Pre98 Antiques Collecting Outlook for 2019
Another year has come and gone……a review of our past outlook for 2018 has shown our foresight to be correct; it was a strong year for collecting historical firearms. Our firm was very busy with several significant collections being taken in and liquidated with a very strong demand that absorbed nearly everything else that we could bring in the door. We fully expect 2019 to be even more taxing for us as we expect demand for quality items to increase and the task of obtaining these items will be even more rigorous.
With the volatility in the financial markets expected to be exasperated in 2019, there will be a huge move from stocks into tangible assets and collecting is certainly the most pleasant way to re-allocate wealth. With the endless fascination in WWI & II, interest in collecting the associated firearms continues to grow even in the face of a well-documented downturn in the general militaria market. There is no more tangible memento of the sacrifice of our fighting men than the arms that they carried into battle and the arms they captured and brought back home as trophies.
There is one important trend that we should all take note of: THE DECLINE OF QUALITY GUN SHOWS
It’s been a 20-year long process but these days, except for a few of the larger shows such as Tulsa and the Show of Shows. most collectors have not been attending many gun shows and have been doing their buying online. Many collectors have stopped attending the old and well-known shows, and why not? They have more demands of their time and weekends are full. An honest observation is that most shows today are not much more than shabby flea markets and very sketchy affairs indeed. In 2019, the only shows that this firm will continue to fully set up and attend will be the Show of Shows, Tulsa and The Nations gun show in Northern VA (our home show). We are committed to attending as many shows as possible to facilitate business, but our footprint will be much smaller. In our opinion, many of these gun show promoters must consider alternatives to increase viability such as cutting back shows or days in order to increase the demand to attend in order to stay viable. Whether it’s Allentown or the Ogca or Louisville or most any other gun show, a visit on any given Sunday has all the allure of a senior citizen day care center.
Rest assured that we will still be relentlessly on the road to bring in the goods so you can better utilize your leisure time.