But.......... This one, though so designated, has a quite different history behind it.
Ready? ........ here we go
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This would not be the "Crown Jewel" in Switzerland. The zfk55 is, and the only reason that this is a Crown Jewel here is.......... US Politicians.
I must say that even in Switzerland this would be sought after, but only for early semi-auto nostalgia.
There were no more than 4 of these in the US when I got this one. Three are in the hands of collectors and one is in a museum. Two of them are the three round burst type, but ours is a semi as Swiss Army issued.
This particular rifle is the 90PE, original 1987 issue, mint and unfired (ala Hawkeye Borescope) and came with 16 magazines worth about $8 US in Switzerland, and $75 each in the US. The rifle itself is currently valued at $21,000.00 here, and $1,200.00 in Switzerland. Ever heard of such idiocy? All of that is thanks to Clinton et all.
That aside, it's truly an incredible rifle. Back in 1987 I bought 10 of the civilian 551's and 10 of the 552's for resale. I paid $1,500.00 per rifle. Those were the first civilian models into the US. Within 3 months the doors were slammed by the US and that was the end of that. Those same rifles now bring $5,000.00+ here, and of course SIG America was formed and began making pseudo 552's. There is nothing in the world Swiss about them except for SA having a Swiss citizen ( and past member of Sig Neuhausen) on their board of directors. SIG in Switzerland no longer exists. RUAG is now the owner of all of it besides the Dynamite Nobel company and Norma munitions.
I do wish it was actually worth the assigned value. I can tell you that my Swiss associates laugh about this one. Verruckte Amis, they call us. It means crazy Americans.
Most European arms dealers look at us in that light. Insane prices with no real justification. The rifle is really worth about $1,800.00 over there as a simple mint Army Issue semi-auto.
So........ Behold the "real deal"
Original 1987 Swiss Army issue 90PE in semi-automatic, 16 magazines, issue cleaning kit, issue Fine range Diopter, spare parts kit and original manual in German (of course), Brass catcher, strippers for the magazines and sight extender, integral bipod and muzzle protector.
The Diopter has both near and long range changeable Irises and changeable color filters as well. The only thing not issue is the case which was produced about 3 years later.
The Kern 4x24 was originally produced in the 60s and 70s as part of a military contract for the Stgw57, with production ending in the late 1980s. In the early 1990's SIG began converting remaining factory stock of these scopes to work with the Stgw90 by producing a compatible mount. Originally manufactured exclusively for the Swiss Army, some of these scopes were left over at the factory, and able to be sold to the general public - these units were serial numbered 140176 to 140275 - with 20 UNITS ONLY having been converted by SIG/Leica for the Stgw90 were serial numbered 140278-140297 and are known as the ZF90.
Accessory wise GRD, produced the objective lens rubber protector, accessories case, duster brush, and buckskin. There has never been any official commercial packaging for this scope, however WEZ KUNSTSTOFFWERKE did produce a carry case for the scope up until the mid 1970s. The scope that I have is a slightly different story.
Eventually, there were 5 prototypes made of this scope. Each one had newer developments and options than the one before it. None of these 5 scopes showed up in the serial number ledgers kept in Bern......... but they did show up in a later "prototype" ledger.
All I have to do is find it among 18 years of emails from Frank Van Binendijk! LOL......... I'll try.
4 were archived and #5 was issued to a field soldier for normal use. I'm missing some of the history, but it was issued to a specific rifle and that number was recorded along with the soldier's name. He used it along with the rifle in shoots and military exercises until he retired. This soldier opted to keep the rifle, and the scope went with it................ so.......... MANY years pass.
This gent was married to a woman whose Father and Family owned a very large baking facility just across the border in France. The rifle was not supposed to go across that border, but it did. More years pass and this gentleman wanted Swiss Militaria and, of course, Frank Van Binnendijk was the man for just that. He offered to trade his 90PE to Frank, but Frank turned it down. Frank had plenty of those rifles already. They made a different trade and more time passes.
He contacts Frank again, and this time he has a "scope" to trade. Frank had a number of the Kern 4x24 scopes, so he turns it down.
The gent tells him it's not an "ordinary" Kern Scope. This piques Frank's interest so he asks for a serial number. Nope. it doesn't show in the register. Now Frank is more interested. He's sent a detailed photo of the scope, and within a week he finds out exactly what it is. #5 of the original prototypes and the one from which all production models are made!
Frank is as honest as the sky is blue, and he tells the gent that it's actually worth the equivalent of $1,700.00 US Dollars in
Switzerland............... BUT......... in the USA?? LOL! You guessed it!....... Worth five times that amount!
Frank already knew about my having the #4 PE90 in the states, so when we Skype later that day I'm hopping up and down just waiting to say yes!........ and I did! That scope is now mated with the right, and perfect rifle for what it is, and for it's status.
..............
And........ an open answer to a PM on a Swiss Forum about an "inconsistency". Since only 20 were ever made and set up for the 90PE in later years, how could this one be the prototype from which all others were made originally? The originals were designed for the stg57, but........ #5 was not issued until the mount was developed for the 90PE, and why that should have been is lost in antiquity........... but serialnumbers are always constant. #'s 1, 2, 3 and 4 were issued at about that same time, and they, along with the 20 production models remain in Switzerland.
Ready? ........ here we go
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This would not be the "Crown Jewel" in Switzerland. The zfk55 is, and the only reason that this is a Crown Jewel here is.......... US Politicians.
I must say that even in Switzerland this would be sought after, but only for early semi-auto nostalgia.
There were no more than 4 of these in the US when I got this one. Three are in the hands of collectors and one is in a museum. Two of them are the three round burst type, but ours is a semi as Swiss Army issued.
This particular rifle is the 90PE, original 1987 issue, mint and unfired (ala Hawkeye Borescope) and came with 16 magazines worth about $8 US in Switzerland, and $75 each in the US. The rifle itself is currently valued at $21,000.00 here, and $1,200.00 in Switzerland. Ever heard of such idiocy? All of that is thanks to Clinton et all.
That aside, it's truly an incredible rifle. Back in 1987 I bought 10 of the civilian 551's and 10 of the 552's for resale. I paid $1,500.00 per rifle. Those were the first civilian models into the US. Within 3 months the doors were slammed by the US and that was the end of that. Those same rifles now bring $5,000.00+ here, and of course SIG America was formed and began making pseudo 552's. There is nothing in the world Swiss about them except for SA having a Swiss citizen ( and past member of Sig Neuhausen) on their board of directors. SIG in Switzerland no longer exists. RUAG is now the owner of all of it besides the Dynamite Nobel company and Norma munitions.
I do wish it was actually worth the assigned value. I can tell you that my Swiss associates laugh about this one. Verruckte Amis, they call us. It means crazy Americans.
Most European arms dealers look at us in that light. Insane prices with no real justification. The rifle is really worth about $1,800.00 over there as a simple mint Army Issue semi-auto.
So........ Behold the "real deal"
Original 1987 Swiss Army issue 90PE in semi-automatic, 16 magazines, issue cleaning kit, issue Fine range Diopter, spare parts kit and original manual in German (of course), Brass catcher, strippers for the magazines and sight extender, integral bipod and muzzle protector.
The Diopter has both near and long range changeable Irises and changeable color filters as well. The only thing not issue is the case which was produced about 3 years later.
The Kern 4x24 was originally produced in the 60s and 70s as part of a military contract for the Stgw57, with production ending in the late 1980s. In the early 1990's SIG began converting remaining factory stock of these scopes to work with the Stgw90 by producing a compatible mount. Originally manufactured exclusively for the Swiss Army, some of these scopes were left over at the factory, and able to be sold to the general public - these units were serial numbered 140176 to 140275 - with 20 UNITS ONLY having been converted by SIG/Leica for the Stgw90 were serial numbered 140278-140297 and are known as the ZF90.
Accessory wise GRD, produced the objective lens rubber protector, accessories case, duster brush, and buckskin. There has never been any official commercial packaging for this scope, however WEZ KUNSTSTOFFWERKE did produce a carry case for the scope up until the mid 1970s. The scope that I have is a slightly different story.
Eventually, there were 5 prototypes made of this scope. Each one had newer developments and options than the one before it. None of these 5 scopes showed up in the serial number ledgers kept in Bern......... but they did show up in a later "prototype" ledger.
All I have to do is find it among 18 years of emails from Frank Van Binendijk! LOL......... I'll try.
4 were archived and #5 was issued to a field soldier for normal use. I'm missing some of the history, but it was issued to a specific rifle and that number was recorded along with the soldier's name. He used it along with the rifle in shoots and military exercises until he retired. This soldier opted to keep the rifle, and the scope went with it................ so.......... MANY years pass.
This gent was married to a woman whose Father and Family owned a very large baking facility just across the border in France. The rifle was not supposed to go across that border, but it did. More years pass and this gentleman wanted Swiss Militaria and, of course, Frank Van Binnendijk was the man for just that. He offered to trade his 90PE to Frank, but Frank turned it down. Frank had plenty of those rifles already. They made a different trade and more time passes.
He contacts Frank again, and this time he has a "scope" to trade. Frank had a number of the Kern 4x24 scopes, so he turns it down.
The gent tells him it's not an "ordinary" Kern Scope. This piques Frank's interest so he asks for a serial number. Nope. it doesn't show in the register. Now Frank is more interested. He's sent a detailed photo of the scope, and within a week he finds out exactly what it is. #5 of the original prototypes and the one from which all production models are made!
Frank is as honest as the sky is blue, and he tells the gent that it's actually worth the equivalent of $1,700.00 US Dollars in
Switzerland............... BUT......... in the USA?? LOL! You guessed it!....... Worth five times that amount!
Frank already knew about my having the #4 PE90 in the states, so when we Skype later that day I'm hopping up and down just waiting to say yes!........ and I did! That scope is now mated with the right, and perfect rifle for what it is, and for it's status.
And........ an open answer to a PM on a Swiss Forum about an "inconsistency". Since only 20 were ever made and set up for the 90PE in later years, how could this one be the prototype from which all others were made originally? The originals were designed for the stg57, but........ #5 was not issued until the mount was developed for the 90PE, and why that should have been is lost in antiquity........... but serialnumbers are always constant. #'s 1, 2, 3 and 4 were issued at about that same time, and they, along with the 20 production models remain in Switzerland.
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