I have seen various adds discussing MG34 finish conditions - what is more highly valued - a nice patina, but with obvious wear in spots in specific areas or a nice beautiful bluing, but probably from some later refurbishment.
I would assume the patina has more inherent value since it is tough to create, while a nice blue is nice, but probably not original.
It must be all but impossible to find a uniform patina finish.
Any thoughts?
Regards,
mgfun
MG34 Finish
Re: MG34 Finish
I think your question can diverge in a couple directions....
Historically, the question has been moot unless you are talking about original, unaltered, un-cut, un-modified, un-messed-with C&R guns, that is to say it really doesn't (hasn't) mattered AT ALL unless the machine gun in question was a fully transferable example. At that point, "condition" ruled the roost and "value" of such a gun was largely based upon that in combination with overall originality, i.e., the extant (or lack thereof) of "matching numbers", "correct" parts for the production era, etc., etc.
When considering a gun that is NOT fully transferable, such as an original "Dealer Sample" (pre-FOPA '86), condition and finish largely went out window.....they all were pretty much graded the same, it was valued as either "running" or not. When the distinction of "Post-Samples" came along, there came an interesting dichotomy as it happened that a LOT of really, really nice original old guns came to light and were imported, yet their registration status was highly restricted. There were PLENTY of brand "new" un-issued MP-40's and others that were imported after '86 as Post-Samples.....so where do you put those?? People still put a "high" value on them, even so.
A "pre-Sample" MG-34 will trade at approximately the same price in any level of originality, so long as it runs, period. But a C&R MG-34 with 90%++ of original finish may well bring a 75%+ premium over the same vintage gun with only 40% or original finish remaining. Since "collectible" value generally is only applied to C&R fully transferable guns, I think you need to specify the status of the gun first. In my few decades of experience, I'd say that overall, "finish" takes a back seat to "originality" in almost all cases in that a provably totally original MG34, say, with 10% remaining original bluing is much, much more interesting than a gun that is a clearly an assemblage of mixed parts with much better overall remaining "finish". The again, some folks put a premium on a gun that is "restored to original condition" i.e., "re-finished" while others consider that heresy.
I think overall, it is personal choice, but I do believe still in all cases that the notion of historical originality is at a premium for those whose interest is in collecting, versus those who want to shoot their guns.
Personally, for me, I would put ZERO value on anything related to "finish" when you are talking about a parts-kit, or a semi-automatic version of a real machine gun. With a commercial build of a semi-automatic gun, I would expect that at a minimum all parts would get run through a fresh parkerizing, so where do you qualify that?
-TH
Historically, the question has been moot unless you are talking about original, unaltered, un-cut, un-modified, un-messed-with C&R guns, that is to say it really doesn't (hasn't) mattered AT ALL unless the machine gun in question was a fully transferable example. At that point, "condition" ruled the roost and "value" of such a gun was largely based upon that in combination with overall originality, i.e., the extant (or lack thereof) of "matching numbers", "correct" parts for the production era, etc., etc.
When considering a gun that is NOT fully transferable, such as an original "Dealer Sample" (pre-FOPA '86), condition and finish largely went out window.....they all were pretty much graded the same, it was valued as either "running" or not. When the distinction of "Post-Samples" came along, there came an interesting dichotomy as it happened that a LOT of really, really nice original old guns came to light and were imported, yet their registration status was highly restricted. There were PLENTY of brand "new" un-issued MP-40's and others that were imported after '86 as Post-Samples.....so where do you put those?? People still put a "high" value on them, even so.
A "pre-Sample" MG-34 will trade at approximately the same price in any level of originality, so long as it runs, period. But a C&R MG-34 with 90%++ of original finish may well bring a 75%+ premium over the same vintage gun with only 40% or original finish remaining. Since "collectible" value generally is only applied to C&R fully transferable guns, I think you need to specify the status of the gun first. In my few decades of experience, I'd say that overall, "finish" takes a back seat to "originality" in almost all cases in that a provably totally original MG34, say, with 10% remaining original bluing is much, much more interesting than a gun that is a clearly an assemblage of mixed parts with much better overall remaining "finish". The again, some folks put a premium on a gun that is "restored to original condition" i.e., "re-finished" while others consider that heresy.
I think overall, it is personal choice, but I do believe still in all cases that the notion of historical originality is at a premium for those whose interest is in collecting, versus those who want to shoot their guns.
Personally, for me, I would put ZERO value on anything related to "finish" when you are talking about a parts-kit, or a semi-automatic version of a real machine gun. With a commercial build of a semi-automatic gun, I would expect that at a minimum all parts would get run through a fresh parkerizing, so where do you qualify that?
-TH
Re: MG34 Finish
As TH stated. If the piece is an original then it goes without saying that original finish is more valuable.
greg
greg
Re: MG34 Finish
Thanks for your detailed reply. Well, since most people are dealing with parts kits, semis, and other already compromised parts arrangements, it sounds like just having something that runs well and looks decent is what matters.
The whole numbers thing is more or less lost when they chopped the original receivers up.
Thanks,
mgfun
The whole numbers thing is more or less lost when they chopped the original receivers up.
Thanks,
mgfun
mgfun