Henry Silver Eagle

bob 5150

Picked up my first Henry tonight!!!!!Silver Eagle. [:D] The next 2 are gonna be a Big Boy and a Silverado (if I can find one). But anyway....Can anybody tell me how many is Henry gonna make? Who did the engraving? I know Talo put out the Silverado, but I have had zero luck finding out anything about the Silver Eagle.

tsr1965

You have purchased a very nice, servicable, and accurate 22LR rifle. Shoot it, and enjoy it, as most likely it will never establish a collector following. Collect them to use and shoot, not to put your children/grandchildren thru college.

quote:The Henry Silver Eagle is based on the engraved scroll and silver plated Serial Number 9 Henry Rifle presented to US Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles by The New Haven Arms Company. Welles served under President Lincoln, distinguished himself as a political leader nationally, and was one of the organizers of the Republican Party. Secretary Welles was also instrumental in the creation of the Navy's Medal of Honor.



That was taken from Henry's web site.

Bear in mind, if these seel good, they will make more just like the Golden Boy that was supposed to be a limited edition...which I have one of the first.

The Henry's of today, should not be assosciated with the Henry of the 19th century. Even though the Henry of today is trying to capatolize off the company of yester year's reputation. The rifles of today's Henry are good rifles, just not collectable like yester years. There will be no more made of the 19th centurys creations.

Best

beantownshootah

If you want to know how many of these are being made, contact Henry.

On who is engraving the sideplates. . .answer. . .nobody. They're not actually engraved at all. Instead they're either stamped or molded, based on a master engraving. Per Henry

quote:Using original photos and hand drawings of the Gideon Welles Serial Number 9 as reference, the master plate used in the creation of the new Silver Eagle pattern was hand cut for production with full coverage on both sides of the receiver cover.
IE, someone engraved the master plate by hand. . .the actual sideplates are made from this plate, and no handwork is involved there.

On collectibility, I agree entirely with TSR.

"Made to be collectible" "limited edition" rifles rarely actually are, and the vast majority of the time, they command little or no premium over similar non-collector versions of the same thing.

Assuming Henry actually DOES put out a truly limited number of these (which remains to be seen), then I'd expect them to eventually have a little more collector's value then the ordinary "Golden Boy" on which they are based, just because they should be rarer, and the nickel-plated silver look (and actual silver parts) will be worth a bit extra.

The problem is that this potential increased value is already incorporated into the price. IE, you're already paying extra just to get the thing to begin with, and that extra amount covers potential increased collectors value.

Irrespective of Henry's ridiculous $850 suggested price, in the real world of the actual free market, actual potential buyers are bidding about $600-$650 for these guns. So that's what they're worth (ie if you had one, that's what you could realistically expect to sell it for). There is no shortage of these listed for sale in the $680 price range, so that's probably a good retail price for one.

Bottom line, if you paid under $700 for this, you got a good deal, and you have a really nice looking rifle that will serve you well for years. If it appreciates over time, that's a nice plus, but I wouldn't expect it to do that in any significant way.

Edit:
Responding to below.

"Collectible" is a little bit subjective. . .some people collect bottlecaps or swizzle sticks. There are people who collect .22 rifles and lever action rifles, and if you were such a collector, you might want one of these guns. The issue (to the extent there is one) is how much will this gun appreciate in value over time.

I don't think anyone can really say for sure, because it depends on factors of supply/demand that aren't entirely predictable. I'd just say on this one that if you're buying specifically with the idea of monetary appreciation (which you're not), then there are probably better firearms investments out there, that's all.

Ultimately, regardless of whether or not this gun appreciates significantly over time, its a sweet-looking, and undoubtedly nice-firing "presentation" type rifle, that I think anyone should be happy to receive as a gift!

bob 5150

Thank you gentleman, I was asking these questions for 1 simple reason. Someday I will give this rifle to my nephew, unfired. Give him a little bit of "history" on it and allow him to make the decision if it's "collectable" or not. He's 2 1/2. I buy firearms because I want them/enjoy them. I have a few fire arms they may or may not be considered "collectable", I will probably never fire them. I have no intentions of selling or trading any of my fire arms. My brothers and cousins inherited firearms from our grandfather and were told that they are worth "something".......and those folks are absolutely correct. To us they are priceless. That's what I enjoy, looking at firearms with good people and shooting them or just admiring them.