Grade 2 valuation?

[Greg Baehman]

An aquaintance owns this 12-ga. Parker Bros. Grade 2 hammergun with 30" damascus barrels that is looking for an approximate value of what it's worth. I told him I'd ask the experts.

All S/N's match. The barrels are in great shape, no dents or pitting, good bores. Some color remains on the frame. Notice the small chunk of metal missing on the backside of the toplever (how did that ever happen?) and engraving missing on the side of the left hammer. The stock checkering is in good condition, but the forend checkering is quite worn. The butt stock is a couple of shades darker than the forend, measures 1 1/2" x 2 3/8" x 14 3/8" to a DHBP, there is no initial shield. In your opinion is this this a refinished or replacement stock? (I wasn't able to pull the trigger guard.)

What's your educated guess of what it's worth? NOTE: If you feel uncomfortable posting a guesstimate on a public forum a PM would work just as well!

TIA,
Greg

[charlie cleveland]

it looks like a nice gun i would guess its value at 1800 to 2200...charlie

[Greg Baehman]

Thank you Charlie.

How about the stock, do you or anyone else have an opinion on whether it is original refinished or a replacement?

[Dave Suponski]

Greg,IMHO that stock is a fairly nicely done replacement. The nose of the comb is not correct for that gun for one thing.

[Chuck Bishop]

I agree that the butt stock is a replacement but very nicely done, can't tell with the forend but if it has a mullard border, it's probably original. Value wise, I'd put it at $1500, just because of the replacement stock and what looks like a replacement hammer of Parker origin.

[Bill Murphy]

Maybe someone ground the hammer so the gun would open with the right hammer cocked. I would have bent it, but the "chunk" works just as well.

[Greg Baehman]

Maybe someone ground the hammer so the gun would open with the right hammer cocked. I would have bent it, but the "chunk" works just as well.
Good in theory Bill, but this is a fishtail toplever. This particular gun can be opened and closed with the right hammer cocked without the toplever touching the hammer.

[Mills Morrison]

The good news about the replaced stock is that you don't have to worry about the oil-soaked, cracked or worse stocks you usually find on these old hammer guns.

[Brian Dudley]

Buttstock surely looks like a replacement. Checkering pattern is not correct either on the wrist. And it looks like it lacks borders. But hard to tell. And the hammers are mismatched. The right one looks correct, left one is a bit odd for a Parker.
It looks like the gun has attractive engraving, which is not always seen on grade 2 guns. And it appears to have a good amount of color remaining.

[Greg Baehman]

. . . And the hammers are mismatched. The right one looks correct, left one is a bit odd for a Parker.
Other than the left hammer lacking the engraving, what is "odd for a Parker" about it? It appears to be a mirror image of the right hammer save for the engraving.

[Chuck Bishop]

I believe the left hammer is a Parker hammer but from an earlier gun or the gun may have lost that hammer and the owner had Parker send him another one. If you have the Parker Story or some other book that shows hammer guns built in different years, you can see how the shape of the hammers evolved. The earlier hammers had a more open internal curve where the later hammers had a more compact curve. The more compact curved hammer had a longer distance from the thumb to the striker to make up for the more compact curve.

JMHO!

[Greg Baehman]

Thanks to all that responded.

The owner of this Parker had visions of upgrading his retirement years from living in a trailer court in Wisconsin to the warm and sunny beaches of Kona with its sale. I hope he's not overly disappointed.

[Brian Dudley]

Other than the left hammer lacking the engraving, what is "odd for a Parker" about it? It appears to be a mirror image of the right hammer save for the engraving.

Odd in that it is significantly thinner in the other side and what is more often seen.