VH Grade value question?

[Bobby Goins]

I am currently in the market for a Parker gun.
I attended a gun show in Greensboro, NC this
past Saturday and came across a VH grade, 16 gauge,
w/ 28" barrels. I am no expert but I would rate the gun in
good to very good condition. My concern with the gun
(the seller was upfront about this) is that the serial no.
stamp on the watertable had been filed, or somehow,
made unreadable. He could only assume the gun had
been possibly stolen at some point in time and this was an
attempt to disguise that.

My question is how does this affect the value of the gun?

Thank you for any input!

Bobby

[Justin Julian]

Hard to say how the gun's value would be impacted, but I think its actually a federal felony to possess a gun with defaced serial numbers. I certainly wouldn't want one, unless it came with some type of letter from ATF saying that it was OK.

[Bruce Day]

Mr Goins, there are multiple serial number places on a Parker, the frame arm water table being one of the more concealed places.

While photographs may tell the story, I have seen before frame arm serial numbers gouged down by a person assembling the gun with shaky hands or poor eyesight. They run the sharp edge of the barrel lug along the frame repeatedly and that does it. I'm not saying that is what happened , but it has happened and is a plausible explanation for this gun, particularly when the serial number is most visible on the trigger guard tang.

As to your question of value, I certainly can't hazard a guess without good photographs, but V grade 16's in good condition have sold from $2200 to $4500, that I know of.

If a person is looking for a first Parker and wants advise from people who know a little something about the guns, may I suggest holding off buying and going to the Southern Side by Side by Sanford NC at the end of April. There are usually many Parkers for sale there.

[Bobby Goins]

Thank you BD!
Your thought could be a plausible explanation as the marred
serial no. was rather unusual and did not appear to have been
done in a calculated way. I thought it strange that the other
serial no. markings were fine.

Bobby

[Brian Dudley]

The other locations that a serial number is on a Parker will at least tell you what the serial number is on the gun. However, the one on the frame is what ATF considers the important one.

[Linn Matthews]

Also, it may not be the original barrel set.