John Weber, a 70-year-old from England, was given a metal mug by his grandfather in 1945. Though his grandfather had a “good eye” for antiques, John never thought the metal mug was worth much. He played with it as a child, and even used it as a target for his air rifle. The mug, assumed to be brass, has languished in a shoe box under Weber’s bed for decades.

Well, it turns out Weber’s old mug may be the world’s most expensive plinking target! The cup is actually made of solid gold, and is a rare, ancient artwork, crafted over 2300 years ago. The unusual mug, decorated with twin, opposite-facing female heads, was appraised with a value exceeding one-quarter million dollars ($250,000)!

According to news reports, Weber decided to have the old mug (thought to be brass) appraised when he moved from his house. He was shocked to learn that the mug is a Persian gold treasure, beaten out from a single sheet of gold before the time of Alexander the Great. Experts said the type of gold and the way the cup was hammered was “consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing” dating back to the third or fourth century BC. The Achaemenid Empire ruled most of the Middle East and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Could this cup be one of Alexander’s war trophies? What stories could it tell from the past 2300 years?

Ancient Gold Cup Brings $99,000 at Auction
The rare cup was sold at auction by Duke’s Auction house in southwest England in June, 2008. Though the Cup was valued much higher by experts, it only fetched £50,000, or roughly $99,000 U.S. Dollars (at 2008 exchange rates). John Webber said he was still very pleased with that result.

CLICK HERE for Auction Description (Item 378).

Achaemenid Empire (in green)

John Weber, born 80 years ago in England, was given a metal mug by his grandfather in 1945. Though his grandfather had a “good eye” for antiques, John never thought the metal mug was worth much. He played with it as a child, and even used it as a target for his air rifle. The mug, assumed to be brass, languished in a shoe box under Weber’s bed for decades.

Well, it turns out Weber’s old mug may be the world’s most expensive plinking target! The cup is actually made of solid gold, and is a rare, ancient artwork, crafted over 2300 years ago. The unusual mug, decorated with twin, opposite-facing female heads, was appraised with a value exceeding one-quarter million dollars ($250,000)!

According to news reports, Weber decided to have the old mug (thought to be brass) appraised when he moved from his house. He was shocked to learn that the mug is a Persian gold treasure, beaten out from a single sheet of gold before the time of Alexander the Great. Experts said the type of gold and the way the cup was hammered was “consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing” dating back to the third or fourth century BC. The Achaemenid Empire ruled most of the Middle East and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Could this cup be one of Alexander’s war trophies? What stories could it tell from the past 2300 years?

Ancient Gold Cup Brings $99,000 at Auction in 2008
The rare cup was sold at auction by Duke’s Auction house in southwest England in June, 2008. Though the Cup was valued much higher by experts, it only fetched £50,000, or roughly $99,000 U.S. Dollars (at 2008 exchange rates, $75,769 today). John Webber said he was still very pleased with that result.

CLICK HERE for Auction Description (Item 378).

Achaemenid Empire (in green)

John Weber, a 70-year-old from England, was given a metal mug by his grandfather in 1945. Though his grandfather had a “good eye” for antiques, John never thought the metal mug was worth much. He played with it as a child, and even used it as a target for his air rifle. The mug, assumed to be brass, has languished in a shoe box under Weber’s bed for decades.

Well, it turns out Weber’s old mug may be the world’s most expensive plinking target! The cup is actually made of solid gold, and is a rare, ancient artwork, crafted over 2300 years ago. The unusual mug, decorated with twin, opposite-facing female heads, was appraised with a value exceeding one-quarter million dollars ($250,000)!

According to news reports, Weber decided to have the old mug (thought to be brass) appraised when he moved from his house. He was shocked to learn that the mug is a Persian gold treasure, beaten out from a single sheet of gold before the time of Alexander the Great. Experts said the type of gold and the way the cup was hammered was “consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing” dating back to the third or fourth century BC. The Achaemenid Empire ruled most of the Middle East and was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Could this cup be one of Alexander’s war trophies? What stories could it tell from the past 2300 years?

Ancient Gold Cup Brings $99,000 at Auction
The rare cup was sold at auction by Duke’s Auction house in southwest England in June, 2008. Though the Cup was valued much higher by experts, it only fetched £50,000, or roughly $99,000 U.S. Dollars (at 2008 exchange rates). John Webber said he was still very pleased with that result.

CLICK HERE for Auction Description (Item 378).

Achaemenid Empire (in green)

There’s a big online auction set for November 18 and 19, 2015. The well-known Kesselring’s Gun Shop in the Seattle area has closed its doors. Now a large selection of firearms and shooting accessories will be sold to the highest bidders. You’ll find high-quality rifles, shotguns, and handguns up for auction with no minimums and no reserves. There are also 900 lots of optics and 1500 lots of ammunition. On Day One there are 200+ Leupold scopes listed, including the top-of-the-line tactical models. This is a chance to get top-quality guns, scopes, and ammo for very attractive prices. Bidding starts tomorrow. There are two separate Live +_Online Auctions, Day One (Wednesday, November 18th) and Day Two (Thursday, November 19th). Bidding opens at 9:00 am on each day.

Download Day 1 Auction Catalog | Download Day 2 Auction Catalog | View Auction Brochure

To bid via the internet, visit www.MurphyAuction.com. Click the links below to see the items up for auction on each day.

Brands include: Perazzi, Krieghoff, Nightforce, Sako, Colt, Swarovski, Benelli, Beretta, Remington, Smith & Wesson, Leupold, Kimber, Browning, Winchester, Dakota, Savage, Glock, Nikon, and more.

If you don’t want to lug the big book around, a Kindle (electronic) Edition of the 2014 Gun Trader’s Guide to Rifles is available for just $16.17. This 608-page eBook edition of the 2014 Guide can be viewed on a Kindle, iPad, laptop, or your home computer. This is handy if you want to access gun values at a gunshop, estate sale, or auction.

The July 8th (Wednesday night) episode of Shooting USA features the 1874 Sharps rifle, a lever-action breech-loader favored by plains buffalo hunters. Christian Sharps patented his signature rifle design in 1848. The Sharps Model 1874 was an updated version, chambered for metallic cartridges. According to firearms historian/author Garry James, the Sharps rifle “came in all sorts of different calibers from .40 all the way up to .50, and jillions of different case lengths and styles and configurations”.

Sharps rifles have enjoyed a new-found notoriety, thanks to Hollywood. Tom Selleck starred as Matthew Quigley in the hit movie Quigley Down-Under. In a famous scene (watch below), Quigley used his 1874 Sharps to hit a wooden bucket at very long range*. In this movie clip, Selleck explains the 45-110 cartridge, the rifle’s double-set trigger, and the Vernier rear sight. (45-110 refers to .45 caliber and case capacity of 110 grains of black powder).

The Sharps rifles used in the movie were made by Shiloh Rifle company (Powder River Rifle Company). There were actually three (3) Sharps rifles made for the movie. One went to the NRA’s National Firearms Museum while another was raffled off to support NRA shooting programs. The headline photo shows the third rifle, Selleck’s favorite, which the actor retained for some years until deciding to sell it. This third rifle (with spare barrel and associated items) were sold at auction in 2008.

Well it looks like Gunbroker.com may (finally) have some competition. A new gun auction site, eGunner.com, has just been launched by Bud’s Gun Shop, a major retailer. eGunner.com was created to help gun stores sell their firearms inventory. But the site is not limited to commercial dealers. Private gun sellers can also list pistols, rifles, shotguns, and other shooting hardware.

Flat Fee Listings — Pay $10 or $15 When Gun Sells
eGunner.com has a very simple fee structure. It cost nothing to list an item for sale. There is a flat fee at the close of a successful auction: $10 for guns under $500 and $15 for guns $500 and up.

To use eGunner.com you must first register with the site. Then you can list your firearms in standard, featured, or premium categories. What’s more, Bud’s Gun Shop says: “for a limited time, standard listings are FREE… during our introductory period you keep 100% of your auction proceeds.” Can’t argue with that.

eGunner.com has a handy LISTING HELP PAGE that explains how to list an item. This takes you step by step through the process of placing your item up for auction and setting the terms of the auction. To speed up the process there is a “quick listing” option. You can also designate your item as “Buy It Now”. Use this option if you want to sell at a specified price, rather than use the auction process.

Not Ready for Prime Time Yet?
eGunner.com is easy to navigate, but the site seems quite slow. It appears that some bugs need to be worked out. (That’s to be expected as the site is only a few days old.) We predict eGunner.com response times will improve soon. We hope so. We like the idea of an auction site with affordable flat fees. Gunbroker can charge $50 or more to sell a $3000 rifle. If eGunner.com becomes successful, this will benefit both both commercial and private sellers.

Story Tip from EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.

Gun prices climbed into the stratosphere last month during the 2015 April Premiere Firearms Auction conducted by the Rock Island Auction Company (RIA). The most expensive gun at auction was an historic Colt Paterson, the first-ever factory-engraved Colt handgun. Complete with the original fitted factory case with various accessories, this Paterson inspired a bidding war that saw the price rise to a stunning $414,000. That is an amazingly high price for a gun that was not owned by a well-known historic personage. Generally, to command a price in the multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars, a gun must have a significant historic provenance — such as having been owned by a legendary figure such as Billy the Kid or Wyatt Earp.

It seems like prices continue to rise every year at auctions of historic and collectible firearms. At RIA’s April Premier Auction, the total sale value of the auctioned guns topped $11.6 million. Remarkably, a first-year production Colt Python (serial #170) sold for $17,250! That makes this Editor regret not having acquired an early model Snake decades ago.

High-priced highlights from the auction are shown below. NOTE: You can see more than 60 other Elmer Keith firearms, along with a list of final auction prices. The Guns & Ammo website has a detailed, illustrated report on the Elmer Keith auction with dozens of high-quality photos.

CLICK HERE to see dozens more firearms from the Elmer Keith Estate Auction.

Lot 1038: Colonel Jim Corbett’s .450/.400 “Tiger Rifle” (Sold for $264,500.00)

Dangerous Game Rifles in Collection
The legendary “Corbett Tiger Rifle”, a Jeffery boxlock .450/400 was used by famed hunter Edward James “Jim” Corbett. This rifle was featured in Corbett’s book Man-Eaters of Kumaon. Two of the man-eating tigers Corbett hunted were believed to have killed over 800 humans in the Kumaon Hills of India.

Lot 1005: Colt SAA No. 5 .44 Special “The Last Word in Sixguns” (Sold for $80,500.00)
This famous revolver started as a Colt SAA, but then was heavily modified. The top strap of the frame was welded up into a flat-top target configuration, with an adjustable rear sight added. The hammer was modified with a Bisley-type target spur. The unique grip of the Number Five was created by marrying a modified Bisley backstrap to a Single Action Army trigger guard. His most famous pistol, Keith called this handgun “The last word in fine six-guns”.

Lot 1041: Westley Richards Droplock .476 NE (Sold for $69,000.00)
Used by Elmer Keith on safari in Tanzania, this was Keith’s preferred Elephant Rifle.

Lot 1020: Smith & Wesson Triple Lock Target Revolvers. (Sold for $39,100.00)
This rare set belonged to Gerrit Forbes and Ed McGivern before being acquired by Elmer Keith.

Video Explains How GunPalace.com Works:

GunPalace.com has a simple, low-cost fee structure. Basic listings are free, while there are modest fees for “showcase listings” and other upgrades. Importantly there is no hefty “end of sale” surcharge. Scott Patey of GunPalace.com explains: “It’s simple, our site does not asses a fee when an item sells. That keeps selling expenses low for sellers and prices affordable for buyers. If you are a gun-loving American, you are welcome on our site.”

Auction categories for sellers include: all types of guns (including rare and collectibles), plus gun parts, gun accessories, ammo, optics, safes, knives, hunting gear, military items, camping gear, ATVs, motorsports, and more. It is easy to register to begin listing items for auction. GunPalace.com doesn’t eat away your profits, as you pay zero final sales fees.