doublewhopper - The value of Fred Bear's personal bows would vary greatly depending on several factors 1. The model and rarity of the bow, e.g., Pre-Grumley era, Grumley era, static recurve, recurve, T/D, Exp, a one of a kind Exp vs a production bow can be a big difference. 2. The documentation to support that the bow was one of Fred's personal bows, photographs, on film, documented pedigree, etc. 3. Historical significance, e.g., a bow used to kill a world record animal would have a greater value then a back up bow he took along but never used on the same trip. 4. Condition. 5. Eye-Appeal.
vtmtnman - Wise guess. It wouldn’t be wise to start shopping for a legitimate authenticated Fred Bear Personal Bow with less than that in your pocket. It might be wise to take more.
Tom – You stated – “I think Fred didnlt produce many bows himself at all if any !!”
If you believe that Fred didn’t make any bows himself, who do you believe made Fred’s Bows for the nearly 10 years of his involvement in archery before he hired Nels Grumley as his bowyer?
While I doubt that Fred made many bows himself after the late 1930s, I do know that Fred made bows for himself before hiring Nels Grumley.
crossstickspro – As a certified appraiser of archery collectibles, my advice is to establish a legitimate value on any collectible items and insure them, (I am not an insurance agent). Heaven forbid, that you might ever suffer a catastrophic loss, but if you have them insured for their realistic value, you will at least be able to go the collecting community to shop for a replacement, not that any of Fred's Bows could ever be replaced.
During my 51 years of involvement in archery, I have been blessed to know most of the original owners and curators of the finest collections of archery artifacts ever assembled. I have seen most of these collections change hands over the years and have been involved in the appraisal of most of these collections. Despite what some may think, or the original owners may have said at one time, most of the very best collections are actually sold, either as a single sale, or as individual or grouped items.
For those who gain pleasure from donating their items to non-profitable organizations, their tax accountants almost always seem to want to the know the value of the items that were donated, simply because these values are tax deductible. For most who have sold or donated items, the net result of disposing of the item has been money in their pockets.
Topic: Fred Bears own hunting bow (Read 712 times)
