Mercury Tradewinds .25 cal
What is a Mercury Tradewinds .25 cal semi-auto pistol worth in 90% condition?
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Please provide more information, such as size and any other markings on this pistol. Is this a new or older gun?
I tried to find a "Mercury" or "Tradewinds" in my books but could not find it.
My best reference is broken down by country of manufacture, so if you can tell whether it was made in Spain, Germany, France, US or wherever it would help immensely.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44!"0 -
Back in the 1960's and on through the 1970's there was an importer in Tacoma, Washington that went by the name Tradewinds, Inc. P.O. BOX
1191, Tacoma, WA 98401. LONG OUT OF BUSINESS! They imported a line of rifles manufactured in Belgium under the Husky name. The rifles were the Model 5000 and 600 and retailed for $184.50 and $162.50. There was a problem with the use of the "Husky" name with the importers of Husqvarna.
If I can remember back far enough it seems to me that this same company sold a line of small .25 automatics made for them by Liegeoise d'Armes???, in Leige, Belgium. It was pretty much a Browning Baby clone and discontinued after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968. I have no idea what such a pistol would be worth today. Gatofeo seems to have some good books on the subject- check under Belgium, maybe he could do a little more leg work and see if all of this adds up.
Mark T. Christian0 -
I looked in the 23rd edition blue book, and basically came up with the same info as above listed. But I also looked under the name mercury, and found two listings, one irrelivant (imported shotgun by totally diff company) and the other imported by tradewinds, but its not a .25acp, its a .22lr. Here's what I got
Mercury
Prev mfg located in Belgium. Previously imported 1962-1986 by Tradewinds, Inc. located in Tacoma, WA.
Mercury Model - .22lr cal, 7shot mag, steel frame, fixed sights. 90% condition $300.
I browsed thru several other books, including Numrich without finding anything.
I do have one book The Illustraded Encyclopedia of Handguns, which I've had great luck in finding some very rare pieces, but no prices. I looked in there and found it on page 183. Actually I found two. They made a small pistol simular to another design I've seen called a sterling, here's a link to one to compare looks http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=5763314
but it was available in either a .22lr or .25acp. On the left side of the slide it says Mercury with Made in Belgium Under that. The grips should have an M in a circle on them. If its not that one, then its their larger model which came in a .22lr in imported models, but supossedly was available in .25acp and even .32acp.
Here's the specific Data on then.
Mercury; made for Tradewinds, Inc., Tocoma, WA, by Manufacture Liegeoise d' Armes a' Feu SA, Liege. 6.35mm auto or .22lr. 114mm overall, 57mm barrel, 370grams. Six rounds. This is seimply a modernised post-war version of the Melior pistol shown in fig 1467.
And the bigger one.
Mercury; made for Tradewinds, Inc., Tocoma, WA, by Manufacture Liegeoise d' Armes a' Feu SA, Liege. .22lr; 145mm overall, 89mm barrel, 590gm. Eight rounds. This is a refinedment of the Melior pistol shown in fig 1468. It was also made in 6.36mm auto and 7.65mm auto.
Hope this helps.
If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.
The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !0 -
Hey! I have that book, "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Handguns" too.
Sheesh ... missed the Mercury in there.
Great book, isn't it leeblackman?
The copy I bought in a bookstore is the only one I've seen. Either there are few in print, or shooters recognize a great book and buy it. It's a great resource.
And I like the line drawings of pistols. So much better than trying to squint at a photo to get details.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44!"0 -
Yes, its definately a must for every gun book worms collection. Its prooved to be an invaluable resource in helping me to identify some of the stranger lesser know handguns I've run across. My only complaint is that I after flipping through it, I had to add several new guns to my Guns I Want list....LOL 0
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