As a former Bloomington Gold and NCRS judge, I can speak to the point made by Brad regarding Corvettes. A Vette restored to typical factory production condition is always worth more, a lot more, than a worn out unrestored example; except in very, very limited circumstances. Interestingly, "survivors", as they are called in the Vette world, have only been recognized in the last 10 years or so. Probably because so many Vettes had been restored there were not many unrestored cars left! For an unrestored Vette to be worth as much as a restored Vette it would have to be 90% original and have near perfect original paint. Very difficult to find in a 40-50 year old auto.

Some like restored guns some don't---there is room for both in our hobby. The restorers will never convince the leave it original crowd to like restored guns and vise versa. So if you want to properly restore a gun---have at it and have fun----just realize that not everyone will be impressed or like the finished product regardless of the quality of the craftsmanship.

The Mona Lisa, Statue of Liberty, Washington Memorial, Mount Rushmore and many others have all had restoration work done. Their Value.....PRICELESS. (when done by competent restoration artists).....

[QUOTE=Mark Ouellette;114642, the owner of the Invisibles could have them turned into lamps if they chose.]

I have NEVER seen an Invisible Parker, IF they made lamp shades would you only see the shade???:biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::b iglaugh::biglaugh:
Sorry Mark I couldn't resist your typo:duck:

I don't think I would ever restore a original gun in high condition. but most of the beaters I see these days are begging for it, theres no shame in saving a old gun. and besides its fun.

This is one of the most interesting threads I have read on the forum since I became a PGCS member. I think a Parker is one of the best examples of American manufacturing craftsmenship from the late 1800's and early 1900's. A $150 1890 C grade Parker compares very favorably when layed next to far more expensive European doubles. I think, when the restoration is done using the original wood and metal on the gun, no historical significance is lost!!! If the specimen restored was in such a rough condition that wood and metal components need replacement, that is fine too. Just be ethical if you are doing it for monetary purposes and disclose what has been done and why. IMHO.

Rich, that is probably the most perfectly refinished Parker I have ever handled. It almost had me fooled completely.

Guys they don't make them anymore! I have a Parker lifter 10 gage with some issues but mechanically it's all there. It's an 1878 with the keyed forend and beautiful fiddle back wood. The back end is about 70% and I plan to have Kirk Merrington work the barrels over only to the point of making it shootable. It is not going to ever be an as new restoration only enough to bring it back to 100 year plus old character marked rarity. Lee.:bigbye:

Thats exactly why a little TLC will keep them around and serviceable for another 100 years.

Unfortunately, I agree with everything that's been said. Let me change or ask a slightly different question. Assuming the restoration was done correctly (and this is a big open assumption), if you were to purchase the gun, how would you value the gun?

For example, is the restored gun 50% of a similar gun (grade, barrel length, stock, etc) in 90% condition?

Thanks
Ken