Appraisal of second hand ammunition
- Thread starter dlubins
- Start date
This is what I'd do. If the ammo is all "common" calibers and nothing rare or collectable, look up the prices on line such as ammoseek.com and price each box for the lowest on line price you can find. That way you're sure to sell it.
You can ask more, but may have to sit on it for awhile.
Will there be an estate auction for larger items? If so, consider auctioning off the ammo. I go to 4 or 5 gun auctions a year in my area. For some strange reason, ammo goes for a premium at the auctions I attend. I've seen beer flats of ammo that's nothing special such as Winchester white box .45acp auction for 25% higher than what you would pay at a local gun store. Why people bid that high is foolish, but it's great for the selling estate I guess.
You can ask more, but may have to sit on it for awhile.
Will there be an estate auction for larger items? If so, consider auctioning off the ammo. I go to 4 or 5 gun auctions a year in my area. For some strange reason, ammo goes for a premium at the auctions I attend. I've seen beer flats of ammo that's nothing special such as Winchester white box .45acp auction for 25% higher than what you would pay at a local gun store. Why people bid that high is foolish, but it's great for the selling estate I guess.
ShootistPRS
New member
If by "second hand" you mean old factory ammunition It really doesn't usually hold more than half its value. If you are talking about his reloaded ammo I don't know many people who will pay more than salvage price on reloads.
If the ammo is relatively recent manufacture, is in good condition and appears to be in original factory boxes (all headstamps in each box match and are consistent with the labeling on the box, all the ammo in each box appears to be identical) then you can price it at some reasonable percentage of what that particular type of new ammo would go for. The recommendation to check various online sources for prices is a good one.
If the ammo appears to be very old, it might be worth contacting an ammunition collector to see if it has special collector value. Be aware that in some very special cases, even empty ammunition boxes, or single rounds may have significant value.
If the ammo is loose or in containers other than factory boxes, or if it is in factory boxes but headstamps are mixed and/or aren't consistent with the labeling on the box then it's worth very little because there's no guarantee of what it actually is or how it has been loaded. This is especially true if the late owner was a reloader/hand loader.
If it appears to be reloaded ammunition, then if you can't find someone who is willing to buy it for component prices you may have to find a shooting range or other facility which will take it off your hands since it should not be disposed of by simply discarding it. Component prices would be selling it for something less than the market price of new loose bullets and empty cartridge cases since the buyer would be taking the ammo apart, discarding the powder and probably the primers and then reloading it with known powder/primers. This is more work than starting with new components so buyers would want to pay significantly less than the price of new components.
If the ammo appears to be very old, it might be worth contacting an ammunition collector to see if it has special collector value. Be aware that in some very special cases, even empty ammunition boxes, or single rounds may have significant value.
If the ammo is loose or in containers other than factory boxes, or if it is in factory boxes but headstamps are mixed and/or aren't consistent with the labeling on the box then it's worth very little because there's no guarantee of what it actually is or how it has been loaded. This is especially true if the late owner was a reloader/hand loader.
If it appears to be reloaded ammunition, then if you can't find someone who is willing to buy it for component prices you may have to find a shooting range or other facility which will take it off your hands since it should not be disposed of by simply discarding it. Component prices would be selling it for something less than the market price of new loose bullets and empty cartridge cases since the buyer would be taking the ammo apart, discarding the powder and probably the primers and then reloading it with known powder/primers. This is more work than starting with new components so buyers would want to pay significantly less than the price of new components.
Welcome to tfl!
JohnKSa covered it pretty well.
There are, essentially two different values possible. The value of it as usable ammunition, and the value of it because of what it is, meaning rare/collectable/historical value, if any.
For collector value, the condition of the rounds and the condition of the packaging matter. A box of WWI era .45acp ammo (with the correct box) is worth a lot more than the box of .45acp you bought at WalMart last week.
The first thing you need is a comprehensive inventory.
We'll be glad to help identify anything you can clearly describe, (pictures are a huge help) there is a very broad knowledge base here at TFL.
Get a copy of Cartridges of the World (Barnes). Older copies can be found pretty cheap sometimes, and are a pretty good general reference for old cartridges, like obsolete black powder rounds. IF the ammo you are dealing with has any batches of mixed ammo, probably loose rounds it ought to be looked over.
Over the years, a lot of us "brass rats" wind up with single rounds or small numbers of rounds in odd, unusual, even rare and valuable calibers. Sometimes these just wind up in a box, or a bucket, with other stuff. usually other ammo we can't use...and often the cases don't have regular headstamps identifying it.
I'm not into cartridge collecting enough to be up on the current prices, but I do know that there are rounds rare enough to be worth a lot to certain collectors. A single rare round might be worth $75? $100? I don't know, but there are rounds in that category, and sometimes, they've been known to hide out in a bucket of mixed "scrap" brass/ammo.
If you've got anything like that to deal with, you really need someone who check it over, someone who can see if there are any diamonds in the mud.
Good Luck, we are here to help if we can.
JohnKSa covered it pretty well.
There are, essentially two different values possible. The value of it as usable ammunition, and the value of it because of what it is, meaning rare/collectable/historical value, if any.
For collector value, the condition of the rounds and the condition of the packaging matter. A box of WWI era .45acp ammo (with the correct box) is worth a lot more than the box of .45acp you bought at WalMart last week.
The first thing you need is a comprehensive inventory.
We'll be glad to help identify anything you can clearly describe, (pictures are a huge help) there is a very broad knowledge base here at TFL.
Get a copy of Cartridges of the World (Barnes). Older copies can be found pretty cheap sometimes, and are a pretty good general reference for old cartridges, like obsolete black powder rounds. IF the ammo you are dealing with has any batches of mixed ammo, probably loose rounds it ought to be looked over.
Over the years, a lot of us "brass rats" wind up with single rounds or small numbers of rounds in odd, unusual, even rare and valuable calibers. Sometimes these just wind up in a box, or a bucket, with other stuff. usually other ammo we can't use...and often the cases don't have regular headstamps identifying it.
I'm not into cartridge collecting enough to be up on the current prices, but I do know that there are rounds rare enough to be worth a lot to certain collectors. A single rare round might be worth $75? $100? I don't know, but there are rounds in that category, and sometimes, they've been known to hide out in a bucket of mixed "scrap" brass/ammo.
If you've got anything like that to deal with, you really need someone who check it over, someone who can see if there are any diamonds in the mud.
Good Luck, we are here to help if we can.
