Value of my Parkers

[Carolyn Kluttz]

My husband recently passed away and I need to sell his two Parker shotguns. Could anyone direct me to someone for an appraisal?

Carolyn

[Robin Lewis]

Carolyn,

It would help if we knew in which state do you reside? There are knowledgeable PGCA members and dealers with good reputations that might be located nearby and may be able to help you.

I suggest you go slow and get several opinions. After you get a feel for their worth, you may consider talking to one of the bigger Parker dealers and see if they would sell them on consignment. But, to do the best, take your time.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

I am in Florida

[Eric Eis]

I think Robin is right take it slow and I truely think consigning the guns to a highend dealer would be the way to go. Most charge 15% but they should be able to get top dollar for your guns. The two that come to mind that sell a lot of Parkers are, Puglisi Gun in Minn and Steve Barnett in Miss. Both are very honest and would do you right.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

I am still trying to figure out how to work this forum as far as replies. One Parker is hammered with the markings of 3 for the frame size, 5 for the barrel weight, serial number 108956, Grade D with Damascus steel. It is in good condition. The second one is hammerless, 1 1/2 for the frame size, marked v (in a circle) with an HT and an A under the HT. Serial number 191245, Vulcan Steel barrels.

Does this tell me anything about when they were made and a "maybe" value?

[Carolyn Kluttz]

I am in Florida.

[Mark Landskov]

John Puglisi handled a bunch of L.C. Smiths for me on consignment. The crew at Puglisi's Gun Emporium are great to work with.

[Francis Morin]

If this is for real, and you live in the South- contact PGCA George Newbern through the PMS here- he lives in South Carolina, the Palmetto State, and is a true Southern Gentleman- Many widowed (my condolences M'am) and otherwise single Ladies are taken advantage of by some of the gun hustlers out there- Now- Both Mr. Puglisi and Mr. Barnett both have excellent reputations, but as I know George personally and have dealt with him, and he is a PGCA member, I suggest you also contact him as well as Messers Puglisi and Barnett- remember the old adage from Confuscious- if you want to find out the true value of anything, as of three different people who are not related to each other- We have to be very careful here, M'am, as the PGCA rules and regs strictly prohibit buying, selling or trading of Parkers on the website-Best of luck in your search for a fair deal--:bigbye:

[Dean Romig]

Mrs. Kluttz,

Please excuse our friend Francis' objectionable 'signature'...
He might have been gentleman enough to have deleted it when addressing a lady.

[Dave Suponski]

Well said Dean....Thank You

[James T. Kucaba]

I am still trying to figure out how to work this forum as far as replies. One Parker is hammered with the markings of 3 for the frame size, 5 for the barrel weight, serial number 108956, Grade D with Damascus steel. It is in good condition. The second one is hammerless, 1 1/2 for the frame size, marked v (in a circle) with an HT and an A under the HT. Serial number 191245, Vulcan Steel barrels.

Does this tell me anything about when they were made and a "maybe" value?

Carolyn ... #108956 was built in 1902 and #191245 was built in 1920 but neither of your guns is listed in the Parker Serialization Book and according to this website there are no surviving records with information to base a Parker Letter on for either gun ... As to the value of your guns, condition and rarity are the most important factors ... So, if you can take some pictures and post them on this site, the members of the PGCA will be happy to give you as much information as possible from viewing the photos ... My area of interest is Parker Hammer Guns and I'd be happy to help you in any way I can if you can post some photos of your guns

Best regards ... Jim Kucaba ...AriZOOna Cactus Patch ... Email: JimKucaba@aol.com

[George Lander]

CAROLYN; All of the guys foregoing gave you good advice. I personally don't know a good Parker expert in Florida. I am in Lexington, South Carolina in the central part of the state. I you could post some pictures of your guns on this web site you will recieve good information from several of our members. You may also want to order research letters from PGCA on your guns. At $40 each they are IMO a bargain. If there is no info available your check will be returned. There may be some valuable info there. Your hammer gun appears to be a D Grade (Grade 3) and the hammerless gun a V Grade which was the "entry level" Parker until the Trojan came along. Be assured, you have two valuable guns and you should get several opinions before selling them

Best Regards, George Lander

[Bill Murphy]

As James mentioned, there is no available information available from PGCA on these serial numbers. You must rely on us or someone else. Post pictures and we will do our best. A D Grade hammer gun with 5 pound barrels is a coveted gun among Parker collectors and shooters, especially if in high condition.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

I would like to thank everyone for the information and advice. My daughter has offered to take pictures of the guns in order for me to post them, which I will do as soon as I can figure out how.

These guns were dear to my husband. They belonged to his grandfather and father. They are in good condition but not in pristine condition as I am sure that they were well used.

[John Dunkle]

Hi Carolyn!

I just received your e-mail with some of your pictures - let's see if I can't figure out how to post them for you, OK??

Again - welcome to the forum!

John

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Thank you John so much. I can see that the pictures are not the best. Also, I didn't want to dismantle the Hammerless gun because when I did before, I almost didn't get it back together again.

Also you can see on the Hammered gun a name of F.H. Beach. I have no earthly idea who that is and didn't realize it was even there when I first inspected the guns. I know that will take away from the value.

Oh well, they are what they are.

Thanks again for your help and will look forward to any comments regarding them.

Carolyn

[Steve Huffman]

Carolyn ,Your hammer gun looks to be a nice gun might be a 10Ga. the only way way to get a honest price is have someone check thoes barrels Its hard to give a honest price from what we see. I would guess if the barrels are in shootable shape the bottom would be 1200.00 and I think that would be a fast sale.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Hi Steve,

According the information which I have gotten from the Parkerguns web site, it is a 10 gauge.

[Dean Romig]

Well Carolyn, that grade 3 ten-guage hammer gun looks to be in pretty nice condition. The lever is centered or a hair to the right, it appears to be on-face and doesn't appear to have been badly messed with. Providing the bores are decent and the wall thickness is sufficiently safe I would hazard the opinion of a minimum of $3000.

The VH on the other hand is probably worth considerably less than $1000.

[Mark Ouellette]

Carolyn,
I recently purchased (at auction) a Grade 3 two-barrel (2 seperate barrel sets and 2 foreends) 10 gauge Parker in very good condition. That transaction gave me a little knowledge of the market price for such guns. I agree with Dean that if all your late husband's Parker is in good to very good condition that it should bring $3k. At least that would be a good asking price. The gun market is like the stock market and for many brands of guns it is very low. Parkers have held much of their value but they can take much longer to sell. Also any flaws such as the name in the stock will lower the value. That stated if the name is of the original owner as documented by a research letter from the Parker Gun Collectors Association (PGCA which runs this site) then it MAY not lower the value. Collectors like "Provenance" of which the root word is PROVEN. A research letter will prove what we think or someone claims. It an owner of the gun was famous that bit of provenance may add value. Certainly Teddy Roosevelt's AH Fox is worth many times more a similar gun because it was Teddy's!

To purchase off the Internet I would need to see MUCH better photos. Those should be easy to obtain. When you have high resolution photos please post them to this site for pricing opinions. Remember one cannot sell a gun on this site. Once you have a good idea of it's worth post those photos and a good description of your gun you may post it for sale on the For Sale forum of the BBS (bulliten board) on doublegunshop.com A guy named Dave runs that site and ask for $10 per gun sale via the honor system.

Alternatively and probably a better idea would be to send it to George Lander (or a reputable and NATIONALLY Known gun dealer) and let him sell it for you. George will make a commision of perhaps 15% which is reasonable and you will receive as much as you would have if you sold it yourself. Why? Because if it is a nice and rare gun George may have collectors like me waiting for such a gun and ready to pay top dollar. Now it doesn't have to be George but he is a regular contributor to this forum (and this thread) and although I do not know him I always read his posts. It is my impression that he is fair and honest in his business dealings. Also, Kirby Hoyt of vintagedoubles.com has always treated me fairly. There is also Steve Barnett who my very "Shrewd" Parker collector friends have bought from and they say the same of him. So take your pick of reputable and NATIONALLY known gun dealers. Whatever you do DO NOT sell a highly collectable Parker via the local gun shop!!! Most are honest but some are not. Even with an honset local dealer chances are that a collectable gun will not sell for as much locally as it would fetch in a nation-wide Internet sale such as Steve, Kirby, or George would provide to you.

If I inherited a very collectable car I would serach for a Collector Car dealer of the reputation as George or Kirby have selling guns. What would I know of selling a 1953 Rolls Royce?

I hope this helps.
Mark

[Francis Morin]

Not that Mark needs my endorsement, both as a person of integrity as well as a brother Marine- but I'll do it anyway. Mark knows fine double guns, but he also donates his time and considerable talent as a photographer- many of our side-by-side SC events are captured on film or CD thanks to him, he does this gratis and deserves our thanks-

I spent last Saturday (17 July) with Mark and other brother PGCA members at the Lapeer shootfest- Mark does indeed have a fine Grade 3 10 with the matched barrel set- he also had a "special Non-Parker 12" bore I would love to own- if only there weren't a 10 Lindner Daly with Krupp barrels also waiting my bankroll-

One area where Mark and I may differ- I do NOT buy guns on any BBS or website- I may buy gun parts, books, shell boxes- I want to see the gun and shoot it- and the site Mark mentioned is a good site, thanks to owner Dave Weber- but you will get more of the "tire kicker" element- and you have to ship the gun (FFL) and offer an inspection period, plus your personal privacy could be compromised-

I recommended to you my personal friend George Lander, I have done business with him- he, like the other gentlemen Mark mentioned, is honest as the day is long- Have him consign your Parker(s) and be patient- One of many reasons I recommend George is that he is already a successful and well established realtor in SC- so there is no "panic button" if he doesn't sell a gun in order to make a bank payment-

We use this same principle in finding a guide in the West- if he has a good off-season job (carpentry, welding, auto mechanic, etc) he most likely won't be under financial pressure for his guiding income and will do a better job and be better company at eveningtide "Sundowners" time as well-

I think I may have met Mark's friend Kirby Hoyt at the MI Yooper shoot- he was handing a fine Churchill 12 bore XXV to Stephen Cobb while I watched- he offered the gun (broken open of course) to me- a fine gesture both in gun manners and as a dealer- I am about as likely to own a Churchill or a Purdey as I am to drive the 1953 Rolls-Royce Shadow Mark mentioned, but I still go to handle a "London Best"-- I tried very hard not to drool all over it- a true "Steinway of Shotguns" in my hands- Wow!!

I can't speak for the fotos, others here know that area better, nor can I for the PGCA Board of Directors, who have wisely ruled we should NOT sell our Parkers here- My guess, and mine ONLY, is that they wish to avoid the acrimony I have read on the For Sale posts at times on other sites that deal in gun sales-:bigbye::bigbye:

[Bill Murphy]

If you could post some clearer and closer up pictures of the receiver area, top, bottom, sides, we could give you a better idea of the value of the hammer gun. It looks like an exceptional example. The stamped letters on the stock are not of any consequence unless you try to remove them. It is hard to take pictures of the bores, but maybe someone could evaluate the bores for you.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Receiver area? Meaning where the bullets go in?

[Mark Ouellette]

Hi Carolyn,

This link is to a thread with photos on one of my Parkers. http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1821

Notice in the first photo the forend (top left), receiver (top right), and barrel flats.

The part of the receiver with the numbers and letters is call the watertable.

The watertable markings along with those on the barrel flats and recoil lug (part that extend downward from the barrel flats will tell us much about your gun. See 2nd photo.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/PARKER%20DH%2010%20GA/DH10GA_034.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/PARKER%20DH%2010%20GA/DH10GA_036.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p307/Chesador/PARKER%20DH%2010%20GA/DH10GA_101.jpg

Mark

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Mark, Thank you for your patience. I will try next week (with my daughter) to get these shots. I am afraid to take the Hammerless gun apart again for these shots because I almost didn't get it back together when I took it apart the first time for the engraved information. Is it normal for this particular gun to be difficult to re-assemble? The 'hook'? lock is different than the Hammer gun which has been easy to take apart and put together.

Carolyn

[Mark Ouellette]

Carolyn,

The recoil and barrel lugs (hooks) are different for these guns. Assembly requires knowledge of the proper mating of the barrels to the receiver. Don't worry about putting the gun back together. It would be shipped dissambled. The photos of the pieces are most important. You could shoot photos of the assembled guns before disassembling them.

Mark

[Bill Murphy]

The pictures I was suggesting are of the middle part of the gun where the triggers and hammers are. We need a clear close view of the condition of the engraving and screws that are rather unclear in the first pictures. Thanks.

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Bill,

I will try again next week for closer clearer pictures.

Carolyn

[Francis Morin]

Bullets are the shells fired in firearms with rifled barrels, such as rifles and handguns. Shotshells are fired in shotguns such as your two Parkers. You have been given some good suggestions by other members of the PGCA-perhaps I can help you overcome your concern about dis-assembly of the Vulcan hammerless Parker you have-

First off, the term hammerless is a bit of a misnomer- All firearms have hammers, as they do firing pins, triggers, sears and springs- all part of the "what makes it go Bang" mechanism--

The grade 3 10 has external hammers, which means each hammer is cocked by the shooter's hand, when the corresponding trigger is pulled, the sear releases it to fall against the firing pin that is housed in the receiver area behind the barrels- the pin goes forward, hits the primer of the shotshell and fires the shot- The gun can then br broken open with the top lever, fired shell(s) removed, new shells inserted, gun closed- process repeats itself--

The VH (Vulcan grade H -hammerless- Parker Code has the hammers with the firing pins as one piece inside the receiver, to recock the gun there is internal mechanism- on the Parker, there is a curved hook from the barrel lug (the larger center section found on the underside of the barrels) and when assembled, that mates into a cocking piece and slide that moves when the gun is broken open- if the hammer(s) are down, they will recock, if not, the gun will still open and close at the shooter's wish-

To dis-assemble the VH (or any other Hammerless Parker) first open and then close the gun, cocking the hammers- the forearm section will have a metal recessed half-circle style release, pull that up from its and the forearm will come free from the barrels- there is a lug or loop that a tongue engages from this design- it is spring loaded and designed to hold the forearm in position-

Move the top lever over to the right (counter clockwise) and swing down the barrels and lift them free from the receiver- That's it- re-assemble in reverse order- Now you have access to all the areas the other gentlemen have asked about- for more detailed pictures- they will want to see all the stamped lettering and numbers on the flat sections of the receiver (also called the watertable) and on the flats (undersides) of the barrels and also on the barrel lug(s)-- also, the serial number should be the same on the metal bar inside the forearm (called the forearm iron) as found on both the barrels (usually on a side of the lug) and also on the receiver watertable, and also engraved on the triiger guard bow where it is fastened to the buttstock

As with any fine mechanism, never use force- Parkers were all hand fitted, even the VH(E) and the Trojan grades- with proper care they should outlive all of us- best wishes for your mission to sell these "Old Reliables" in a manner favorable to your situation-:bigbye:

[Carolyn Kluttz]

Mr. Morin,

You will be pleased to know that following your precise directions, I was indeed able to easily dis-assemble and re-assemble my shotgun.

Thank you.

Carolyn

[John Dunkle]

Many thanks to all who have tried to assist Carolyn..!! As well - I'm posting these for her.. Many thanks!

John

[Mark Ouellette]

Thanks for posting the photos!