Weimar.
I agree with everything you said there. My main concern is the “appeal” thing. Lots of rare guns out there that have no value because no one wants them. My present concern is that stuff that appealed 10-15 years ago is losing appeal and I’m not sure how something like a Walther P5 will ever get that prestige back.IMO, "collectible" firearms are those with high appeal and low production numbers (or number of known remaining examples), or unique history/provenance. Those will always retain value over time. Another somewhat lower tier would be mass production firearms with unique appeal or coveted craftsmanship.
The generally accepted winners are full-auto NFA items. Historically they outperform all but very special Title 1 firearms, but that value is always at risk of legislation wiping it out.
The rest are for personal enjoyment and are again IMO, worth what you feel like paying for them. Yes I'd love to have a cherry hard-chromed P7M8 with Nill grips, but I ain't paying what they bring on today's market.
The parallels between the car market and gun market are real. Cars are so useful and fun to collect that they will always be the ultimate collectible in my opinion. Every car ever made will eventually have its day where it is collectible.
I've read that the problem with the vintage car markets is in many cases it's a literal impossibility to get parts. There's often "gunsmith specials" for sale that one can pillage but not too many worn out Super Bee's laying around. 2500.00 for a vintage Python sounds a bit better than half a million for a Super Bee...
