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1909 Argentine Auction Yesterday - $2370 ??

968 views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  JoeACTM 
#1 ·
This seems a bit on the high side, no? There was another auction for a nice one that went for over $1200.

One question regarding these "unissued" 1909 Argentine Mausers, would not the stock and hand guard wood match on a pristine example? This auction seems to have a hand guard that is different from the stock. Makes me wonder about the "unissued" condition.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/624926417
 
#3 · (Edited)
Absolutely crazy. Whoever bought that will be sitting on it for a very long time before getting that price out of it. These are $800 on their very best day. Did anyone notice that the hand guard does not appear to be original to the rifle?

Firearms prices are crazy these days.

Edit - I just re-read the OP's post and see that he also noted the mismatched hand guard.

I have no doubt that this rifle was not issued, but it was most definitely fired. How it got the mismatched hand guard is anyone's guess. The furniture on these was made out of a single piece of walnut.
 
#4 ·
this is probably an item that for sure the metal has been cleaned;all the tell-tale signs. the receivers on these rifles show a little tarnish on ones that haven't been cleaned.screws show the signs of removal with improper tool.the wood is the biggest hint. its either a humped auction process,or a new un-informed buyer.good looking piece,but the others' comments regarding pricing are spot-on.
 
#6 ·
The relatively uninformed buyers with deep pockets are coming out of the woodwork. An A(1) paid $910 for a pristine Venezuelan yesterday. Never cleaned a Milsurp that had a clean barrel - all have had powder reside - at least the 400 I have cleaned. Someone is going to have a long wait to break even on this rifle.
 
#8 ·
If the 1909 Argentine Mauser that started this thread went for $2370 on GB, I wonder what my '60s import 1909 that's mint and ALL matching (including the muzzle cover and test target) would go for.

Sam
 

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#11 ·
now that's a lovely,honest example. i'd like to see you get an even better price for yours. but i have a strong suspicion about the auction example. i went to gun auctions 40 years ago,live auctions,and i witnessed the hokey-pokey going on then. same bidder chasing the prices up on all the lots;but i knew he was bidding on his own guns.so the auctioneer was also involved in the deceit. caveat emptor.
 
#16 ·
Here's one of my favorites. A matching, truly unissued 1909 that never had a crest. No test target, unfortunately.
Clearly the rifle has been humped. Look at the numbers. Bubba did it in their garage. Just ask the guys in the 98k forum, they'll set you straight!

Just teasing!!!!

Fantastic rifle, thank you for the photo's, both you, ncsammy, and haak48. Thank you very much for sharing.

Reminds me of the several times Landies has had a MINT 1909 for chump change compared to the above auction. Guess I should have snapped it up. I was so enthralled with his display last show I forgot to look at it and see the price he was asking. Always made me wonder what condition one he was keeping in his collection :) .
 
#14 ·
Do your 1909 stocks have an AG inside a shield mark on the underside of the stock? From looking at 1891 rifles, I had become convinced that the AG-shield on the stock meant that the stock had been replaced at the arsenal, but seeing that mark on several very nice condition 1909's has made me question that assumption.
 
#20 ·
As far as I know, Webster does not mention the AG-shield mark. I have been reading archive forum threads back to 2009 and have run across several posts that say that the AG stands for Arsenal de Guerre and means arsenal work.

I have been collecting pictures of 1891 Argentine rifles and carbines and see many examples of AG-shield on the barrel. My assumption has been that the mark on the barrel that looks like interlinked ovals is the inspection mark for an 1891 barrel (not listed in Webster), and the MB firing proof is the other mark on the "normal" barrels. I have seen barrels with AG-shield and three with CC-shield and assumed that they are replacement barrels.

I have also seen the AG-shield on the bolt handle ball of 1891 rifles from the A-E series. These were the ones that received free bolts from Loewe due to the extractor problem. The A-E series rifles were already in Argentina, so Loewe sent the bolts along with the equipment to modify the receiver with the extractor support pin (per Webster). My theory has been that these bolts were marked with AG-shield when they were worked on in 1899. The bolt handle stem has the normal serial number, firing proof and cap inspection mark. The original bolts seem to have a star inspection mark instead of the cap, also not included in Websters list of inspection marks.

Most of the 1891 stocks I have seen with the AG-shield seemed to be light color wood and usually the barrel also had the AG-shield on them. That made sense for my theory of a replacement stock, since the reddish color stocks seemed to be the "normal" ones.

The discovery of the AG-shield on these obviously untouched 1909's throws a huge wrench into my theory.
 

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