Invincibles

James Brown · 07-11-2012, 08:48 PM

Just watched a program on The Outdoor Chanel titled "Gun Stories". Subject matter was side by side shotguns. There was a segment on Parkers and the three Invincibles at the NFM. It was mentioned that the museum had been offered 5 million $ for the three but the offer was rejected. Now that the kitty has escaped the sack, which one of you guys got turned down? Come on fess up. Mr. Romig, charlie, Col. Day, Mr. Murphy........??
James

Dean Romig · 07-11-2012, 09:52 PM

The three Invincibles were on display at the Annual Banquet in Maryland two years ago and we all got to see them right up close, even as they were being placed in the glass observation case. They all are quite an expression of the gunmaker's art, to say the least. The curator, and I'm ashamed to say I don't recall his name, asked me what I thought they, collectively, might be worth... I suggested something like $3 million to which he replied that they had turned down $4 million just weeks before they were displayed at the Banquet. So now they have turned down $5 million... I wonder if the offered sum might ever be accepted? I sure hope not. It's nice to know that they can be viewed by the public anytime someone wishes to visit the National Firearms Museum.

Me, a player? Not even by an extremely loooooong stretch!

OH Osthaus · 07-11-2012, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

The three Invincibles were on display at the Annual Banquet in Maryland two years ago and we all got to see them right up close, even as they were being placed in the glass observation case. They all are quite an expression of the gunmaker's art, to say the least. The curator, and I'm ashamed to say I don't recall his name, asked me what I thought they, collectively, might be worth... I suggested something like $3 million to which he replied that they had turned down $4 million just weeks before they were displayed at the Banquet. So now they have turned down $5 million... I wonder if the offered sum might ever be accepted? I sure hope not. It's nice to know that they can be viewed by the public anytime someone wishes to visit the National Firearms Museum.

Me, a player? Not even by an extremely loooooong stretch!

you could have just made the excuse that none were small bores so you'll pass

Dean Romig · 07-11-2012, 11:17 PM

Dang it! Why didn't I think of that?

George Lander · 07-11-2012, 11:42 PM

I understand that one Invincible went missing after it was enroute to it's next destination after it was displayed in a hardware store. Has that one resurfaced? And were they all 12 bore? I have heard of a 16 bore Invincible in the Aiken, South Carolina area.

Best Regards, George

Dean Romig · 07-11-2012, 11:50 PM

Two twelves and one sixteen. The museum currently has all three in its possession.

I seriously doubt if they would be displayed in a hardware store these days.

Wasn't it the sixteen that was discovered in a closet on the third floor of a Victorian mansion that was being rehabilitated by the new owner a decade or two ago?

Bruce Day · 07-12-2012, 07:50 AM

Certainly not a military pensioner like me. I know it wasn't a small farmer like Charlie. Dean the import car man says it wasn't him. So that leaves only Bill who lives close to the NRA museum and is being very quiet.........

nid-28 · 07-12-2012, 08:48 AM

Dean--The 16ga. was found in a closet in Moorestown, NJ in the 60's, I believe. About 1 1/2 miles from me!! The original purchaser was a Mr. A. C. Middleton--an RCA CEO. He bought it in 1929 before the crash. It was sold by Paul Jaegers in Jenkintown, Pa. on consignment for $12,000. It's a well documented story. It went into the Ford collection--of Libby--Owens --Ford--fame and was purchased from his Estate by Gary Herman--Safari Outfitters--then in Ridgefield, Ct. I traveled there in the 70's to view it and still have the color photo print that Gary was handing out back then. The gun was featured on Safari Outfitter catalog covers back then and I still have some of those. I think the asking price was 100K, but don't hold me to that. That's the abbreviated version. Hope it helps!!

B. Dudley · 07-12-2012, 08:56 AM

That sounds like a great TV special on SxS guns.

In 2011 the NFM Curator said, in a video clip, that the Guns belong to a Robert E. Perterson in CA and that they are on loan to the museum. He also stated that at that time the estimated worth of them was $5mm.

Kevin McCormack · 07-12-2012, 08:59 AM

The first Invincible, SN 200000, is a 12-ga. 32" barrel straight grip gun. The second, SN 230329, is a 16-ga. 26" barrel gun with a ball grip with scalloped 'clamshell' carving on the ball; the third, SN 233565, is a 12-ga. 28" barrel with straight grip stock.

The 16 ga. was indeed found on the top shelf of a clothes closet in a mansion on Long Island after the house was sold and subsequently closed on; apparently the angle of view from the floor of the closet prevented the gun in its oak & leather case from being seen during the frequent walk-thrus during the showing and sale of the house.

The 'gone missing' Invincible, SN 233565, was in fact built for a wealthy publisher, partly in the desire to prove that a superior grade American side-by-side could compete in elegance and finish to the best that Great Britain and Europe had to offer at the time. (I think he proved his point). This gun, still in the same family of the original purchaser, surfaced with much fanfare and was auctioned off several years ago.

This gun was restocked by the Del Gregos, with carving done by Bob Runge and checkering finished by Remington Custom Shop artisans (Leo Bala?). The original stock, which accompanied the gun at auction, had been broken through the wrist. Many wild tales surrounded this story; some said the shooter crippled a rabbit and, being either out of shells or 'overly frugal', tried to brain the bunny, breaking the stock. Another story had the gun laying on the ground while the sportsman backed over it, thinking it was safely stowed in the trunk. The truth came out when the family rendered the gun for auction: the original owner's son had loaned the gun to his nephew on a shooting trip to Great Britain. Coming off a bank in a snipe bog in Ireland, the boy lost his footing and fell backwards; in an attempt to protect the gun he tucked the stock under his elbow and held the muzzles high. Before his elbow hit the ground, the toe of stock struck it first, breaking it through the wrist.

All three Invincibles were eventually brought together by magazine publisher Bob Peterson, who loaned all three in sort of 'perpetual exhibit' to the NRA National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA. They reside there now, side by side in their display case, for all to enjoy. If you ever get the chance to view them, don't miss it.