I agree to that stock condition says alot about a rifle to collectors and a heavily sanded stock is one of the worst possible things to happen to a nice rifle. Some collectors will pass up on a nice rifle just becasue it has initials in the wood or it has been duffle cut. To me if the rest of the rifle is nice and the stock has not been messed with those other factors don't really bother me it tells a story. Even better if the duffle cut is hidden.
Unfortunately a sanded stock is the kiss of the death to collectors in the G/K43 community. It just really is hard to find a nice all matching G/K43 without problems. And I would say 90% of the G/K43 rifles out there has stock issues.
I need to look at my serial number listings (when I have a whole bunch of time) and go through all three manufacturers and see; 1) How many rifles I have listed, and 2) How many are in original condition vs. “jacked up”. There would be a third category that would be just the recorded rifles that don’t have complete descriptions. It would be neat to see how many are still in original condition vs. “jacked with” condition. There’s a lot I can do with these listings. But, it’s tedious work and time consuming.
I would be interested to see what your findings are Tiger. By the way a good friend of mine just sold a Panel cut G/K43 ac43 I believe a few months ago. That rifle was nice and untouched too. He offered it to another friend out of Kentucky for like $3700 he took a pass on it. He said alright and put it on his table for like $4800. A gentleman walked by about 20 minutes later and bought the rifle.
Untouched ones will absolutely sell very quickly. It’s truly a seller’s market for totally correct ones. Neat story too! Wish I had the numbers for my listings. Good ones like that rarely leave collector’s circles though, and sometimes one escapes out to be had by a different collector circle.
I was having a hard time thinking what a G.43 ac43 would go for untouched. Well, we know at least $4,800.00 it sounds like. I was thinking a little higher though.
You did very well. good show. Hood is G43 as well