Parker- Just given, been in family since new.

[Walker Morriw]

On the receiver serial # 98648 and just above the letter V
In the serial number query it appears to be a 1900 year.
What does the V mean?
It's hammerless, 12 ga, 28" barrels
On the bottom of left barrel is stamped +
On bottom of right barrel is stamped +-
I'm assuming this is choke?
The serial number on receiver, forearm and barrels all match.
There these random stamps on the bottom of barrels K f 4
Also on the bottom center lug which fits into the receiver is stamped the number 2
Could any of these marks be the maker?
Obviously I need a lot of educating, please help!

[Dean Romig]

Hello Mr. Morris,
The "maker" of your gun is Parker Bothers of Meriden CT

the K f is the mark of Charles A. King indicating he has inspected the gun and that it is "finished"
Charles A. King was the Superintendent of the Parker Bros. Gun Works and he retired in 1910 when his son Walter took over his position.
Several employees and contractors worked on different aspects of your gun.

Welcome to the PGCA Website - there is a lot to learn about Parkers here.





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[wayne goerres]

Moris the 4 is probable the unstruck barrel weight and the two on the bottom of the lug is the frame size. The V is just a grade marking and I don't know what the little +s are they just show up once in a wile on Parkers. Maybe some way of telling the left barrel from the right during assembly.

[Walker Morriw]

Wayne, thanks for the reply. I appreciate any and all input.

[Kevin McCormack]

While the 'K' marking is universally accepted as King's production inspection mark, the origin and the meaning of the 'f' has never been decisively translated. Bob Rung's impression was that its origin was from the German word 'fertig', meaning finished, and was probably the result of selecting a unique identifying mark. It may have been the work of Bob's grandfather, who ran the barrel shop before 1900.

[Dean Romig]

The "f", to my knowledge, has never been observed in concert with any other stamped mark, which lends more credence to Bob Runge's suggestion.






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[Walker Morriw]

Dean,
Thanks so much for your reply. If the "V" is a grade mark, what does it stand for and what are the grades in ascending or descending order?
Also, am I correct in the date of mfg?

[OH Osthaus]

Walker

the letter grades descend - V is the lowest grade of the regular frame- the Trojan is the lowest but is a different profiled action.

you can see the list of grades and samples of the engraving off the home page
http://parkerguns.org/