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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Double Rifles
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JohnTheGreek
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Reged: 16/11/04
Posts: 167
Loc: Cairo, Egypt
British Double Rifle Ledger Price?
      #170985 - 05/11/10 07:14 PM

I have recently been messing around with a couple of web sites that show 19th and early 20th century British incomes by profession. Given the recently high prices of gold and the fact that the gold sovereign would have of course been the contemporary unit of measurement, I have been a bit surprised by the degree to which (in real terms) ALL professions seem to be much better paid today than then. Either that, or the value of gold sovereigns is presently low in relative terms (which seems unlikely) What is interesting to me, given the above, is the potentially rising REAL price of double rifles in contemporary and historical gold price terms and in relation to average incomes. Can those of you with Ledger pages perhaps offer a list of double rifle prices along with the dates of the ledgers so I can try to wrap my head around this phenomenon?

Thanks....

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GroovyMike
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Reged: 07/04/09
Posts: 229
Loc: NY
Re: British Double Rifle Ledger Price? [Re: JohnTheGreek]
      #171002 - 06/11/10 02:10 AM

I read something onec that stuck with me.

The value of an ounce of gold in 1910 would buy a custom tailored suit or a fine rifle.
The same ounce of gold in 2010 is worth the value of a custom tailored suit, or a fine rifle.

Makes me think that if you have a fine rifle, it is just as good as having an ounce of gold on hand. Even better to my mind ebcause teh rifle has a useful inherent value that gold does not.

--------------------
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

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Omnivorous_Bob
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Reged: 03/10/05
Posts: 285
Loc: Montana
Re: British Double Rifle Ledger Price? [Re: GroovyMike]
      #171041 - 06/11/10 06:04 PM

John, I've got a reprint of an old Jeffery catalog somewhere in my books and will post some of the prices when I find it.

My 1896 8-bore ball and shot gun sold for 35. In Cal Pappas' book on 600 Nitros he shows Jeffery double selling from 35-105 and single shots from 16-31. Some of the "cheap" 35 pound rifles look pretty darned spectacular to me, and makes me wonder what you got for 105!

Ammo listed at 23-28 per 1000. I'd guess a 1000 rounds of kynoch today would set you back at least $30k, chump change compared to the cost of 1000 elephants and buff to shoot it at.

Bob

--------------------
"If we're not supposed to eat animals, how come they're made out of meat?"

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JohnTheGreek
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Reged: 16/11/04
Posts: 167
Loc: Cairo, Egypt
Re: British Double Rifle Ledger Price? [Re: Omnivorous_Bob]
      #171144 - 08/11/10 09:15 PM

Bob,

This is the kind of thing I find really interesting! In the last decade of the 19th century 22-24 pounds represented the annual salary of a cook or housemaid. Who among us would not LOVE to buy a nice new and hand built brit double for 1.5x the annual salary of a cook or housemaid?

Using a more generalized index of "average" earnings as a baseline, the equivalent retail value of 35 pounds in 1896 is more technically shown to be only $26,560 today! Further, although gold is often thought to be the great inflation hedge, it falls short. The current value of a gold sovereign is about $355 (an all time nominal high and with no numismatic premium) which means that your 35 pound rifle would (should?) be selling for $12,425. Just a few years ago when gold was low, the rifles original price would have had a contemporary value of only $8750 in gold terms. Even if gold reaches it's all time "real" high, the thirty five british pounds from 1896 will only have a value of about $19,897.

I guess what the above means is that the 19th century old timers were getting pretty damned good deals on these weapons! It also seems to mean that any "lower end" brit double that would have sold for 35 pounds back in the day is "worth" between $20K and $26K...historically speaking. Of course, they say a cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and value of nothing.....so one must acknowledge that there is no accounting for the value of the patina a rifle may have earned over a century of chasing elephants!!!

Edited by JohnTheGreek (08/11/10 09:18 PM)

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Omnivorous_Bob
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Reged: 03/10/05
Posts: 285
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Re: British Double Rifle Ledger Price? [Re: JohnTheGreek]
      #171196 - 09/11/10 04:13 PM

John, I've always found the cost of a gun vs its ammo to be interesting. Put another way, how many bullets would it take to equal the expense of the gun that fires them? With some of todays mass produced bolt guns in pricey calibers it can be as low as 120-150 rounds!

I finally found the reprint of Jeffery's 1905 catalog I mentioned. Here are some prices:

Winchester 1893 12 gauge pump.................5L
12 gauge ball and shot gun.......................15-45 for best quality
8 bore ball and shot.................................35 for hammerless, 30 with hammer
above gun, best quality, well engraved........55 hammerless, 50 with hammers
hammerless bar action toplever in 450/400...60 with ejectors, 55 w/o engraving
above gun, plain finish..............................30 extractor, 35 ejector
single shot 450/400.................................25 best quality, 15 normal
450 #2 boxlock.......................................35 extractor, 40 ejector
600N underlever......................................65 best, 50 No2 quality, ammo .5 per 100rds
600N backaction hammer jones underlever....57.1 best, 40 No2 quality
303 bolt action.........................................7.1
303 martini..............................................4.1
303 cartridges, nickel covered.....................0.14 per 100
broomhandle mauser..................................5

Bob

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Wes350
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Reged: 23/03/08
Posts: 31
Loc: CA,
Re: British Double Rifle Ledger Price? [Re: JohnTheGreek]
      #171233 - 10/11/10 06:04 AM

Quote:

Bob,

Using a more generalized index of "average" earnings as a baseline, the equivalent retail value of 35 pounds in 1896 is more technically shown to be only $26,560 today! Further, although gold is often thought to be the great inflation hedge, it falls short. The current value of a gold sovereign is about $355 (an all time nominal high and with no numismatic premium) which means that your 35 pound rifle would (should?) be selling for $12,425. Just a few years ago when gold was low, the rifles original price would have had a contemporary value of only $8750 in gold terms. Even if gold reaches it's all time "real" high, the thirty five british pounds from 1896 will only have a value of about $19,897.




You also need to take into account the hidden costs added to goods in the 20 & 21st centuries...

Namely the sheer amount of taxes we pay. Remember, the U.S. didn't have income tax until after the turn of the century. No payroll tax, capital gains, social security etc.etc.

And the governments weren't stealing from peter to give to paul with the massive social programs we have today. You throw in the inflation induced by fractional reserve banking and going off the gold standard, and our "money" just doesn't go as far.

The overhead cost of living in the 21st century will suck the life out of you...

.

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