Shotgun authentication
 

I am trying to identify this shotgun and verify its authenticity. The serial number is 52791, the barrel is marked Parker Brothers Makers, Meriden Conn. Laminated Steel. It is a double barrel and has 20" barrels. I would attach pictures but it is not letting me.
Thank you in advance
Tim Davis

should be a 12ga top lever hammer gun with 30" laminated barrels

with a capped pistol grip stock

by then laminated steel barrels were used on a variety of grades - so you will need to get some pictures up to let us determine the actual grade

Attached are some photos of the gun

looks to be grade 1

missing a hammer and cut barrels with fake badge added for show - sorry, not a lot of value there unless its sentimental

there are records for a letter - but i would be very surprised if you found it was shipped to Wells Fargo

Likely just another faked WF&Co gun.

Of there are even any real ones out there….

That's an interesting thread. Thanks for the tips

If anybody needs a Wells Fargo badge for their gun, there are a bunch for sale on EBay or Etsy . Some are available with the extra special agent designation , others show a stagecoach for authenticity.

There's one of these at every gun show, it's ashame they make them out of decent guns like Parkers sometimes.

Ive seen exactly one authentic Wells Fargo gun in all my running around. It was a low end Belgian hammer gun with only a small WF & Co. die stamped into the stock. But it came with a clearly authentic receipt where it had been purchased during an equipment deaccession from Wells Fargo.

This was long before the heavy faking days of Western Americana.

It lost the hammer during an attempted robbery.

Can we be sure this isn’t a Parker factory butt shield? The shape is identical to the shield on the wrist and the screws are timed. The patina looks like it could be from riding around on the stagecoach floor boards. The 20” bbls could be WF original. It would have saved the company $1.50 to hack off the 10” instead of paying Parker Bros to do it. Just some thoughts on how my brain would justify buying this gun. Tim if you like the gun and the money is right buy it. Bottom line is it’s a Parker and through no fault of its own, exists in its present glory. I would get thourghly checked out before I ever shot it though. Stagecoach life can be rough on a gun.
P.S. … Join the PGCA

Mike I think you need to compare the shields again

Any shields Parker had put on the side of the buttstock that I have seen that have been authenticated were inlaid into the wood and blind rivets were used, not screws.
But I know Mikes comments were said “tongue in cheek.”





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I've seen $3 bills more authentic than that gun.

It's an authentic Parker Bros. shotgun. Just maybe not in original condition.

Dean, you haven’t seen some of the guns I’ve bought.

How about any one of us! We all have that one gun!

That gives me a measure of comfort. Thank you