Samozariadnyia Karabina Simonova (Russian military carbine)
In the vicinity of $200 for a basic Type 56 carbine, up to $500 - $600 for some of the more 'exotic' models, like the paratrooper carbine, and detachable magazine SKS D and SKS M rifles.
ALL of the SKS firearms are carbines. It refers to the barrel length. Standard lenth is 20.5 inches.
They began production of the Type 56 carbine (the Chinese designation for the SKS) in 1956, and production (for the civil market) continues to the present day.
What it really comes down is manufacturer's designation, but a carbine is typically shorter than a standard service rifle of a country which is manufacturing the carbine. For example, in the First World War, Germany used the long Gewehr 98 rifle. In the 1930s, a shorter version was developed and produced - the Karabiner 98 carbine. The M1 carbine was much shorter than the standard M1 Garand rifle, but didn't meet the criteria of a submachinegun, so it was designated as a carbine. Another interesting example... when the SKS was first fielded, it was designated as a carbine, as it was considerably shorter than the standard Soviet weapon of the time - the Mosin-Nagant 91/30. However, when the AK-47 - which was shorter than the SKS - went into production, it was classed as a rifle, since it was to become the new standard armament of Soviet troops. Likewise, the Chinese followed suit - the Type 56 carbine was a Chinese-made SKS, and is designated as a carbine, whereas the Type 56 rifle is shorter than the SKS, and is classed as a rifle.Sometimes a carbine will use smaller cartridges than the standard issue rifle; sometimes it will not. The M4 carbine fires the same cartridge as the M16 rifle it supplements, while the SKS carbine fired the smaller 7.62x39 cartridge as opposed to the full sized 7.62x54R cartridge which was standard fare for the Soviet armed forces when the SKS was first fielded.
The Chinese manufactured several variants of the SKS. Depending on specifics, you may looking at anywhere from $200 - $600+. Paratrooper models and the detachable magazine SKS-M and SKS-D fetch much higher prices than a standard Type 56 carbine.
The safety must be in the on position
Snow King Special
Depending on condition, Chinese SKS carbines currently run $200-$300. Carbine selling for $500 New Zealand dollars at the moment
You should be able to find plenty on Google Images, Bing, Flickr/Flickrivr, etc. The Chinese models are either the Type 56 Carbine, or you can search for "SKS-M" or "SKS-D" if you're looking for the models which use a detachable AK magazine.
The SKSis a Soviet semi-automatic rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm round, designed in 1943 by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov. SKS-45 is an acronym for Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945 ( Self-loading Carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945)
The SKS isn't an assault rifle, although some of the Chinese variations (such as the SKS-M and SKS-D) do meet the criteria for the definition of a "civilian assault weapon" by BATFE regulations. Although China was prohibited from further arms sales in the US in 1994, the Type 56 carbine (Chinese designation for the SKS) is still pretty widespread, and can still be found at gun shops, gun shows, pawn shops, online gun auction sites, etc.
The SKS isn't an assault rifle, either by the BATFE's definition, or by the actual definition. Value is going to be dependent on exact model - the Chinese made several variations of the SKS. Depnding om condition, with the missing magazine (not clip), and assuming you have the basic Type 56 carbine in good working order, you could expect between $120 - $200 for it.