Story Of My Father's Encounter With A Thompson: What Would It Be Worth Today?

[Franklin1790]

After I obtained my first - but not my last - transferable machinegun; an M10 45 - an item I am quite pleased to own, despite what anyone may say about the MAC lineup, my dad told me of a Thompson he handled years ago that had quite a story.  

Sometime in 1967-1968, following the Detroit riots, J Edgar Hoover sent 28 1921 Thompsons to the chief of police of an affluent city where my father grew up - 28 being the number of sworn officers the department had at the time.  Hoover and this chief had been friends for many years and this arsenal was a token of that friendship in addition to a boon to the department firepower in case of additional rioting.  Along with the Thompsons came a letter on Hoover's letterhead to the chief outlining the shipment.  A custom display case was built in the basement of the police station for these guns where they sat unused until the chief passed away and the guns were auctioned in the late 70s.  An attorney friend of my father's bought one of these Thompsons; each sale came with a copy of the Hoover letter.  My father went to his friend's office to see the gun and handled it for about five minutes, looking down the sights and so on.  This attorney friend had a side business of dealing in Class 3 items and told my father he could obtain any firearm for a good price.  My father is of the opinion the attorney would've sold this Hoover Thompson if he had expressed enough interest.  However since my father was more interested in rare books at the time and was never heavily invested in firearms beyond a few home defense solutions, he did not make any purchases from this attorney.  Another recent acquisition my father saw in that office that day was a pair of blued 1911s presented to Eisenhower. Eventually they lost touch so the disposition of this Thompson is unknown.

What would one of these Thompsons be worth today if the provenance was established?  Thanks for reading.

[Christof Stehpinkler]

An unfired transferable 1921 is going to be worth a lot of money, letter or no, especially if it has the original FBI case and serial-number matched drum magazine. Surely $60k or more. The Hoover provenance might add another $10k to the price paid by a serious collector, or much more if it's the original letter and has his signature.

[19ICSE51]

Franklin 1970

   I really enjoyed reading your story.

Thank you!!