I went to a gun show in New Orleans last weekend, and saw a US grease gun and Thompson on sale/display. I am not an expert on weapons at all, and I was wondering if anyone out there would know if the posted prices of $18,000 for the grease gun and $28,000 for the Thompson was about right or on the high side? The Thompson was the model that used the drum, not a magazine. They looked nice.
I'm not sure on the exact prices, but from my knowledge a Tommy would be more expensive than a Grease Gun, since it's made to a much higher engineering standard than the Grease Gun, which was designed to be mass-produced.
The Grease Guns price is high. I saw one at a San Antonio show several months ago-for about 1/2 that price-9 grand. A Tommygun can go for much more depending on what comes w/ it.
A WW2 Thompson 1928 (drum or mag) is certainly under $20,000. The M1A Thompson (stick mag only) is certainly less. It would seem the guy didn't want to sell the guns, unless a fool would pay far more than what they're worth. An early Colt Thompson could be fairly priced at $28,000, but I'd guess it wasn't an early Colt Thompson.
A West Hurley Thompson model 1928 is in the $14,000 range. I recently saw a Savage (WWII, model 1928) Thompson for $18,500, and it wasn't in bad shape, either. Selling prices have dropped a few thousand in the last 2 years - asking prices haven't, but what the seller wants and what he'll take has a bit more spread than it used to. What is a reproduction Thompson? Do you mean a "West Hurley"? It's not a reproduction. It's not marked WW2, and it shoots real bullets.
Sadly, I didn't check out the details or ask questions as closely as I should have. When I saw the asking price, I just looked, didn't touch, and then moved on. I used to be a vendor at venues like that, and I know after two days of seeing attendees "kick tires" and fielding lame questions taxes their patience. So the answer is, I just assumed it was the real deal. There's another gun show down there later on this month, and if I go, I will check out the details in detail, and report back. Thanks for the input guys.
Those are strange asking prices you listed above. Iv'e seen them listed at better prices here @ shows in Texas. TDCJ recently sold off all of theirs as well as .30 cals and BARs. I didn't say yours was a repo, and yes, all the guns I own also fire real bullets.
While talking about these types of weapons, and from seeing the movies, readings, etc., in a basic US rifle squad, what was the TO&E for personal weapons? I've noticed in pictures and newsreels of different soldiers carrying an assortment of weapons, with the most being the M-1 Garand of course, and after that the M-1 Carbine. Who is assigned the thompson, the grease gun, the garand and the carbine in the squad and platoon? Then where does the Springfield rifle w/scope and the shotgun come in? When I was in the army, each squad was broken down into two 5 man fire teams, and each fire team had the team leader and automatic rifleman (w/the M-16 selector switch set on rock & roll), the grenadiar with the M-203, and two riflemen with their M-16s set on semi-auto. Our squad leaders had their rifles on full auto as well, and the platoon sergeants frequently carried shotguns w/.45 sidearms. The LT carried a rifle too. I was the M-60 gunner for quite some time, so I guess my equivelent to a WW2 era squad would be the BAR man. We all carried LAWs, so that probably replaced the need for the bazooka team.
Actually what you have to consider is if it was an original Thompson, fully automatic, you couldn't buy it anyways unless you have the licenses for it. There was a time when a C&R FFL would get you one, but not any more. $28,000 is ridiculous, no matter what it is. I got my semi-auto Thompson with 100 round drum, three 20 round sticks, and 500 rounds of .45 for about a grand. Brand new never been fired. You can't tell the difference between it and one thats 60 years old.
well I saw one it was semi auto but it only costs about a couple thousand but under ten thousand it had a fore grip and a stick mag