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I've "known" this for a long time, but today I had an epiphany of sorts.   Today I took possession of an item made in 1901.  That makes it 120 years old.  If it was anything else, it would be an "antique."  But because it's a gun, it's a "modern" firearm.  Isn't the difference between the real meaning of words and the legal definition grand?  Well, it is a "relic."  :)

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According to some scholars an object has to be 100 years old to be an antique. I believe the timeline for firearms is anything made before 1899 is an antique and anything after is modern. But, some firearms can be considered C&R which falls into a different set of criteria.

 

To be recognized as C&R items, firearms must fall within one of the following categories:

  1. Firearms which were manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but not including replicas of such firearms;

  2. Firearms which are certified by the curator of a municipal, state, or federal museum which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest; and

  3. Any other firearms which derive a substantial part of their monetary value from the fact that they are novel, rare, bizarre, or because of their association with some historical figure, period, or event.

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12 minutes ago, Cholla said:

According to some scholars an object has to be 100 years old to be an antique. I believe the timeline for firearms is anything made before 1899 is an antique and anything after is modern. But, some firearms can be considered C&R which falls into a different set of criteria.

 

To be recognized as C&R items, firearms must fall within one of the following categories:

  1. Firearms which were manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but not including replicas of such firearms;

  2. Firearms which are certified by the curator of a municipal, state, or federal museum which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest; and

  3. Any other firearms which derive a substantial part of their monetary value from the fact that they are novel, rare, bizarre, or because of their association with some historical figure, period, or event.

 

Based on the above, I've always thought of anything over 50 years old as a relic, and anything under 50 but "on the list" like a Colt Sheriff's model, to be a curio.

 

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I don't know about relics. The guys on the Colt forum post guns that are rusted to the point they can no longer function and call them relics.

 

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7 hours ago, Cholla said:

I don't know about relics. The guys on the Colt forum post guns that are rusted to the point they can no longer function and call them relics.

 

 

Well, if you have a "Curios and Relics" FFL. that allows you purchase "Curio" and "Relic" type firearms across state lines, have them mailed to your door, and a few other quirks.  The law defines them as over 50 years old or being or primarily collector interest, as opposed to being a practical weapon.

Since, generically, a "relic" is an old artifact of days gone by, I figure it's logical to consider that "relic" firearms, with regards to what the law is defining as such, are relics, and that "curious" would be guns that are not yet over 50, but have some sort of "curiosity" to them that led the ATF to put them on the list before they were 50 years old.   Among other things, a brand new Colt SAA with factory engraving, and a factory letter that proves it, is on the list, as is every second generation, and all Sheriff's models that are .44 or .45 caliber.   So even a brand new gun can be C&R eligible if the ATF says so.   Again, it's the difference between the real world, and legal meanings of the words.

A lot of Colt guns that are well under 50 years are on that list, by the way.   Colt musta done a good job of convincing the government that a lot of things it made were not practical weapons but only good for collector purposes.  :)

 

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2 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Since, generically, a "relic" is an old artifact of days gone by...

No, actually a "Relic" usually defines an old item that is not complete because through time has eroded...

 

Phantom

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