1982 Winchester 94 Commemorative Rifle

Question
My dad, who is 90 years old, has a 1982 "Oklahoma Edition" of the Winchester 94 Commemorative rifle.  He was presented this rifle upon his retirement as President of a major national organization in 1984.  It is in original, pristine condition and had never been fired.  Unfortunately, he stored it under the book shelves in his home library and the mice got to the box.  He no longer has the original box or packaging.  He has kept it stored all these years in a padded shotgun sleeve.  He now lives in an assisted living center that does not allow firearms on the premises here in Oklahoma.  We are trying to get an idea of this rifle's value before taking to the local dealer to attempt to sell it.  We understand that only 1001 of these were made.  Thanks for any assistance you can provide us.

Answer
Hi Rick.

To get an accurate value for your firearm I highly recommend that you refer to the Blue Book of Gun Values by S. P. Fjestad.  This book contains detailed history and pricing information for virtually every major firearm on the market including older models and obsolete brands.  It is well worth the price (especially if you own more than one firearm) and it is generally used as the sole source for appraisals by gunsmiths, collectors, and dealers.  This book is updated every year to ensure that the values are always current so beware of older printed copies which are often sold at a discount but usually contain outdated information.

You can access the book instantly online at https://store.bluebookinc.com/Home/default.aspx or purchase it from any major book store such as Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.  The price for either option is usually around $35 but I highly recommend the online subscription because you can get the information immediately plus check the site for updates at any time during the year.  If you don抰 want to pay the full price for an online subscription or printed book then you also have the option to download a single section of the book for a specific manufacturer.  The individual sections usually cost $5 or $10 but some of the sections are free.  Here is the link to purchase a section by manufacturer:  https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Manufacturer.aspx?product=5

Here is a partial excerpt which may help you:
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During the course of a year, we receive many phone calls, emails, and letters on Winchester special editions and limited editions which do not appear in this section. It should be noted that a factory commemorative issue is a gun that has been manufactured, marketed, factory cataloged, and sold through the auspices of the specific trademark. There have literally been hundreds of special and limited editions which, although mostly made by Winchester (some were subcontracted), were not marketed or retailed by Winchester. These guns are NOT Winchester commemoratives and for the most part, do not have the desirability factor that the factory commemoratives have. Special/limited editions are not listed in this text, because there is limited collector interest. Remember, the least your special/limited edition can be worth is a little more than the standard edition value. Do not concentrate on the rarity or you will be disappointed.

Typically, special and limited editions are made for distributors (these sub-contracts are the most common), an organization, state, special event, personality, etc. and are typically sold and marketed through a distributor to dealers, or a company/individual to those people who want to purchase them. These special editions may or may not have a retail price and often times, since demand is regional, values decrease rapidly in other areas of the country. Desirability is the key to determining values on these editions.

As a reminder on commemoratives, especially for the beginning collector, here are a few facts applicable to all manufacturers of commemoratives. Commemoratives are current production guns designed as a reproduction of an historically famous gun model, or as a tie-in with historically famous persons or events. They are generally of very excellent quality and often embellished with select woods and finishes such as silver, nickel, or gold plating. Obviously, they are manufactured to be instant collectibles and to be pleasing to the eye. As with firearms in general, not all commemorative models have achieved collector status, although most enjoy an active market - especially during the past four years. Consecutive-numbered pairs as well as collections based on the same serial number will bring a premium. Remember that handguns usually are in some type of wood presentation case, and that rifles may be cased or in packaging with graphics styled to the particular theme of the collectible.

The original factory packaging and papers should always accompany the firearm as they are necessary to realize full value. All commemorative firearms should be absolutely new, unfired, and as issued since any obvious use or wear removes it from collector status and lowers its value significantly. Many owners have allowed their commemoratives to sit in their boxes and plastic bags (could be serious if there is moisture where storage occurs) for years without inspecting them for corrosion or oxidation damage. Periodic inspection should be implemented to insure no damage occurs - this is important, since even light "freckling" created from touching the metal surfaces can reduce values significantly. A fired gun with obvious wear or without its original packaging can lose as much as 50% of its normal value - many used commemoratives get sold as "fancy shooters" with little, if any, premiums being asked.

The values listed reflect actual prices paid recently in various areas of the U.S. In some regions it may be possible to purchase a Winchester 94 commemorative made in substantial quantity for a slight premium over a standard production Winchester 94. Because of this, prices could fluctuate over 25% depending on the geographic location of purchase or sale.
A final note on commemoratives: One of the characteristics of commemoratives/special editions is that over the years of ownership, most of the original amount manufactured stays in the same NIB condition. Thus, if supply always is constant and in one condition, demand has to increase before price appreciation can occur. Many commemorative dealers have told me that recent changes in overseas currency rates have made domestic guns less expensive to own - for Europeans especially. For this reason, more commemoratives are being sold overseas resulting in less supply for the domestic market. After 44 years of commemorative/special edition production, many models performance records can be accurately analyzed and the appreciation (or depreciation) can be compared against other purchases of equal vintage. You be the judge.

U.S. Repeating Arms had announced in 1990 that they would once again resume the production of factory commemorative firearms.

1982 OKLAHOMA DIAMOND JUBILEE
- ser. no. range ODJ-1 - ODJ-1001.
100%   Issue Price   Qty.Made
$1,450   $2,250      1,001

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You should also know there are many variables that significantly affect the value of any firearm and most of these details are impossible to discern without inspecting the gun in person.  The book mentioned above will educate you on all the details to look for and it includes many photos of real guns so you can learn how to distinguish between the finer points that can make a big difference in the value.  Once you have graded your gun according to the standard rating system then you simply look it up in the tables that are provided to see the current market value.  Any estimates that you get without a physical inspection are likely to be way off the mark in either direction so you need to do the research yourself or have an experienced professional appraise it in person to be sure you are getting an accurate estimate.

If you are certain of the exact manufacturer and model of your firearm and you have graded the condition accurately then you might be able to determine a fair street value by searching your local gun stores or the most popular auction sites to see what similar models are selling for.  Most auctions sites also allow you to search the closed auctions as well so you can see what similar items actually sold for.

http://www.auctionarms.com/
http://www.gunbroker.com/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/

There are also some gun dealers, pawn shops, and other retailers which post their inventory on the web but the sites above offer a pretty good chance of finding a similar gun since they are used by thousands of dealers across the US.

If you don't want to buy the blue book or check the value online then I suggest that you take the gun to a local gunsmith or gun shop which deals with similar guns, or to a local gun club or range where they shoot similar guns.  Chances are high that someone there will know enough to give you some good advice and many of them will gladly do this for free, although keep in mind that their opinions may be biased if they are interested in buying or trading for your gun.

Good luck with your research.

Bob