New Type 63 Found at Gunshow

[Pizzabert]

Hello All,

SKS rifles are not my primary realm of interest, but I was absolutely shocked to find this beauty on the table of a local gun show.  Some members recommended I post it here and get it included in your database. 

I'm astonished by the condition and from what others have told me, the rifle looks good.  I am interested to hear the input of the more experienced collectors here.  Please let me know if there are any other shots you would like to see. 

https://imgur.com/a/zw7CpDN

[Boris Badinov]

Wow. At a gun show, no less.

Was it for sale or just display?
If for sale, did you purchase?
If so, if so... how much?

[Pizzabert]

Wow. At a gun show, no less.

Was it for sale or just display?
If for sale, did you purchase?
If so, if so... how much?

Hi Boris, it was for sale and I was able to take it home.  Strangely, the seller had some very rare items on display (Colt Paterson, Ideal Stock luger) yet sold it to me for about the price of a Russian. 

I had initially saw the red shellack and assumed it to have been a Soviet with some side mount.  I knew of these rifles, but I had no clue what they looked like nor that there were variants with grenade sights.

[Boris Badinov]

What was the seller's asking price?

[Pizzabert]

What was the seller's asking price?

There was not a tag on it.  I had offered $900 and he accepted.

[theSKSguy45]

What was the seller's asking price?

There was not a tag on it.  I had offered $900 and he accepted.

Glad to see you made your way over here. I still can't believe you got it for $900 lol.

[Pizzabert]

What was the seller's asking price?

There was not a tag on it.  I had offered $900 and he accepted.

Glad to see you made your way over here. I still can't believe you got it for $900 lol.

I'm glad to be able to share it with you guys.  This was the find of my life

[Boris Badinov]

$900 is absolutely insane.

The volley sight and shut off valve for grenade launching is just cherries on top of extra whip cream.

You have acqiured an extremely rare variant, of an already extremely rare variant

All matching? If so, it could easily go for $9,000 -10,000
 

[Pizzabert]

$900 is absolutely insane.

The volley sight and shut off valve for grenade launching is just cherries on top of extra whip cream.

You have acqiured an extremely rare variant, of an already extremely rare variant

All matching? If so, it could easily go for $9,000 -10,000
 

Thank you again for the kind words Boris, and yes the rifle is matching as far as I can see.  I knew the rifle was special and valuable, but I had no clue it was to this degree.  I have been searching all public forum posts to learn as much about the Type 63 since I have owned it.  The passion you guys have for the SKS is incredible - I thought us Luger and Mauser guys were just off our rocker.  If you or anyone else would like further pictures to study the rifle's characteristics, I am happy to provide so the community, and myself, can learn from it. 

Like I said earlier, the focus of my collecting is not with the SKS (SHAME).  I won't be holding onto this forever and would prefer it to be loved by someone as much as it deserves.  When the time comes, it will be certainly be advertised below the low end of your estimate. 

[Sindone]

Wow.  Congratulations,  beautiful example.

[running-man]

Welcome to the boards!  Wow, what a find at a gunshow.  (All I ever seem to find for sale at them is MREs and pepper spray! )

I read the S/N as ㄹㅊ0168_ㅂ.  Definitely a new one not in the database.  There are 9 other carbines with that prefix and suffix in the North Korean Type 63 SKS Serial Number Collection, ㄹㅊ0937_ㅂ ㄹㅊ0986_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1500_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1685_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1766_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1874_ㅂ ㄹㅊ2040_ㅂ ㄹㅊ2209_ㅂ ㄹㅊ3092_ㅂ so this one is the 'youngest' yet found of this group.

As for the carbine itself, I can't really add much that hasn't already been mentioned.  Laminate stock looks original to me, and is in surprisingly good shape.  Patina on the carrier looks right like it should for a VN bringback.  It's clear that whoever had this carbine for the past 50 years took fairly good care of it such that it didn't degrade further while on US soil!  If the S/N's all match like you indicated it will likely bring that $9k to $10k price Boris mentioned.  Trinity SKSs are a bit of an odd lot however, sometimes we think for certain they will go at top dollar and instead they will only get 50% of what we thought.  Other times, a particularly poor quality specimen will fetch top dollar and everyone scratches their heads and tries to decipher why that is and whether the market just priced in a new floor. 

If you get a chance, I would like to see a photo of the top of the receiver cover with clear shot of the 63ㅅㅓ marking, end of the receiver cover with clear shot of the S/N, top of the bolt carrier with clear shot of the S/N, top of the rear sight leaf with a clear shot of the graduations, the left side of the front gas block where the end of the gas cutoff comes through (there are different variations we have seen of this 'non-standard issue' feature), and maybe a photo of the muzzle with the chrome bore transition shown.  Otherwise, its a great photo spread and I thank you for posting it here. 

[Pizzabert]

Welcome to the boards!  Wow, what a find at a gunshow.  (All I ever seem to find for sale at them is MREs and pepper spray! )

I read the S/N as ㄹㅊ0168_ㅂ.  Definitely a new one not in the database.  There are 9 other carbines with that prefix and suffix in the North Korean Type 63 SKS Serial Number Collection, ㄹㅊ0937_ㅂ ㄹㅊ0986_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1500_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1685_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1766_ㅂ ㄹㅊ1874_ㅂ ㄹㅊ2040_ㅂ ㄹㅊ2209_ㅂ ㄹㅊ3092_ㅂ so this one is the 'youngest' yet found of this group.

As for the carbine itself, I can't really add much that hasn't already been mentioned.  Laminate stock looks original to me, and is in surprisingly good shape.  Patina on the carrier looks right like it should for a VN bringback.  It's clear that whoever had this carbine for the past 50 years took fairly good care of it such that it didn't degrade further while on US soil!  If the S/N's all match like you indicated it will likely bring that $9k to $10k price Boris mentioned.  Trinity SKSs are a bit of an odd lot however, sometimes we think for certain they will go at top dollar and instead they will only get 50% of what we thought.  Other times, a particularly poor quality specimen will fetch top dollar and everyone scratches their heads and tries to decipher why that is and whether the market just priced in a new floor. 

If you get a chance, I would like to see a photo of the top of the receiver cover with clear shot of the 63ㅅㅓ marking, end of the receiver cover with clear shot of the S/N, top of the bolt carrier with clear shot of the S/N, top of the rear sight leaf with a clear shot of the graduations, the left side of the front gas block where the end of the gas cutoff comes through (there are different variations we have seen of this 'non-standard issue' feature), and maybe a photo of the muzzle with the chrome bore transition shown.  Otherwise, its a great photo spread and I thank you for posting it here. 

Thanks again for the reply.  I found the time this evening to take photos of what you requested.  I very much appreciate your kind words and insight.
https://imgur.com/a/oV0w5iU

[Phosphorus32]

Incredible find at perhaps a 1970s/1980s gun show price    Beautiful example with that laminate NK stock! Wow!

You've probably read the Trinity Rifles section or other sites for further info but I'll add that this is a Vietnam veteran bring-back rifle, as are all North Korean, East German, and Vietnamese "Star 1" SKSs.