Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 13, 1993 TAG: 9306140158
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Guns and assorted paramilitary paraphernalia - that is, 297 pistols and rifles, not to mention knives, helmets and other gear - went to eager bidders looking for a deal or that perfect addition to their burgeoning collections.
World War II buffs would have swooned: A Nazi flag, complete with trademark swastika and German cross, fetched $130; someone paid $160 for a German field telephone; two sheets of stamps emblazoned with the face of Adolf Hitler went for $50.
At times, it looked as if Mason, a retired General Electric Drive Systems worker, could have outfitted the German casts of "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Guns of Navarone."
There were Mausers and Lugers, complete with the sinister-looking holsters so often found on the hips of German officers goose-stepping through Europe. One Mauser sure to be familiar to war movie buffs, the "Broomhandle" Model 96 made in 1913, went for $850.
Other world powers, found warring with each other in earlier times, were represented: Italian and Japanese rifles commingled with British Enfields and Russian TOZ bolt-actions. Chinese pieces, Hungarian ones and French ones also dotted the collection arrayed in a Roanoke warehouse.
Hollywood was there, too. A brand-new "Dirty Harry" .44 Magnum made famous by Clint Eastwood sat atop its box near the end of one table. And a Walther PPK, the choice of James Bond, spurred visions of high-speed chases behind the Iron Curtain.
Gun dealers - "Right now, I can see eight or 10 gun dealers in here," a sheriff's deputy said - hunted good buys they might turn into profits a few months later.
Collectors salivated as they studied each piece, searching for the tiniest nicks and scrapes. The best finds: Guns never fired, complete with their original boxes and owner's manuals.
Even a state delegate - who begged for anonymity lest thieves target his valuable gun collection - snatched up a half-dozen guns and a few books for his library. Perched in the first row, he also continued his search for the perfect single-shot .22-caliber rifle. It was time, he said, for his grandchildren to learn the ways of gun ownership.
Donald Hale of Salem came looking for antique .22-caliber rifles with octagon barrels, mostly pieces made before 1930. These days, he's got about 30 guns in his collection - "very few of them I shoot" - worth about $20,000.
"It's a lot more fun to collect guns - something you can hold in your hand - than stocks and bonds," he said, eyeing the gun-laden tables. "But you run a risk - someone can break in and steal it. There's a risk involved."
Hale left soon after the bidding opened, disappointed Mason had stocked much of his collection with military weapons and handguns.
Jay Hamblett left happy.
The Rocky Mount man paid $240 for a Smith & Wesson Model 681 .357 Magnum, its box and manual. "If I wanted to sell it, the box adds more value to it," he said, proudly turning the piece over in his hand.
"I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied. I came to get one and now I'm satisfied. A good quality gun never loses its value. If you take care of it, it never loses value," Hamblett advised. "This guy had some fine guns."
Mason, who died two years ago at age 61, apparently was a collector's collector. He seldom fired the pieces he acquired, said Marvin Anderson, a relative who attended Saturday's auction, video camera in hand.
"Guns amazed him," he said, recalling times when Mason would show him the distinctive scrollwork etched inside a piece by a German craftsman. "He was impressed with the metalwork and the woodwork that was in them."
by CNB