Bidding Mentality in Online Firearms Auctions
Online auction sites for guns look a lot like other auction platforms at first glance,
but the psychology can be a little different. On many firearms sites you cannot
“snipe” in the final second. A last minute bid simply extends the clock, so two
determined bidders can drag an auction higher and higher while each one tries not
to be the first to back down.
This plays into loss aversion and pride. Once someone has invested time watching
an auction, maybe placed a few early bids, it starts to feel personal. Walking away
can feel like losing, even when the price has climbed far beyond what they would
normally pay in a gun shop. Add in a touch of sunk cost feeling and the fear that
“I will never see another one like this” and people talk themselves into numbers
that make no sense outside the heat of the moment.
There is also anchoring. If the seller quotes a high “book value” or points to a
rare feature, it can anchor expectations even when the piece has real issues.
Some bidders focus on beating the other person rather than on whether the final
price is still fair for the actual gun in front of them.
A healthier auction mindset is simple. Decide what the item is worth to you based
on condition, originality and recent sales, set a firm maximum bid that includes
shipping and transfer fees, and let the system bid for you. If someone else is
willing to pay more, they did you a favor by taking the risk. “Winning” in this
context is paying a fair price for a piece you will enjoy, not just seeing your
username at the top of the page.
When you keep that frame in mind, auctions stop feeling like combat and start
feeling more like another tool for finding interesting guns and artifacts.
The Chrysanthemum
The chrysanthemum stamp and Arisaka Type 99 rifles are historically linked. The Type 99
was adopted in 1939 and chambered for the 7.7 mm cartridge. The chrysanthemum (kiku) is
the emblem of Japan’s Imperial House.
The main stamp on the rifle is a striking reminder of a form of political religion. The
emperor was treated as a living god in the state ideology of the era, and that belief was
reinforced through symbols like the chrysanthemum on weapons, which enculturated loyalty
among troops. The stamp signified imperial ownership and suggested that the emperor was
always with his soldiers.
This symbolism was meant to shape morale and behavior. The presence of the chrysanthemum
on their weapons reinforced duty to the emperor and the nation, and it could strengthen
resolve by tying the individual soldier to the imperial mission.
After the war, many rifles that were turned in were processed with the chrysanthemum
canceled. This symbolic act, which involved filing or grinding off the emblem, was
conducted by Japanese ordnance personnel to demonstrate that the rifle was no longer
imperial property and to avoid the humiliation of surrendering the Emperor’s seal intact.
Many rifles on the market with intact stamps, on the other hand, never passed through the
surrender-processing system. Some were taken from armories before formal turn-ins, while
others were acquired during the occupation with the mum still intact. Because of that,
provenance matters more than the mum by itself.
From EE-8 to TA-312: Field Telephones From World War II to Today
The U.S. Army’s EE-8 field telephone appeared just before the Second World War.
It used a hand generator to ring the far end and a local battery circuit for
speech, all carried in a leather case that could be slung over the shoulder.
Updated EE-8A and EE-8B sets with canvas cases stayed in service through
Korea, often strung on miles of wire between command posts and forward
positions.
In the late 1950s the Army began replacing the EE-8 family with more modern
designs such as the TA-312. The TA-312 kept the same basic idea: a rugged,
magneto powered telephone that could work on simple two wire lines, but it
added better weather sealing, a tougher case and improved electronics. Versions
of this set and its successors stayed in U.S. inventories for decades, well into
the era of secure radios and digital networks.
Wired field phones never completely disappeared because they do one thing very
well. A pair of telephones and a spool of wire give you point to point voice
communication that does not radiate into the air the way a radio does. To listen
in you usually have to find the line physically and tap it. That takes time, and
it is far easier to do against fixed defensive positions than it is against small,
mobile teams.
That is why analog field telephones are still showing up in today’s conflicts.
Reporting from Ukraine has described forces running Soviet pattern sets on
field wire for secure coordination of artillery and small units behind the lines.
The technology is old, but it is quiet, dependable and resistant to electronic
warfare as long as the wire itself stays hidden and intact.
For collectors, sets like the EE-8 and TA-312 bridge that gap between vintage
hardware and modern use. Understanding how they evolved and why they are still
relevant helps put a humble canvas case and hand crank into a much larger story
about how armies actually talk to their soldiers in the field.
