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Auction info: Full serial # vs. partial serial #?

fiawol
I've seen auctions where the seller lists the full serial number on older, collectible guns, and other auctions where the seller uses something like "121XXX" when describing the firearm's serial number. Is there anything "bad" that can happen if a full serial number is listed in an auction, or are the latter sellers just "being on the safe side" by only listing the most generic information about a firearm?
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Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • Spider7115
    Unfounded paranoia that somebody will claim it's theirs by reporting it to the police as stolen.
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  • nmyers
    Generally folks show a partial SN due to paranoia: "I don't want the government to know what guns I have", or maybe "Someone could see my gun, report it stolen to the police, & they would confiscate it."

    If you are buying a gun, sometimes you really need to know the SN in order to identify it correctly, or because you want to look it up in historical records.

    The only bad thing that could happen is that, if the gun is identified by a previous owner as having been stolen from him, he could get it seized from you by law enforcement without compensation. Personally, I think that is a good thing, as I wouldn't want to have a gun that had been stolen from someone else.

    Neal
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  • Herschel
    I agree with nmyers and Spider7115. I don't recall ever seeing serial numbers covered in gun shops or gun shows. If there was such a threat surely guns shops and gun show exhibitors would have been victims by now.
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  • perry shooter
    list the complete serial unless you just stole it from a police officer. We have asked over and over on this site to have someone give us personal example of anyone who was ever even confronted that their firearm belonged to someone else because it was listed here or another site. NEVER HAPPENED .
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  • givette
    The only benefit to the XXX's is that you are protected from the hassle of having to prove ownership, if someone else lays claim to your property.

    True, the 'bad guy' is going down, but why have the headache of proving ownership in the first place? Having to answer a false claim filed by someone is definately more of a hassle than using the XXX's in an auction. Joe

    EDIT-Further Thoughts
    Personally, I'll use the full SerNo. I'll use it because chances of [my post above] are slim, and I'd love to see someone take a nosedive if they were to try it on me. Joe
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  • Bert H.
    There is absolutely nothing to fear about posting or listing a complete serial number unless you have something to hide.
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