Price Check, Rare Items, Please

[cal pappas]

Fellas:
I am selling off most of my double rifle stuff and a gent will visit next week to look at what I have. We can play with prices for boxes Kynoch and Eley ammo, individual rifle and shotgun English cartridges, sealed boxes of Berdan primers, 4-bore mould, old leather items, miscellaneous case tools and accruements,catalogs, case labels etc. All these I know. However, there are two items I don’t have a clue as to what to ask so I look to the forum gurus for assistance. As they were given to me I don’t have a price point to go from and I’ve never seen them for sale. They are:

Full sealed box of 25 4-bore shotgun shells, Kynoch
And
Sealed tin of 20 .600 nitro cartridges, also Kynoch.

Any ideas as to value or where to look for value (auctions, etc.)? I appreciate your assistance.
Cheers,
Cal

 

[thi9elsp]

Cal,

Do a search on:

4 bore kynoch shotgun shells
600 nitro kynoch cartridges

I did that and found some listings from Live Auctioneers . com as well as Guns International. They are a few years old, but would give you some idea I think.

John

 

[rookhawk]

@cal pappas what something is worth and what it will sell for is very different. I would defy the experts and “ruin” these items. I would meticulously open the cans and I would sell the empty cans as decorator items. I would run an advert on Gun Broker and sell them a round at a time to ammo collectors. It will take you awhile, but I can’t imagine you wouldn’t get $50-$80 a round for a novelty, berdan primed, kynoch 600NE. Not sure what a paper hull four bore (I assumed shotgun shell, not rifle cartridge) is worth, but if paper they surely must be worth $25-$45 a piece or more for paper versions?

 

[cal pappas]

Thanks for the ideas, Rookhawk. Two years ago I opened a box of the 4-bore shells and sold them at gun shows. It took two years but I sold all at $100 each. The market is saturated in AK and I can't ship ammo out of state due to cost. In addition to the tin of .600s. I have several paper boxes and about 25 different headstamps or bullet styles. All of those will go in the Lower 48 when I am there (thinking of a move in a year or two). I may do just that when I get to the States, open both boxes and sell individually.

 

[cal pappas]

Thanks, John. Didn't find any shot shells but saw the tin of 20 .600s. Thank you.
Cal

 

[jacques smith]

What was value of tin of 20– 600s on search? Just curious [emoji41]

 

[cal pappas]

The estimate was 1100-1500$ I did not have an account so I could not see the actual price.

 

[rookhawk]

The estimate was 1100-1500$ I did not have an account so I could not see the actual price.

so that would be $55-$75 per cartridge. I think it’s a lot harder to sell a sealed can you can’t play with than it would be to sell them individually as a novelty, plus the empty tin as cool man-cave art. What do you think, Cal? Are you going to break it open or sell it whole?

 

[cal pappas]

I have a couple of offers since I posted on both the 4-bore box and the .600 tin. I will break both of them up and sell individually when I am about to relocate to the Lower 48. Part of my decision is I can't ship ammo out of state for a reasonable price.

 

[rookhawk]

I have a couple of offers since I posted on both the 4-bore box and the .600 tin. I will break both of them up and sell individually when I am about to relocate to the Lower 48. Part of my decision is I can't ship ammo out of state for a reasonable price.

I think everyone on this forum wants to see the unboxing video or photos. It would be neat to see their condition and experience opening the sardine can after a century or more.

 

[cal pappas]

Interesting thought. Perhaps this can be done when it's time.

 

[rookhawk]

Interesting thought. Perhaps this can be done when it's time.

If I had the spare funds, I think one deactivated, machined in half, with the stranded cordite re-inserted, and cast into clear acrylic as a paperweight would be incredible.

 

[cal pappas]

That is beyond my skill level and/or job description.

 

[cal pappas]

Here is what I did. I melted the solder and opened the box. The tin box was really thin but the solder kept moisture out of the ammunition in the vintage years of safaris. The pics below shows the box with the label barely readable and the opened box. Five of the cartridges out of the 20 are still there. Several were spoken for and sold and some of the 20 went to the ammo boxes on the right: my collection of .600s with different head stamps, different primers, different bullet styles, and different crimp styles. There were two differing crimp styles in the box of 20 and one with no crimp at all. Oddly half the box was softs and half solids. I can't read the label to see if this was written on it.

 

[rnovi]

Cal, if you have a single 4-bore cartridge for sale, I’d love to hear about it and shipping to 37167. It would go great next to the 700 NE I have!

 

[cal pappas]

I have new 4s, vintage 4s in both rifle and shotgun. But, I can't ship ammo out of state except by FEDEX overnight and that is very expensive plus it's a 5 1/2 hour drive to and from the FEDEX office, two hours there, and also to pay for FEDEX to inspect and pack the ammo, fill out papeerwork and haz mat fees. Ammo can't be shipped as it is 2000 miles through Canada so no ground shipments.

 

[rnovi]

that, is just plain lousy. Best of luck with the move!

 

[freefall]

I'm sorry you're leaving!

 

[thi9elsp]

Cool pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[WAB]

I'm sorry you're leaving!

Seems to happen to all of us at some point. Very few retire long term in AK. The support systems for aging retirees are just not there. Many of my friends have done what I’ve done, and moved to a warmer climate with a lower cost of living and better services in retirement.

I wish you well in your move Cal. Leaving Alaska is a tough pill to swallow.