This Piece of Junk is a rare collectible?

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Machineguntony

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In a distressing sign that I am getting old, this gun is a rare collectible nowadays?

I have two of these sitting in my vault from the 90s, when I bought them as a college student. I forgot what I paid for them, but they were cheap.

Neither article explains why this gun is rare or desirable. The guns were cheap and kind of ugly.

The blog says its worth $200 to $700. That’s not exactly ‘rare’ status valuation. I think Ruger just got cheap with the donation and tossed them something from their vault.

As of right now, the current bid is $700. I wonder if these are real bids or bids out of generosity.

Is there something I’m missing about this gun?

https://sssfonline.org/ruger-donates-rare-kp90-benefit-scholastic-action-shooting-program/

http://www.guns.com/2018/01/05/rare-ruger-kp90-pistol-up-for-auction/
 
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It's rare today, because few people wanted them when they were new?
A chunky, low-capacity 9, from the heyday of the hi-cap Wondernine era.
 
Not really rare or collectible AFAIK. I have a P-97 and like the P-90, it's a good shooter albeit clunky and large. I think the charity aspect has driven the price higher than it would ordinarily be ($350 or so).
 
One great American hammer fired 45. A few years ago the few that did turn up at funshows were in the 400-450 range used. So here we are 4 years down the road, I'd say the marked inched up maybe 25 bucks.
 
Rare doesn't necessarily mean it's worth anything. Not in the gun world anyway. Neither does old or even old and rare.
 
Piece of junk is a little harsh.

They're more collectible than I thought, but I don't know why. One other one is currently bid at $585, which seem awfully high. The rest of the Ruger P series tends more towards $200-400. I'm also shocked that such a beefy pistol is single stack :confused:.

It's a bizarre choice on Ruger's part, though. This one probably got kicked under a shelf in the vault and Ruger couldn't think of anything else to do with it.
 
I shouldn't criticize Ruger; afterall, I donate all my old clothes, not new clothes, to Goodwill. I know it’s charitable to donate something, and something is better than nothing when it comes to being charitable.

It amazes me that this pistol is worth even a penny more than the cost in the 90s. Yes, it’s a very beefy pistol that’s single stack. The plastic grip looks cheap and can be slippery if the user has sweaty hands. The trigger is long and not all that special (although it’s not the worst). Even though beauty is subjective, this gun isn’t the prettiest gun, and it’s not like it has a cool branding name, like ‘Python’.

I agree that something being rare doesn’t make it a desirable collectible. With most collectible guns, there’s a reason why the gun becomes collectible. It might be that it’s a first or last of something, it’s subjectively or artistically beautiful, it has some historical or social significance, it has some sort of celebrity or famous association, it has some infamous association, etc. This gun has none of that.

I just don’t understand it.

But whatever. I looked at the gun in vault and remember buying it when I was young. Maybe that’s why it’s collectible. Makes us older guys remember the days we were young.
 
The object of the donation/sale is to get funds for the listed charitable organization....and the blog's job is to ramp up interest in the donated item....and that about covers the reason it's described "rare". IMHO, Rod
 
Maybe they're "rare" because they're in "new" condition. Most that I see in shops look like they've been rode hard and put up wet.

I also suspect people who bid on such things aren't really buying a gun. They're looking to make a donation to the charity.
 
They are not rare nor valuable but they are far from pieces of junk. They are welll made and reliable. The main problem with them is that they were a single stack that was made when high quality staggered stacked high capacity magazine guns were already on the market. Their time was past. I had one and it was a big heavy gun that shot 45 app. For those not wanting a 1911 (fools) it was viable alternative. I wouldn’t pay more than $300 for one.
 
CajunBass said:
I also suspect people who bid on such things aren't really buying a gun. They're looking to make a donation to the charity.
Click to expand...

This is your answer. $700 is nothing for a wealthy collector or philanthropist. The fact that it has a unique history makes it a good story.
 
Machineguntony said:
In a distressing sign that I am getting old, this gun is a rare collectible nowadays?

I have two of these sitting in my vault from the 90s, when I bought them as a college student. I forgot what I paid for them, but they were cheap.

Neither article explains why this gun is rare or desirable. The guns were cheap and kind of ugly.

The blog says its worth $200 to $700. That’s not exactly ‘rare’ status valuation. I think Ruger just got cheap with the donation and tossed them something from their vault.

As of right now, the current bid is $700. I wonder if these are real bids or bids out of generosity.

Is there something I’m missing about this gun?

https://sssfonline.org/ruger-donates-rare-kp90-benefit-scholastic-action-shooting-program/

http://www.guns.com/2018/01/05/rare-ruger-kp90-pistol-up-for-auction/
Click to expand...

It's a benefit auction.

Mine's older than the one pictured. (Mine has a lanyard loop.)

A chunky, low-capacity 9
Click to expand...

The P90 is a .45 ACP gun.
 
Not junk. Reliable and durable for sure. Ugly and bulky, so not exactly a “fine” collectible, but Massad Ayoob, IIRC, had one as a duty weapon and said it was super accurate, he used it to win a shooting match when his 1911 racer failed.
 
....

People collect all kinds of stuff ..... beer cans, pens, gimme caps, rocks .......

..... though I would not really want one, it does embody all things Ruger circa 1990 : Low capacity, solidly overbuilt, functionally reliable, inexpensive, and available everywhere......


I'd prefer a couple of those to a roomfull of Beanie Babies.
 
I bought one new many moons ago. Could never get comfortable with the safety ergonomics, so I sold it. My only hesitation in selling it was it's high reliability and accuracy.

Later replaced it with a de-cocker P97D. It too was reliable and accurate.

Both were rather homely and clunky, but I found the single stack grips comfortable in the hand. Gave the 97D to a relative who still enjoys it.
 
A P90 was my first semi auto hand gun I bought. It's definitely reliable and a good shooter. Chunky as all get out but I' pretty sure I'll never wear it out. I never heard much in the press about them, funny to see it label as a rare piece. And the great thing about them is you ever run out of ammo they you can bludgeon someone into submission with it, try that with a plastic wonder gun.
 
Low-volume sellers often end up being "collectible".
I don't think the KP90 really qualifies, but who am I to judge? (My pre-recall P95DC is a different beast - but, apparently, also collectible...)


I am of the younger generation here.
I won't give my age, but will say that I grew up with video games - beginning with ColecoVision, then an Atari 2600, then an Atari 7800, and an Nintendo NES before the 16 bit stuff came into play.
One of my favorite games on the NES was "DuckTales 2". I just thought it was a fun game, and we happened to pick it up cheap in a bargain bin. I was surprised when I found that none of my friends at the time had ever played it.

Fast forward to 2016, and I find out that the 'bargain bin' game that my mother paid $2 for was now worth over $600, because NO ONE bought it and I was anal enough to keep the original packaging and instructions and take care of my game cartridges. Over 90% of the copies of the game that were manufactured were sent back and destroyed due to lack of sales, and much of the remainder was basically liquidated. (Because the first one, "DuckTales" [1], was garbage.)
The market has since tanked, because people holding working copies flooded eBay. But, hey... at least for a time, I was looking at a 30,000% return on my mother's investment.
 
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