A huge crowd was in attendance at the Julia Spring Firearms auction Monday March 10th and Tuesday March 11th. Some had flown in on their own private jets to attend this fabulous extravaganza of firearms. And judging from the prices it appeared that no one was disappointed with what was offered.

The two-day sale, conducted on March 10th & 11th included a number of notable collections and an extraordinary diversity of rarity and quality, beginning with the collection of the late Bruce Stern of Connecticut. Mr. Stern was a passionate, lifelong collector of 20th Century military and was also a strong advocate of 2nd Amendment rights and a staunch supporter of the NRA. His military auction started off with 100 of his Class III weapons. Billed as the largest offering of Class III weapons offered anywhere in recent years, the Stern Collection was Julia's initiation in the marketing of collectible Class III weapons. This collection, well known throughout North America, included a number of great rarities and resulted in tremendous interest from all over North America and fierce bidding throughout the collection. A Rheinmetall Germany FG42, Second Model machine gun was not only a choice example but also one of only a few currently known in this country. It carried a presale estimate of $50,000-$90,000 but saw tremendous bidding competition and ended up at $149,500. There were a great number of rarities within the Class III, many of them bringing far above their estimate. A rare and outstanding Johnson Model 1944 light machine gun, carrying a presale estimate of $10,000-$15,000 flew to $74,750. A British Sten MKI sub machine gun, estimated at $7,000-$9,000 brought $32,000. A U.S. Browning machine gun, cal .50M2HB, manufactured by Colt and estimated at $29,000-$39,000 sold for a final price of $51,750.

In addition to Class III weapons, the Stern collection included a number of other military firearms including a rare Borschardt Patent Model 1893 semi-automatic pistol. This outstanding cased example is a representative of one of the first successful semi-automatic pistols made. It carried a presale estimate of $30,000-$40,000 but went out at $51,750. A rare Colt Model 1900 Sight Safety, USN, estimated at $9,000-$13,000, sold for $21,850.

Extremely rare prototypes included a pre-WWII experimental semi-auto Japanese military rifle, SN 8 and cal. 6.5 carrying a presale estimate of $7,500-$12,500; it went out for a final bid price of $23,000. An extensive collection of sniper rifles, most from WWII included a Mauser 98K Shot Rail Sniper Rifle with sling and bayonet, estimated at $5,000-$7,500 and sold for a final bid price of $24,150. Late in the Second World War, the Germans, with most of their factories destroyed, had little capability of producing firearms and one of their last efforts was a crudely made semi automatic rifle known as the VG5 C. This example estimated at $12,000-$15,000 went out for a final price of $31,050. An unusual Swiss Mondragon Model 1908 Military Issue Semi-Auto Rifle, estimated at $2,500-$4,000 sold for $27,600. During the early part of the twentieth century, a man named Pedersen invented a device that could be mounted on a normal bolt-action rifle converting it to a semi-automatic rifle that came to be known as the Pedersen Device. An ultra rare US Model 1918 Mark 1 Pedersen Device from the Stern Collection, together with a few boxes of cartridges was estimated at $20,000-$30,000 but sold for $60,250.