OLD FACTORY FIREARMS BOXES, ANY VALUE

[1slow]

I have some old gun boxes, clearing out junk and just wanted to know if they are worth anything?

These I do not have the guns anymore.

HK 91 styrofoam factory insert 1970s,

Colt Series 70 1911 boxes and foam.

HK Benelli M1 Super 90 , box foam , manual , mag plug , original mag extension. I know the parts are worth something.

Glock boxes etc….

I feel most is of little value but wanted to check.

Thanks.

[BN]

I'm interested to know also. I have several handgun boxes from guns I no longer have. Back into the 70s and 80s.

[mmc45414]

A friend of mine sold an old box for a Colt Ace for $400 on ebay.
He said he didn't want it and contemplated tossing it but thought maybe someone with an Ace who didn't have a box might appreciate having it. I wondered if maybe some guy had that serial number gun that had come in it, but he said two guys were bidding against each other.

[jh9]

A friend of mine sold an old box for a Colt Ace for $400 on ebay.
He said he didn't want it and contemplated tossing it but thought maybe someone with an Ace who didn't have a box might appreciate having it. I wondered if maybe some guy had that serial number gun that had come in it, but he said two guys were bidding against each other.

A lot of disreputable gunbroker types will buy boxes/papers to 'complete' a boxless gun then tacitly advertise the package as original. In that case (rimshot) someone probably had a Colt Ace and figured they could get more than an extra $400 if it had the 'original' box. There's a fig leaf of legitimacy there because some older e.g. Colts didn't have serialized boxes. So if it matches the configuration (model/barrel length/caliber) then who's to say it isn't?

Noticed a lot of that when looking at 90s and 00s era S&W revolvers which (almost always) have printed labels containing the serial number. One guy had the accoutrements (including moonclips) for a 6-shot .45 N-frame bundled with an 8-shot .357 and called it the original box (but included no picture of the printed label). Some guys would have the 'original' box but the label would be torn to remove the serial number. Etc.

As with anything, if the originality of the box/papers/etc matter to you, caveat emptor. If not, it's possibly a chance to get a shooter at a discount. Or a chance to get something for your old boxes.

[Malamute]

I see boxes listed on the S&W blue forum when I look at their classified section. Age has a bearing on value of course. I think they sell well on the Colt forum also.

Colt Series 70 1911 boxes and foam.

On ebay they are priced from around $130 to $250 or so.

[BCG]

For me, the rule is

- if I'm trying to sell, it has little value

- if I'm trying to buy, the seller thinks it is extremely valuable

[Rex G]

There is a Colt Mark IV Series 70 Government Model box listed on the evil-bay, right now, with two bidders, now at $33.00, as I type this. The box does not look pristine, at all, having tattered corners, surface wear, and maybe other issues. The styrofoam insert and manual are included.

The prices being asked on the evil-bay are not an indication of value. There is a way to check “completed auctions” on the evil-bay, to see how high bidding went, but it has been so long since I looked up anything, with several make-overs at the ‘Bay, I am not able to provide a tutorial. I used to work a security gig at a high-end pawn shop, and that was a way they determined how much to load on items.

Edited to add: When a similar question has been asked on general firearms forums, the consensus, as I remember it, has been that an acceptable-condition box can add $40 to $50 to the value of a firearm. In my humid coastal Texas climate, living in an old bungalow type of home, it can be quite a bit of trouble to keep a box in decent condition, so, whether or not I bother to keep cardboard firearm box depends upon how collectible the weapon seems to be. I do keep plastic Ruger and Glock boxes.

Edited again to add: A box of the correct brand, but not serialed to the gun, does appear to add to the desirability on an individual firearm. I can only speculate how much dollar value that desirability may be worth.