Help Please with estimate on an old Case knife

[stormwarning2001]

Hi- After spending 90 minutes looking online for the knife I have and not getting very far, I'll try here. Anyways, I purchased some very collectible Case knives in mint/unused condition at an estate sale and I'm having trouble finding a value to ask on ebay for it. I see the newer model of it and it looks like asking price is $220-300, so maybe the one I have is the same.

It was made in 1999 and is Item No 02538 and model # 81749L SSM

The newer ones have 'Case xx' on the bottom holster. Mine does not. The box it came in says 'mother of pearl'. I did ask one person and he said that's just what they were shipped in. Some market them as 'abalone peal' I guess. I confirmed his remark and found two others online that had sold long ago with the exact box that mine is.

Anyways, if anyone has any thoughts or insight, I sure would appreciate it! I didn't want to list it yet, in case it is has more value than the newer ones

thank you in advance....

[Reverand]

I have no idea on the value, but I believe that you are on the right track. It has beautiful Abalone handles. The knife appears mint in the picture (unless there is some flaw that I cannot see). I would guess that the value would be similar to others that you have found, as it seems you have done the proper research.
If you sell on eBay, the price may go higher or lower, you never know. I have seen many that started near market value, and no one bid on them. List the same knife starting at $0.99, and the ensuing bidding war drive the price sky-high.
A dealer can give a great in-person evaluation, but will offer much less as he/she will need to make a profit as well.

Good luck with it!

[Mumbleypeg]

Beautiful knife!

If you found other similar knives but just newer, your knife is worth about the same as those. It's not old enough yet to have appreciated much, if any, in value over what it sold for when new, adjusted for inflation. (Relatively speaking, a 1999 knife is not “old”).

Give it another 50 years and maybe it will, but there are so many knives made in the past 60 years as collectables, and sitting in someone's collection, that the supply hasn't significantly changed. Typically it takes a decrease in supply, and/or an increase in demand to drive a significant shift in price. There are occasional outliers (like the death of a maker, demise of a manufacturer, etc) that can affect prices. In the end however those are impactful on supply, so economics of supply and demand are still applicable.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

[Modern Slip Joints]

I agree that your Mini-Copperlock is not old enough for its age to effect its value. However, the type of shell used making its handle might. The box end label names the shell paua. To quote the AAPK research section "Paua is the same as Abalone except that there are more blues and greens." I believe paua is less common than abalone.

What you can count on effecting how high it's bid is your feedback reputation and number of sales on ebay. A new seller who will probably turn out to be honest is riskier than a well established seller. Also the well established seller usually is on many collectors' watch lists. Consequently the new seller's stuff doesn't get bid as high. That suggests auctioning your more expensive items last if you're new.

[Walleye]

First of all, why are we calling a 1999 knife old?

Second, read the box.

Third, how does this matter? If you’re thinking about it as a survival tool, have you considered the dew test? I will typically only consider a knife of good survival value if I can inspect it while the dew of the morning is on the handles. So, what I would do is ask for the seller to leave it outside on an exposed but secure area. It would have to be a night where dew would be guaranteed to form in the early hours. Otherwise, it would be for bought. I would rent an AirBnB or stay at a nearby hotel and once we had confirmed that dew had formed on the knife, I would make arrangements to meet the seller at the same hour.

We would carefully approach the knife and then with latex gloves hands, lift it into the moon glow or a streetlight beam and begin the three part inspection. First would be the tilt test to see if the dew would roll lengthwise across the shell handles, forming a water drop. The outcome would be noted.

The second test would be an inspection of the inner parts of the knife, usually with a 10x jewelers loupe. I’d want to see how much expansion and dew may have formed on the inside of the frame and if the brass had discolored along the back edges near the spring pin. A little bit of discoloration would be Ok but you’d want to get ahead of that later (assuming you both agreed and you bought the knife).

The third test would be to inspect the steel areas for preliminary oxidation, especially in the letters of the tang stamp and in the nail nick (assuming the knife has one, this one does).

At that point it’s a bit of a crap shoot. You could go by one of the books, and even the antiques shows on the TV. However, are those the most reliable indicators of future resale value? I know I love books, I love our TV programs, but are they enough? I’m not even sure there are price guides… Many are as indices of various knife-related lore, pattern info etc. You could consult various magazines as well. But - and this is key - and I think most of us know this but not all of us do, so I will say it: check eBay. Check it diligently especially if you may be thinking short term. You need to know what they are selling for now! Plus check your Completeds all the way back the full 90 days. Fail to do so at your own peril.

Being that this is a “lockback” knife there are probably a few other protocols I’d consider while dew test is in operation, but some of that is just going to depend on how much dew is compromised as a result of the first battery of checks. Assuming that dew formation was still present, you could always set it up for a two day analysis and complete protocols 3-7 the following day, maybe a few could be left off but being that it’s a “lockback”, I’d consider all of them.

Nice knife.

[Mumbleypeg]

Interesting analysis there Walleye. However it appears the OP is what we call a “one and done”. Posted the question and pictures, but has not logged in here again since then. Must have found what they wanted elsewhere, or doesn’t really care.

The rest of us however, are entertained by your post!

Ken

[Walleye]

Interesting analysis there Walleye. However it appears the OP is what we call a “one and done”. Posted the question and pictures, but has not logged in here again since then. Must have found what they wanted elsewhere, or doesn’t really care.

The rest of us however, are entertained by your post!

Ken

That’s too bad, because I was hoping to hear more about their knife. Ah well, at least some good has come of it and I do hope that they learned that they can come here for good insights when needed.


Glad you enjoyed it!

[1967redrider]

I'm going to start using the Dew Test before all of my new knife purchases. I think the dew testing of the knife box is equally important.