TIME required to do engraving like this

[diandwill]

He is talking about the $1500-$3000 range. I want one of those worthless Phil Coggan side by sides!

 

[gcleaker]

He is talking about the $1500-$3000 range. I want one of those worthless Phil Coggan side by sides!

i might go as high as 2k myself for one of them.
skill comes from diligence.

 

[Spierce11]

The way I look at price for anything engraved is compared to paintings prices. i know people that have painted o paintings worth 10s of thousands of dollars and others that paint the same painting that sells for hundreds. the name matters on who the painter is but the attraction to the painting is what sells. i feel if one is concerned with time put in his or hers art is missing the point and will probally not become a great painter that will inevitably bring in the top dollar. The quality and choices in original how unique it is and how apealing it is to others especially to those that know what they are looking at. not just family and friends but to potential buyers and experts in the field. price will follow all this etc etc.

 

[Chujybear]

I come from a different perspective than many of you, and I respect your position. In the gun collecting world we are very conscious of getting a good deal and not losing money on our acquisitions. I go to the major gun shows, and buyers and sellers battle to make sure they each feel they won the price war. Even the very wealthiest gun collectors are looking for the best deal possible, and consider their purchases enjoyable investments. I am certain there are gun/art buyers who want engraved guns and money is not an object, and they do not care if they lose money in the end. I have not interacted with those people in my 50+ years of gun buying and selling. The base guns go up in value every year and are almost always a sure fire good investment. Engraving them to end up with a possession that in the end loses us money is not appealing. I love engraved guns, but I make sure I buy them at a price where I can at least get my investment back when I decide to sell. From my experience that is the philosophy of most gun/antique collectors. The gun shown by me in this thread would sell to us gun guys for about $3K full retail, and the gun itself costs $1.5K. And that gun would be tough sell at $3K. Factory engraving is sought after, and the first question is always "is it factory engraved". A non factory engraved gun is also a refinished gun, and refinished guns themselves are highly discounted from guns that have original factory finish. The secondary market is well aware of that.

Where you are landing here is right. If you pay less, and get yourself a gun with baseline engraving, that gun, it seems, will not appreciate in the market.
If you want art to appreciate then you need to pay for the work of somebody who will be taught after.
your biggest roe tho will be if you have a sharp eye and suss out a young engraver who is destined for greatness, and you collect their work before their prices go up….. I would think.