The pecking order of vintage shotgun valuation is in my experience----Condition first, bore size second, grade third, specs fourth, provenance fifth. If I was doing this as an investment (which I am not) I would buy 410 and 28ga near mint original condition Parkers in the lower grades and just hold them for 25 years. You MAY make a decent profit for your heirs but what the heck fun is that??
I will stick with buying the guns that interest me---it seems like much more fun.

Collecting Parkers always look for the unusual, the piece may not be pristine but the rarity as some have already spoke about will be what it is priced on! and on restoration I feel if the car is dirty wash it! Let everyone see what it looked like when near new. Gary

I believe in buying guns in as great a condition as I can find and afford. I also buy guns that I really like and will use. That way if the guns go up in value I have benefited monetarily. If the guns do not go up in value I still have a gun I cherish and take great pleasure in using to take game. Most likely I will never own a Parker higher than a D grade but that D grade will mean as much to me as the A, B and C grades some of you own. It is all in the eyes of the beholder.

Dennis

One difficulty with collectible guns is forgery. Winchesters and Lugers are notorious for being "Improved". Parkers - Not so much and with the paper trail available on many Parkers, frauds are more difficult. I had an acquaintance who had blank paper allegedly from the Cody Museum. He could "Letter" anything you wanted.

I would say those two things are pretty decent advice for collecting any gun thats in the thousands of dollars be it 1 thousand or 100 thousand !

My pop had a rather nice DWM WWI Luger someone had brought back after WWII and he got rather cheap when he was a kid !

Had the correct holster two seriel numbered mags with the wooden bottom knobs etc . And when I was about 18 or so he traded it for a signed Pennsylvania Rifle of about 1835-1845 vintage . What he got was okay !

But later I had thoughts of getting him another Luger to replace that one . After looking around for awhile and checking alot of the so called good Luger dealers I was scared to death to buy one of those things !

Education in ones desired field is priceless and the ability to get good info on something you're not up on from someone you can trust who is up on the item you're not is also priceless !

Mark
I completely agree with Craig and somewhat disagree with Gary. When you decide to sell a Parker you want the gun to be desired by the maximum number of potential purchasers. There are definitely those that seek rarity but many more that seek condition. I have a fantastic VHE 28ga that I feel is a great investment and also have a fantastic DHE 28ga , both in about the same 90% condition. The ROI on the DHE is better as there are more people looking for a graded gun than the VHE ,but the initial investment on the DHE was greater.
Importantly , I just treasure owning both guns and would not consider selling either. It is nice knowing the profit is there but if that is your main objective.
consider some MLPs, not Parkers
David

This is what I was thinking
I never buy with the thought of selling right away I buy them because I love what they are ,their history ,and just love to hold and look at them
But I like the thought that beyond all that they will go up in value in the long term so when they do go away their is value
So its like enjoy and make money in the long term
By the way all thanks for the valued thoughts ....

Mark

There's another small item alot of folks forget !

The ones that are here regardless of gauge , grade or condition are all that there will ever be !

Because they darn sure aren't making them anymore . Well unless you count Galazan or Remington's custom shop . But then if I'm not mistaken Galazan makes the Remington/Parker custom shop gun anyway !

Alotta folks like to piss and moan over the virtues of a Parker versus a Fox versus a Smith etc etc .

I would take them all hands down over a Jap Browning B-SS or a Beretta whatever etc etc .

Although David Dwyer is a friend and a nice guy, we can't forget that 90% DHE 28 gauges are only a very small part of Parker collecting. As Craig mentions in his last post, some (most) Parkers are all they will ever be, and are not high condition, high grade or small bore. Every day, more and more Parkers are getting into the hands of people who shoot them. They are also getting into the hands of people who appreciate them and take care of them. Think about it. I shoot a lot, but no Parker that is in my hands now will be shot to death by me or anyone else in the next one hundred years. My guns are mostly beaters and shooters, but they all have value, however small, and will be enjoyed by collectors forever. Very few of our guns will be lost in some widow's closet in the future. Any Parker that is "out" now will remain "out" in the future.