Tulsa Randall 12-9 Brown Button appraisal please

[Texasbadger]

Morning guys,
Picked up a nice Model 12-9 Brown Button from a picker who had come to the show from Tennessee. Stated he purchased it at a Marines estate sale years ago in Chattanooga. Blade appears to have been buffed and cleaned as there is some loss to the logo particularly at top edge, but sheath and fittings are untouched with lots of the green goo you look for when they sit in the leather for awhile. So after show I research the name engraved on the blade and find the vet buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery, with a photo of his tombstone. Relatives from obituary have all passed away or moved. Randall has no records prior to 1988 so Im at the end of the road as far as research. Can you please give me a ballpark value as to what I have? Ive got good photos but apparently cannot post them here.

Thank you

 

[Melvin-Purvis]

Hay TB, welcome.

Shoot me the photos to swickersham at sbcglobal dot net and I'll post 'em here for you. And, I wouldn't be too concerned about the blade being buffed just yet; it's not at all uncommon for RMK's from that period (those with hand stamped logos) to have some loss of the logo at the top edge.

Hope that helps,

Shel

Here are the photos...

 

[Texasbadger]

Thanks MP for posting photos, its an interesting age when one can make a purchase at a show,,and within hours have photos of the vets Tombstone and an Obit from his paper,,,

 

[Texasbadger]

Okay perhaps a better way to phrase the question is,,,how much does the USMC attributed research with vets name on blade affect value?

 

[Melvin-Purvis]

If you had photos of the vet, in country, with the knife shown, it would increase the value substantionally...

As to your initial value question, we have a pretty firm policy here about not throwing out numbers as that can really work against both buyer and seller. As an example, someone that has been looking for that 'exact' knife may be willing to pay more than someone just looking to collect or resell - further, value is defined between what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to take. If dollar figures are tossed around, especially by an armchair quarterback with no skin in the game, any (high or low) dollar figure could be mentioned; a figure based on nothing but ether.

If you upgrade your membership here to Gold for a small amount (less than you'd pay in eBay Final Value Fees) then you can sell it here, otherwise not (not that you wanted to, just sayin') - also, with the upgraded membership, an interested party could contact you and possibly a deal could be struck. Other than that, all I can suggest is that you contact Mr. Benard Levine here at BFC, as he does 'for pay' appraisals; or, check eBay's completed listings for a sixty day spot market on comparables.

Hope that helps,

Shel