Wow....
 

Anyone have $30000 I can borrow?

http://www.joesalter.com/detail.php?f_qryitem=15681

I can imagine you trying to get the bank to loan you the 3 grand:

"So, this money is for a car?"

"Yup"

"And not for a bunch of old guns?"

"Well..."

"I thought so. Loan denied!"

Let's face it...this is the kind of sale that's targeted at museums more than private collectors (despite what the ad says).

$30 Grande, not 3.

And yes, I imagine I'd get some really strange looks if I asked for a loan to purchase firearms. Especially $30K worth of weapons. I once read a message board post by somebody who got a lot of shit from his bank just because he was borrowing money to start a business as a gunsmith.

Why are they calling them muskets?

Yeah, I should have read that more thoroughly

Oh, I actually suspect they will end up going to a private collector. They typically have alot more money to spend than museums. I would happily pay $3000 for any one of those rifles, the going rate is about $5000. I actually do have $30000, but that would be a pretty significant chunk of my house down payment and even I'm not that financially irresponsible.

The term musket survived quite long in the States, generally used to refer to a rifle manufactured in military configuration to distinguish it from a sporting version. Winchester actually did market a sporting version of the Winchester-Lee, in fact I know where there's one for sale for under $1000, but it wasn't much more successful as a deer rifle than it was as a military weapon.

With the collection you already have, couldn't you pretty much start your own museum at this point? You've posted so many weapons of yours that I'm almost numb to being amazed at what you find and buy. Especially since you're my age; I would never be brave enough to purchase what you purchase, as often as you do (almost every last penny I have at my disposal goes into school).