I kind of think Ed made my argument when he mentioned having owned thirty Parkers and is going to the Vintagers to sell guns....
Ed says that in 35 years,there has been no connection between his acquiring of guns and the selling of guns. I think his post says the opposite.
Bill: In actual fact, when I heard last spring that a table could be had in the PGCA tent, coincidental with my selling off my old-time-shooting research materials, Parker ephemera, and Parker collectibles, I sent the necessary $$$ without any plan to even bring a gun to shoot (just like when Kevin and I shared a table at Hidden Hollow). Had I sold all my "bling" at Hidden Hollow or at the Yooper in June, I would have let someone else have my Vintage Cup table and I'd be attending my 50th high school reunion this weekend instead. However, I still have paper and memorabilia that needs new owners so I am now here in VA ready to head to Easton Thursday morning...
And while at home in Illinois, as I was loading the R/V to head East last week, I decided at the 11th hour to bring some excess gun inventory...but the idea that my spur-of-the-moment decision had some connection to my off-the-cuff speculation that I might or might not buy an as yet unseen and/or unknown Parker is really heaping conjecture upon speculation to prove no point that I can fathom. In the final analysis, some Parker collectors tend to equate their own narrow life experience and singular motivation with the unknown situations of the great multitude of others not similarly situated . I try to take a larger view...allowing for "different strokes for different folks."
When I said that my acquiring and dis-acquiring of guns was "disconnected" (or not connected) I think that I'm the best judge of what I had in mind when I bought and sold in the past (or intend to sell now while being receptive to maybe buying something else). I don't attribute my mode of operation to everyone else, just some people I know and know of. Eightbore paints with an over-broad brush when he labels "all" collectors as "hucksters" who are constantly on the make, trying to buy low and sell high to feed their addiction to fine guns. So let's go back to where this started:
I think a perfect Parker collection is a maximum of 10 high original condition guns of varying interest (bore size, grade, special features). Attention spans are such that ten guns are about all a dyed-in-the-wool collector can chew and digest at one sitting. Thirty-five years ago Larry Baer made the point that it's better to own one high original-condition lower-grade gun than ten "yes, buts..." I agree, but others think otherwise...different strokes....
Some collectors like to wheel and deal as if the essence of owning a fine gun is in scalping the price, comming and going, by trolling gun shows and the Internet. From my view, there are plenty of good guns out there in well-known dealer's inventory, and while you might pay a bit more to Galazan and/or Chadick and/or the others, if you are deal-hunting on the Internet you had better add some "insurance" (mental reservation) for the risk you take; there's nothing worse than a gun deal gone bad--well, let me take that back...it would have been worse to buy the Dow Jones Index in October 2007 @ 14,280.
EDM
