What's it worth - Crate for 100rd Bren Magazine

[killer kanuck]

Just picked this up because, well, don't really know why. The screws holding the hinges to the lid are gone, but otherwise seems pretty solid. Inside needs a cleaning too. But I'm curious - how common/rare are these 100rd Bren mag crates? I can find info on the mags themselves (which seem to be in the $800-1000 range) but nothing on the crates. Any help would be appreciated.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[MarkDevCanada]

no idea, but wish I had one (and the mags)

[Brit plumber]

I've seen them on ebay for £10 but listed as ammo boxes, if one was listed as a Drum mag box it would probably go for more.

[Kev G]

Dont like to pay more than 25 quid but have seen them go for 40-45 in the UK maybe a bit more.
Nice to see all the internals intact

ATB Kevin

[Peter Laidler]

I have seen a couple in the UK and on Ebay recently. They all seem to be like your sample. Dry as a xxxxx's xxxxx's. But a good dose of linseed will bring the wood back to life followed by a coat or primer and paint unless you want it original. Plug and re-drill the stripped holes and bobs your uncle.....

[tankhunter]

There is a well known story over here of a Scrap yard in Essex. Who had a huge warehouse of assorted Surplus at one time. there were dozens & dozens of 4 x 100 round circular mag transit boxes. A chap who is known to me, went there & looked through ALL of them! he actually found (As the story goes!) only ONE box & it was full with the mags & a winding handle! Needless to say, at a Tenner a box, he wanted THAT particular Box!
It CAN happen SOMETIMES! though VERY rarely these days!

[Peter Laidler]

Reminds me of going to an Ordnance Depot on a totally unrelated matter several years ago and finding hundreds - maybe thousands of Bren mags and boxes awaiting disposal (that meant destruction as steel scrap). I went through a few hundred boxes and found a few old original Mk1 magazines plus a couple of odd base plates but nothing else.

One of the civilian foremen came up to speak to me while I made up some soppy excuse why I was busy and apparently a couple of them were drinking their tea, idly wondering why a REME Captain should be even remotely interested in thousands of Bren magazines!.

I've never seen as many before or since! There were literally THOUSANDS!

[tankhunter]

Yes I know what you mean peter. I have seen MANY Firearms at Donnington in it's day for destruction. It made you want to cry at such sacriligous destruction! they would get more for it by selling it a surplus rather than scrapping it all. No labour for cutting it up for a start! but the Government has always been that same. Saving pennies & wasting thousands!
I saw NEW Sterling L2A3s being guillotined & in the same workshop. Lots of Civvy staff overhauling Sterlings for units. Why? Because it kept the civvy staff in Empolyment & kept the workload up justifying staff retention!
Some of those old guys had LOTS of biscuit tins under their benchs. They were FULL of pistol mags that they had saved from guns comming from seizure in Northern Ireland during the 'Troubles'. Some had the nouse to hide them away. I left Donnington with a bag full of .455" Colt, Webly marked mags, luger mags, Etc Etc! A LITTLE bit of compensation for the trauma of observing such wanton destruction!

[peregrinvs]

I went through a few hundred boxes and found a few old original Mk1 magazines plus a couple of odd base plates but nothing else.

I found two Mk1 magazines at Beltring last year: on two different stalls within about 20 mins of each other and they cost £3 and £5.

However, I fully expect to find nothing at all this year as that must be at least a decade's worth of militaria collecting luck used up at once.

Mark

[AmEngRifles]

Seems IMA had both the AA mags and the transit crates only a few years back. Ya' know how that goes, it was probably more like 10 (!) and I reacted slowly, took too long and before I knew it, they were gone! I believe they were VERY reasonably priced (both the mags and the crates) compared to the numbers I am hearing bantered around today.

Need a little man character with a boot up his own backside. Already used the head against the bricks too often.