almost bought an original Moby tooth, then I discovered it was resin. So, I guess, one of his false teeth from when he was older.

 

[Joe Whitworth]

Oh, also, war logs are really neat. .

I'm making future ones with my Whitworth and Enfields

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Really you have to establish what you mean by full price and then you have to come to an understanding about budget and interest. If you have a very limited budget you may never consider items where the "full price" is above, say, $200.00. Then you might specialize in bullets or relic items that fall below that amount, even if you really want to collect weapons or uniforms. If you do want to collect bullets as opposed to anything else, you might spend a lot on each item and be willing to spend "full price" every time. What about condition of the item? You might be willing to pay full price for a relic or a fixer-upper but not for one in pristine condition. You might pay "full price" for a weapon that has been restored to like new or you may feel that has ruined its integrity and feel that "full price" should be next to nothing.

There are so many factors involved in answering the question posed that maybe you need to reframe your question. What is it you are really asking. Are you looking for a hierarchy of value for collectible items with modifiers that add or remove values? Are you looking for what types of items people on CWT value the most? Any of these questions might be interesting and might have already been answered on CWT, have you checked? Now, if your question has already been answered, this might be your opportunity to see if the answer is still the same or has changed; and if changed, why?

But first you need to focus and come up with a clear question that everyone will interpret in the same way.

Limited budget - that's me. The only Civil War collectible that I have is an artillery short sword that came from a reputable collection of Confederate items and a reputable seller, but it cannot be tied to any specific soldier or Confederate unit, so it isn't worth much. It has no sheath. I paid $80 for it. Its markings say "Coulaux, 408" indicating that it was manufactured at the Klingenthal armory in Coulaux, France. The Confederacy imported a large number of these swords.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Limited budget - that's me. The only Civil War collectible that I have is an artillery short sword that came from a reputable collection of Confederate items and a reputable seller, but it cannot be tied to any specific soldier or Confederate unit, so it isn't worth much. It has no sheath. I paid $80 for it. Its markings say "Coulaux, 408" indicating that it was manufactured at the Klingenthal armory in Coulaux, France. The Confederacy imported a large number of these swords.

Ironically, the CW ancestors of me and my wife have no known ties to artillery, so it is not a logical piece for me to own.

 

[Cato3rd]

I'm making future ones with my Whitworth and Enfields

I knew a guy who did that. He would take old pieces of driftwood from his backyard, mash in a few minié ball into it, and sell it as a real war log. I love collecting war logs/bullets in wood but people have to be careful

 

[jack1492]

I'm making future ones with my Whitworth and Enfields

Those are out there too, especially Gettysburg war logs.

 

[4thMichigan]

As you get older what you can afford changes. The amount of disposable income you have at age twenty is probably less than what you have at age fifty. I've been a serious collector since the 1960's and while I've acquired many outstanding items at below market value, others I paid more than full price for.

If you have to bleed through the nose for an item you will never be able to enjoy it.

While gathering my collection of Fourth Michigan Infantry relics over the last 35+ years, I have had some really great experiences where the item that I wanted was either underpriced or sometimes even free. But I have also had a few situations where I "bled through the nose" while adding a treasured item to that group.
One such item was an 1862 dated presentation sword for a Captain in the 4th Michigan. I paid dearly for that sword, and I was told by many dealers and collecting friends at the time that I had overpaid and would never get that amount back from it if I ever sold it. They were probably correct, as they had many more years of experience in the field at that point in time. But, in my eyes, I had never intended on buying the sword as an "investment". I bought it because it was probably going to be the ONLY opportunity that I would ever have for owning a sword like that. And now, some twenty years or so later, that seems to have been prophetic. Only one other 4th Michigan Infantry presentation sword has ever been put on the market since my purchase that I know of. It was a very nice sword that sold for something like $30,000, and that was quite a bit more than I had paid for the sword that I still own to this day. I have always enjoyed owning my sword and do even to this day. Was it expensive for me at the time....it certainly was. Will I ever get my money back out of it...probably not. But at the end of the day, I am one of only three people that I know of who own presentation swords from a soldier in the Fourth Michigan Infantry. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I am not boasting about my ownership of the sword. I am humbly appreciative for my good fortune in being its current owner and have no regrets about the price I had to pay. Prices and values fluctuate over the years, as does the amount of our disposable incomes. But one must also consider the odds of ever having another chance of owning that "carrot" that so many of us collectors have been chasing for so long. I'm sure that many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. It seems that I rarely ever come across a treasured item when I've got a pocket full of cash. More often than not, those kinds of things only show up when I have a wallet full of dust. Thankfully, there's always credit cards and layaways when desperation calls.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

While gathering my collection of Fourth Michigan Infantry relics over the last 35+ years, I have had some really great experiences where the item that I wanted was either underpriced or sometimes even free. But I have also had a few situations where I "bled through the nose" while adding a treasured item to that group.
One such item was an 1862 dated presentation sword for a Captain in the 4th Michigan. I paid dearly for that sword, and I was told by many dealers and collecting friends at the time that I had overpaid and would never get that amount back from it if I ever sold it. They were probably correct, as they had many more years of experience in the field at that point in time. But, in my eyes, I had never intended on buying the sword as an "investment". I bought it because it was probably going to be the ONLY opportunity that I would ever have a chance to own. And now, some twenty years or so later, that seems to have been prophetic. Only one other 4th Michigan Infantry presentation sword has ever been put on the market since my purchase that I know of. It was a very nice sword that sold for something like $30,000, and that was quite a bit more than I had paid for the sword that I still own to this day. I have always enjoyed owning my sword and do even to this day. Was it expensive for me at the time....it certainly was. Will I ever get my money back out of it...probably not. But at the end of the day, I am one of only three people that I know of who own presentation swords from a soldier in the Fourth Michigan Infantry. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I am not boasting about my ownership of the sword. I am humbly appreciative for my good fortune in being its current owner and have no regrets about the price I had to pay. Prices and values fluctuate over the years, as does the amount of our disposable incomes. But one must also consider the odds of ever having another chance of owning that "carrot" that so many of us collectors have been chasing for so long. I'm sure that many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. It seems that I rarely ever come across a treasured item when I've got a pocket full of cash. More often than not, those kinds of things only show up when I have a wallet full of dust. Thankfully, there's always credit cards and layaways when desperation calls.

I really appreciate your attitude as partially expressed in your stating, "Prices and values fluctuate over the years, as does the amount of our disposable incomes." The "BUT" part of your sentiment is of extreme importance, reflecting the values of treasuring and being sentimental about your collectibles.