Authenticating a JP Sauer HT sniper

I looked over the catalog, was interested in a few items, but listed them up & set limits on what I’d be happy paying for any one of them (or multiples if I’d won any) I could see right off that there was sniping going on & so lowered my expectations. (and max bid numbers) I won one item, poorly described & not the most sought after ‘thing’. I’ll post it up in a week or few when I get time to do photos.
I was surprised at the intensity of the bidding for a small local auction house auction; amazed that there are so many folks with lots more money than brains, or perhaps just with large egos. I expect that at the big auction sites like gb, disappointed to see that the disease has spread so far. Damn internet & social media wreck everything!

edit: the auction house did their job for the client, IMO. Doesn’t help the hobby per se, but they were working for the family, not ‘us’.
 
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Fools, money, they parted ways…. If the OP was the buyer and this was the rifle he wanted lettered, well, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy…
 
When the estate auction mentions that you've got "thousands of rounds of 8mm ammunition," you know its gonna get silly. I mean, Walmart probably has thousands of rounds of 8mm, and I wouldn't say that they have a rare and desirable collection.
 
Hambone said:
Auctions can be are a way for a sellers to "launder" humpjobs.
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which is why I favor buying here on the Trader or from someone local to that I know, where at least SOME folks care about their reputation. The fees can add 25-50% above the bid price & shipping is not without risk. The consignee never wins on freight claims, its amazing that any fragile items arrive undamaged!
 
Muncher 1953 said:
I looked over the catalog, was interested in a few items, but listed them up & set limits on what I’d be happy paying for any one of them (or multiples if I’d won any) I could see right off that there was sniping going on & so lowered my expectations. (and max bid numbers) I won one item, poorly described & not the most sought after ‘thing’. I’ll post it up in a week or few when I get time to do photos.
I was surprised at the intensity of the bidding for a small local auction house auction; amazed that there are so many folks with lots more money than brains, or perhaps just with large egos. I expect that at the big auction sites like gb, disappointed to see that the disease has spread so far. Damn internet & social media wreck everything!

edit: the auction house did their job for the client, IMO. Doesn’t help the hobby per se, but they were working for the family, not ‘us’.
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Well, lets be honest they did a good job of chumming the waters by posting stuff here "looking for info" while all the while broadcasting the upcoming auction far and wide. I am betting we are not the only forum things were posted on "for help"...and while you are right, technically they are working for the family, lets be blunt, the more they can chum the waters and drive up bids, the more they make, they are hardly altruistic...
 
Rheinmetall said:
There were loads of items having various degrees of issues in that auction, many being outright fakes. I fully anticipated this rifle would be bid up by some suckers who were mesmerized by the provenance as described by the auction house:

"This collection is from an estate that has been untouched for 25 years. The collection is primarily WWII German Nazi era. Uniforms, hats, helmets, boots, insignia, medals, flags, books, bayonets, knives & more, All original, no reproductions, all cloth has been checked with a black light. Thousands of rounds of 8mm ammunition and over 150 firearms. We have had several local experts review items and we are under the believe everything offered is authentic."

Guns aside, to me the most outlandish results were of the two SS tunics which were total fakes/fantasies (and very poor ones at that). One sold for $6500, the other for $8500 (plus buyers premiums). It's even more pathetic knowing it involves more than one bidder to achieve these results. There is no shortage of idiots having large wallets and little knowledge.
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There is a looooot of trash hiding in really old collections. Don't get me wrong, a lot of gems too, but good lord fakes didn't start with the internet. If anything it's gotten way better compared to the wild west of the 80s/90s. A lot less easy back then to compare hundreds of examples with fellow collectors, examine trends, and get that eye for what's right and what's wrong. Some people did it through putting in a lot of work in shows, but for every one of those there was a hundred other middle-high level collectors with 50-100 rifles in their safe and a solid handful of fakes and fantasy pieces.

Doubly so with helmets, medals, and uniforms.
 
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Muncher 1953 said:
edit: the auction house did their job for the client, IMO. Doesn’t help the hobby per se, but they were working for the family, not ‘us’.
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I personally cannot concur with your statement. It is a rather rare occasion that an auction company asks for assistance on a forum to make sure to describe something correctly. I have specifically requested pictures of the serial number inside the stock channel of the J. P. Sauer & Sohn High Turret sniper rifle, and they were quickly provided, plus questions answered. As a result to this, I feel they are nice and helpful and just did the best they could do.

@vetoif are you still among us?
 
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