Seeking info on a Belgium made Parker

[Gregory Quinn]

A friend of mine inherited this SxS Parker recently.
It has double side locks on it and it's been in the family for many, many years.

We can't find hardly any info on it.
Here are the first set of basic questions we have.

The barrel is stamped "Steel Laminated barrel". Does that make this a Damascus barrel?
Can we shoot standard current production shells thru it, or is this designed for Black Powder shells only?
How can we tell the manufacturer date? We have pics of most of the proof marks and stampings on it.
Can somebody help me estimate the value of this shotgun for insurance purposes? We see that most Parker shotguns are very valuable, and we want to be sure it's insured properly.
I have some rather large high resolution pictures if you need a closer look at anything on the gun.

We have a few pics that I'll attach and a link to photobucket for all of the pictures.
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/11-16-11049Laminatestamp.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/Pictures11-16-11046.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/Pictures11-16-11038.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/Pictures11-16-11009.jpg
http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/Pictures11-16-11005.jpg

Here's a link to the whole set of pictures on Photobucket.
http://s671.photobucket.com/albums/vv72/gearchecker/Parker%20SXS%2012%20GA/

[Rick Losey]

Afraid to say the Belgium "Parkers" are not the American Parker of fame and often value.

Belgium gunmaker often put the names of quality guns on low quality guns to sell them.

as for safe for to shoot, that can only be determined by a carefull examination by a qualified antique gun experienced gunsmith. Few of these Belgium guns have value or would pass inspection.

[Brian Dudley]

These are typically regarded as "wall handgers" due to them commonly being in poor condition in all ways. They were not too high of quality and were considered Hardware store working guns in their day. Their fair market Value never really exceeds $300 and that is tops for one in excellent condition. Typically between 100 and 200 in fair condition. The most I have ever sold one for was 200.

[Ed Blake]

Thats known as a JABC, Just Another Belgium Clunker.

[Jan Bellamy]

Hi,
Is it correct to say there are only two legitimate marks for Parker Brothers shotguns?
1. Made by the Meriden Man'f C0. for Charles Parker
2. Parker Bros.

If more than these two, what would those be?

[Dean Romig]

Jan, there are several more identifying features of an authentic Parker Bros. or Parker shotgun but one needs to know where to look and what to look for.

Go to our home page and click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" button to start learning about features of the guns we hold dear.

[Jan Bellamy]

I have read the FAQs over.
There are no other marks on the shotgun or on any of its interior working parts than the single word "Parker" on the sides. It does have what appears to be a dougle Damascus barrel. We've been told by a gun collector that Parker Bros.' early shotguns had no serial number, but I've seen nothing in the general literature to support that claim.
Did the earliest Parker Bros. shotguns have no serial number?
Hard to believe, even if shotguns were a new product, the company had plenty of experience with rifles, didn't they?
I'd upload a picture from my desktop if I could figure out how.

[Ed Blake]

Parker Bros. never made rifles; however, a predecessor venture (Parker & Snow) made contract muskets for the Union army during the Civil War.

[Dean Romig]

Every Parker Bros. gun had a serial number from Parker No.1 onward.

Perhaps a certain "gun collector" is not as familiar with Parker Bros. guns as he would like you to think.

[Jan Bellamy]

Thank you for the serial number confirmation; sorry for the use of the term "rifle" instead of "musket" for the Civil War production reference.

[Ed Blake]

Not a problem, but they were rifled muskets.

[calvin humburg]

Triplette and Scott hummm