I will be frank: as far as I know, no one has ever compiled an exhaustive list of all the commemorative, special-issue, and special-order firearms offered during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The mere thought of compiling such a list makes my head hurt.
Here’s why: back in the sixties and seventies, the only major manufacturers of commemorative guns were Colt and Winchester. Colt’s platform was the Single Action Army; Winchester’s, the Model 94. The speculation at the time was that these two companies made these guns to spur sales of their two aging flagship models. This explanation is still valid, to some extent at least, four decades later.
Today, however, it’s a different story. During the last two decades, most American gunmakers invested in computer-aided manufacturing, which meant that making special-run guns presented no particular problems in terms of tooling and scrap. If, say, the Upper Sandusky Conservation and Hog Roast Club wanted to commemorate their fiftieth anniversary with a special rifle, pistol or shotgun, gunmakers will usually be happy to comply as long as a minimum buy is guaranteed.
Then major gun distributors got into the act. Sales and marketing firms such as TALO began offering exclusives, which they sold to their dealers as non-catalogued specialty items. Most of these special-run guns were, and are, very attractive, but their uncatalogued status makes them very difficult to classify. I get probably two calls a month inquiring about these guns, which don’t usually appear in any price guides.
In general, there are four different types of commemorative firearms: those released directly from the manufacturer into their normal distribution channel; those exclusively made for a specific distributor; those made as fund-raisers for non-profit organizations; and those commissioned from a specialty retailer for direct sales to the public. Let’s take a look at them.
The first type is exemplified by the Winchester 94 and Colt SAA commemoratives that we all love – or hate. These firearms have lately acquired a legitimacy among collectors that they didn’t always enjoy – in fact, most serious Winchester collectors would have spit in your face 20 years ago if you had asked them if they had a Crazy Horse commemorative among their holdings. Until recently, the NRA commemorative Colt SAA was a pariah among collectors. This situation is changing; the discontinuance of the Model 94 in 2006 has made all 94s collectible, and the value of second-generation SAAs is appreciating rapidly.
The second type includes the TALO and Davidson’s special-run guns that are released to key retailers who buy from such distributors. As discussed above, these guns are usually uncatalogued, and most of the general gun-owning public is usually unaware of their existence.
The third type is exemplified by the various not-for-profit guns that we have all seen, often unfired, in the used-gun racks of our local retailers. The Ithaca Model 37 shotgun was a big favorite of Ducks Unlimited some years back, for example, but I know of no comprehensive source that lists all of the variations of these fund-raiser guns or how many were produced.
The fourth type of commemorative or special-issue gun includes the various historical and personality-cult commemoratives that are built on the chassis of both domestic and offshore firearms. American Historical Foundation, for example, offers at least 60 commemorative firearms at this writing, ranging from fancy .25 Colt semi-autos to Thompsons. And right now, at this very moment, you can buy an Elvis Presley commemorative Smith & Wesson revolver from a collectibles company doing business as America Remembers. The revolver itself is called the Elvis Presley Taking Care of Business, and it can be yours for a mere $2195. If you’re you’re the kind of person whose living room motif features imitation velvet Elvis tapestries and Presley collector plates, you might also consider America Remembers’ Elvis Presley Western Tribute, which is based on an Italian-made Uberti Single Action Army clone. America Remembers offers dozens of other special-run commemorative or tribute guns should your tastes run in that direction.
Often the definitions of these four types becomes blurred or disappears altogether. Was the Charter Arms “Bonnie & Clyde” matched set of revolvers that was produced 30 years ago a true commemorative, or just a marketing gimmick? Is the Remington Model Seven 25th Anniversary Edition bolt action rifle a true commemorative? The mind boggles.
In this book, we pretty much limit ourselves to factory-built commemoratives that hit the market between 1960 and 1995. We apologize in advance who are searching for, say, a Colt El Capitan or El Presidente in these pages. We might also go ahead and apologize to those who find commemorative firearms listed herein for sale at figures substantially above or below the values shown in this section. These things happen. By the way, values shown are for examples in mint, unfired condition.
One thing is for sure: like all guns, commemorative or special-run firearms are worth precis ely what someone is willing to pay for them, no more or less. The fact that a gun might be a “distributor special,” for example, does not inherently add to or detract from its value. If someone is willing to pay a certain amount for the privilege of being the only kid on the block with a [fill in the blank], then that figure is what that gun is worth to that buyer in those circumstances. To generalize beyond that is misleading.
I have always thought that the most fascinating collectors are those who are just slightly mad on the subject of their interest. I once knew a man, for example, who would energetically expound on the RCA/Victor recordings of Spike Jones until he was literally frothing at the mouth. Was he a nut? Yes. Was he MY kind of nut? Absolutely! Passionate people are always the most interesting.
So let us not turn up our noses at someone who’s saving his pennies for a Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Pat Buttram Tribute Rifle from America Remembers. You may not find such a rifle listed in the following section, but that doesn’t mean it’s inherently less valuable than some of the guns that are listed.
Besides, I’m kind of a Gene Autry fan myself.
Cheers,
Dan Shideler