Letters Of Authenticity Question

[etprescottazusa91]

Before all this shelter at home stuff hit I did a Saturday's Merchants Square swap meet in Mesa with a friend who keeps a case there.

I had a lifetime of stuff with me, ammo pouches from Mosins and Yugo's, grips, Japanese IJA stuff from Japan I got on e-bay all sorts of things from a lifetime of collecting this stuff.

A 20 something gentleman walked up to our tables and after looking a lot of things over for some time asked me very firmly.

"Sir, do you have letters of authenticity for the items your selling here" I think everyone can guess my answer.

First off, what's a letter of authenticity? I get the idea what it's saying, It's just I have never really heard of anything like that after having attended gunshows my entire life, would a letter even mean anything unless from Colt for example? He was talking about a "letter" for an IJA army shirt, backpack, yugo leather ammo pouch and acted like all was normal.

Anyone else ever been asked anything like this, ever got one or been offered one with anything they purchased, I'm curious if this is a thing now?

(the swap meet was a complete waste of time, wrong crowd also, nothing overpriced on our tables either, just nobody spending money on anything there)

[Longcolt44]

Never heard of anyone asking for letters on accessories, a proposed bring back firearm, yes bandoliers, no! Sounds like he had just read his first copy of, "How to start your collection", written by a guy or gal that didn't know anything either. Don't worry about it.

[capt14k]

Yeah they COA are given by carnival Barker's when they sell their items. Kelly Hicks gave a COA with every Champagne Rune Helmet he sold amongst others. When they were proven to be fake Kelly Hicks stood behind exactly zero of his COA. So they are basically worthless. They are asked for by collectors who don't want to do their own research. Next time someone asks feel free to bring up Kelly Hicks, and ask them what do they think those COA are going to do for them if it does turn out to be fake? Do they think author of COA will reimburse them?

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[GColloton]

Maybe this is why... places like IMA-USA offer a certificate of authenticity on almost everything (For a fee). Here’s a POST war enfield sling for $14.99 that you can get a COA with:

https://www.ima-usa.com/collections/bri ... s-fittings

Kinda nuts why’d you’d need, want, or especially pay for a COA on a post war $15 sling or most stuff. I bought a WW2 dated sling for my enfield from them and had that option also. Maybe that $20 piece of paper would double the value of my rifle with that sling on it?!? Lol.

[Junk Yard Dog]

No, never heard of such, and wouldn't believe it if I saw one.

[qz2026]

I would have told him, no I don't have letters of authenticity but I would be happy to type one up for him...

[SA1911a1]

I would have told him something to the effect that if he did not know whether the stuff was authentic or not, he probably shouldn't be shopping for it.
Or maybe, yea, I have the letter from Tojo somewhere, why don't you come back later and perhaps I will have located it......

One thing that is never in short supply at gun shows is assholes.

[awalker1829]

Letters are easy to forge. Learn about your area of interest and learn to determine the validity of the object by looking at it. I have a section of iron railroad rail that was used on the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Georgia in the 1850s-1860s. Does it have a letter of authenticity? No. However, I know who retrieved it from the field. That person was a recognized Civil War railroad historian. It was documented as having come from a town that was on the railroad and it is known that the railroad used that style of rail. I have also researched the historical record and know when that type of rail was replaced on that railroad.

Can I absolutely prove it's origin? Short of having a time machine, no. However, I know that that type of rail was used on railroads at that time and given the documented history of the object, there's a 99.9 percent certainty that it came off that railroad.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Pet rocks came with a certificate of authenticity, or pedigree, I forget. That guy was a genius, made a fortune selling fools rocks to have as pets.

[SA1911a1]

Letters are easy to forge. Learn about your area of interest and learn to determine the validity of the object by looking at it. I have a section of iron railroad rail that was used on the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Georgia in the 1850s-1860s. Does it have a letter of authenticity? No. However, I know who retrieved it from the field. That person was a recognized Civil War railroad historian. It was documented as having come from a town that was on the railroad and it is known that the railroad used that style of rail. I have also researched the historical record and know when that type of rail was replaced on that railroad.

Can I absolutely prove it's origin? Short of having a time machine, no. However, I know that that type of rail was used on railroads at that time and given the documented history of the object, there's a 99.9 percent certainty that it came off that railroad.

If you get down to it, I couldn't prove the Civil War ever happened. I have to take other people's word for it.

[etprescottazusa91]

Maybe this is why... places like IMA-USA offer a certificate of authenticity on almost everything (For a fee). Here’s a POST war enfield sling for $14.99 that you can get a COA with:

https://www.ima-usa.com/collections/bri ... s-fittings

Kinda nuts why’d you’d need, want, or especially pay for a COA on a post war $15 sling or most stuff. I bought a WW2 dated sling for my enfield from them and had that option also. Maybe that $20 piece of paper would double the value of my rifle with that sling on it?!? Lol.

Everyone was almost spot on to what was said and almost said and what we wanted to say to the $5.00 pouch guy wanting a letter, "It's a leather Yugoslavian pouch, don't like it don't buy it" that was my reply, he bought it.

I went on this AMI site, wow, $15.00 slings that can be had with a $20.00 letter, that's the untapped market, saying what something is for more money after selling it, what an idea.

[steelbuttplate]

I've been asked before if my Mosin Nagants were reproductions. I even had one guy tell me the r on 1944r stood for reproduction.

[etprescottazusa91]

I've been asked before if my Mosin Nagants were reproductions. I even had one guy tell me the r on 1944r stood for reproduction.

Pretty funny, a reproduction Model 44 would be a real stretch to make, the cost to produce one today to those specs would be really high not to mention making it look old.

I had a person tell me once an Arisaka was not safe to fire because it had been demilled when it came into the country the demilling being the gas relief holes on the receiver.

The best schooling I had was when I had a person tell me my Type 14 Nambu (Nagoya 13.3) was a reproduction because it was in too good of condition and had to be a "fake"

[ffuries]

I've been asked before if my Mosin Nagants were reproductions. I even had one guy tell me the r on 1944r stood for reproduction.

Pretty funny, a reproduction Model 44 would be a real stretch to make, the cost to produce one today to those specs would be really high not to mention making it look old.

I had a person tell me once an Arisaka was not safe to fire because it had been demilled when it came into the country the demilling being the gas relief holes on the receiver.

The best schooling I had was when I had a person tell me my Type 14 Nambu (Nagoya 13.3) was a reproduction because it was in too good of condition and had to be a "fake"

Haven't we all had a run in with the Armchair Weapons Know-it-all? They are everywhere and know everything, and you can't argue with them.

Had a RSO that was the know it all, giving everyone in earshot a history lesson on the weapons I had out that day. He kept telling me and everyone that the Gewehr 88 was a Mauser design. When I corrected him and said it was designed by a Commission, hence it being called a Commission rifle by some. He countered correct and that Commission was headed by Paul Mauser. He also made a similar remark about my Type 99 Arisaka, telling everyone to give me space when shooting it. He told everyone the Japanese booby trapped all the rifles. When I didn't blow up in my face, he goes on with you were lucky, the Japanese must have missed this one.

I just shook my head, and walked away, you can't argue with stupid and you can't win an argument against stupid.

This was the same RSO, that when handling my ammo, swapped two rounds around between the cans, and I loaded the wrong round into a rifle jamming it. Pissed me off, could have filed a complaint, but I also felt I should have paid attention to the ammo as I was loading. So in a nutshell we both screwed up.

Oh, and I'll take those cheap repro Mosin Nagants off your hands for cheap. I'd hate to see ya get hurt shooting them.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I don't know, as I have gotten older I find my capacity for putting up with any crap at all has definitely lessened, I am also far less inclined to filter my mouth either. In short I just don't give a fuck, probably a good thing that I have only shot on private ranges. I do not react well to loudmouth know it all's who feel they need to fuck with my day.

[matt167]

I seem to remember Molot produced Sporter Mosins at one point which were only marketed to Russia. I think the link to them was on this site. But they were sold as new. No clue if they were sporterized originals or not, but this would have been ~2013-2014 Pre Obama ban

[Darryl]

I seem to remember Molot produced Sporter Mosins at one point which were only marketed to Russia. I think the link to them was on this site. But they were sold as new. No clue if they were sporterized originals or not, but this would have been ~2013-2014 Pre Obama ban

They were original Mosin Nagant WWII rifles cut down. And they were not just sold in Russia. In fact, I think they had a office based near Reno Nevada. They sold them here and around the world. That is how Molot started out.

They "made" sniper rifles also. From standard rifles. Real fakes.

They made a "hunting rifle" wich was also made from original M91/30's with new stocks and new barrels added on.

This is all before they supposedly imported "real snipers" into the USA.

Now, they have moved back into Russia. They don't seem to have any presents in the USA anymore.

D

[matt167]

Interesting. I just remembered seeing them. I thought they were Russia only. My Mosin interest has always been 'correct/ original' milsurp condition as pulled from crates or whatever.

I know Molot was sort of sought after for the Vepyr's but that's likely also what got them banned.. US goverment slammed the door on their imports in 2017, so theres no sense in their companies existence in the USA at this point