Indeed, few towns cannot boast of a retired field gun in a park somewhere, displayed in memory of a battle somewhere during the past few hundred years. The War Memorial in Canberra is undoubtedly the most outstanding example of this. But this is the large end of the scale. As individual gun owners at the other end, there are other dimensions to the issue of conserving that which we have inherited that are still very important at the individual level. Items of furniture, crockery, oil lamps, clocks and even old farm implements can command extraordinary sums at auctions.
Guns can too.
Most jurisdictions accept a firearms licence category for bona fide collectors. While some collect for financial gain, most are interested in the subject. Many collect firearms and militaria relating to a particular conflict. Some collect specific types of firearms, such as Belgian pinfire revolvers or Lee Enfield rifles. Many like to collect, display and shoot their firearms.