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My partner inherited an un shot winchester 1894 royal canadian mounted police centennial edition 30-30. Its still in the original box with decorative sleeve although the sleeve has some damage from being moved around north america the last 50 years. The rifle itself is almost perfect condition but the gold plating seems to be flaking in a small area the size of a grain of rice.

Whats it worth? And what would yall do with it? I know what id do, just checking with the hive mind here to see how crazy i am.
 
inherited
This is the key word for me and it would depend on who it came from. The unfired Winchester comitatives are worth a bit more, like maybe +/- 40% over regular 94's So if it was me I probably wouldn't sell it and instead start stocking up on ammo so that I could shoot it like God and JMB* intended



;)
*John Moses Browning
SoIsGod.jpg
 
Let's see some pictures? What year was it made? If you shoot it it's value goes way down.
Sometimes less worth than a regular non commemorative model if it is fired.
 
IMO I never placed much value on the Winchester commemorative lever actions. They just didn't appeal to me.

My family '94 that is a slightly beat up long octagon barrel rifle that my grandfather, my father and I have hunted with? Priceless.
 
Commemorative Winchesters depart from all other collectable Winchesters, in that they are sought after ONLY by Commemorative collectors. They are worth most in unfired, mint, boxed with papers condition.

Certain models are more desirable (again in mint, unfired condition) to collectors, such as the John Wayne/Buffalo Bill/Theodore Roosevelt editions.
Commemoratives may increase in value each year, but incrementally (spikes in value as seen in some desirable models of regular Winchesters are non-existent).

There were three grades of the RCMP guns; "Standard", "Members Issue", and "Presentation". Current book value (AGAIN: MINT IN BOX!) on a Standard grade RCMP is $995. Interesting in this edition is that not all built guns were actually shipped. 9500 were made. Possibly a desirability factor. Again, these guns appeal almost exclusively to collectors, and the demand may not have existed for this edition. Top dollar to sell one now would require finding a Commemorative collector that is missing this edition in his collection.

But the news is not all bad. My experience with them includes shooting a couple rifles of configuration with the long octagon barrel. (I think one was a "Golden Spike": commemorating the link of the transcontinental railroads). These had been shot prior to my trial with them, so any "damage" to value was water under the bridge already.

While a "regular old '94" carbine of pre-1964 manufacture in great shape might bring a bit more than a Commemorative, it cannot match the fancy gun for fit, finish, wood grade, and best of all:

That long heavy octagon barrel makes for accuracy that the "original" carbine has no prayer of matching.

Anybody wanting a '94 purely for shootability (and appearance) could do a lot worse than to find a used Commemorative. In that regard, they are a good bargain.
 
Commemorative Winchesters depart from all other collectable Winchesters, in that they are sought after ONLY by Commemorative collectors. They are worth most in unfired, mint, boxed with papers condition.
Ditto this and the rest of the post.

I currently own two Comemoratives ( '68 Buffalo Bill and a '66 100 year) and shoot them both regularly.

The last several years have seen a lot of commemoratives coming 'out of the woodwork' so to speak and I suspect this is due to inheritances, people finding them in passed on family stuff etc. and as Spitpatch explained collectabilty and value is sketchy at best with very few actually having any real value and for those that do need to be in perfect unfired condition, in the original box & wrapping, all paperwork and even the hangtag on the lever if it had one.

Bottom line? Tell your partner to shoot it, keep it clean and respect it!

'66 100 year on the left in the left pic and '68 Buffalo Bill on the right in the right pic.

100_1247.jpg 94s.jpg
 
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SOME of the comems are a little more desirable than others, but not necessarily in the collectable sense but because of their appearance.

A lot of the comems were kind of 'gaudy' and detracted from traditional look of a mod 94. My '68 BB tends to be one of the more popular versions as 'shooters' due to it's relatively 'plain' appearance and having an octagon 20" barrel.
 
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A model .94 unfired in box WITHOUT the fancy schmancy engraving crap is worth good money. Commemorative's don't bring that much.

Like this one?
Don't forget to add the cost of the buyers premium to that realized auction price.

From their FAQ page.

What is the "Buyer's Premium"?
A buyer's premium is a percentage added to your winning bid. It's how auction houses pay the bills. At Rock Island Auction Company, the buyer's premium is 17.5%. All purchases made by credit card are subject to an additional 3.5% service fee. If the purchaser utilizes RIAC's live bidding platform 'RIAC Live', there will be a fee charged, calculated as an additional 1% of the hammer price.
 
...and they weren't all .30-30's. When the matriarch of the ranch in Montana where I hunt showed me her John Wayne Commemorative, I wasted no time sending her all but one box of Commemorative ammo I had for it.

Accessories are important to Commemorative collectors. I understand there is a rifle rack for the John Wayne editions as well. These shells sell for $75-150 a box when they can be located.


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Kind've multiple things going on with the Commemorative 94's. Winchester was still trying to distance themselves from the post '64 mess. Many folks equated the commemoratives with the post 64 guns, which never were popular. In roughly '68, Winchester saw the errors of their ways and rectified the cheapened downfalls of the '94. Not exactly the same as a pre-64 gun, but perfectly serviceable and a very decent gun.

So folks weren't interested in many of the commemoratives. Sales languished and values dropped. They became cheap enough to be carried and used. So, many are used, and even very used. By the time values should have increased, we had a new breed of shooter in this country that had little interest in his Dad's FUDD guns. And for the most part, that portion of the FUDD gun market has struggled to return.

Interestingly now however, with no really decent lever guns to be easily had, namely Winchester and Marlin, the market for modern lever guns has gone thru the roof. That in itself wont cause the commemorative market to return, but it will increase the value of many of these commemoratives, just as a shooter. Not much different than old coins being worth more in melt than they may have been worth as old coins.
 
Bottom line? Tell your partner to shoot it, keep it clean and respect it!
I'd qualify that advice with the admonition that if the owner EVER would consider selling it, don't shoot it. That first bullet out of the bore translates into around $200 or more lost in value.
If selling it would NEVER be an option then monetary concerns are of no concern. Have fun.
 
Yep. Looks exactly like something the RCMP would carry.

-E-
The full-stock design on the RCMP Commemoratives is reminiscent of the Winchester 1876 Musket: designed for military use, and the barrel protected in combat by that long stock.

For those who might believe the design is less than "cool" looking, I would gently refer them to Tom Selleck's choice of guns in Crossfire Trail.
 
Of course all guns are fired at the factory. However, in the trade of Commemoratives, "unfired" means exactly what it would mean for any other gun that was sold with that claim.
And with Commemoratives, a theater where "UNFIRED" is everything, don't think for a minute skilled collectors cannot tell.

...and I'm pretty confident Winchester Commemoratives were not supplied with any sort of "test case in the box."
 
I know they weren't.....I've got my share of boxed guns.


Curious how exactly one could tell if a round was fired xx amount of years ago.
Vs just the action being racked a few times?
 
Unless I needed a .30-30 and didnt have one, I wouldnt shoot it, why bother? Leave it in it's package unfired, unless like I said, you NEED a .30-30 and don't have a better one. My personal observation of the commemorative Winnies is that they are clacky, sloppy, and just not very well built. Since it is an inherited piece, I wouldnt sell it- but I'd rather have a vintage Marlin (i do) for .30-30 service. JMO...
 

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