A question from a new forum member
 

I have a Parker doubel barrel manufactured in 1891. On the top of the frame just behind the barrels are stamped J.G. The J just behind the left barrel and the G just behind the right barrel. Can someone please tell me what they represent? It is a P Grade. Thank you

Hi Dave,
Please supply the serial number and someone will
supply you with basic indformation on your Parker.
The letter stamps you describe are not familiar to us.
Perhaps they are a previous owner's initials.

Dean, thank you for getting back to me. The serial number is 64220

Dave,
Your gun is listed as a 0 grade hammerless 12 gage with 30" plain twist barrels and a capped pistol grip stock made in 1890.

Thank you Larry for getting back to me. I agree with the 0 grade. It does have the vented rib and the serial number in every place I have looked said the #64220 was manufactured in 1891. It has wear but no abuse and has not been refinshed. I had it at Cabela's yesterday and after about a hour of inspection by Dan in there gun library he said that it was worth around $3000.00 because of the condition of it. Does that sound about right.

Thanks again.

Please post pics if you can. It would have to be in pretty darn good condition for an 0 grade (P) to be worth that much.

I agree that the letters on the receiver are most liley the owners initials. Most likely added by the owner. Are they punched? Or engraved?

An O grade gun would be a Vulcan grade gun in the hammerless model. A P grade gun is a grade 1 gun and the twist steel barrels would be an indicator of a grade 1 gun also. You say the gun has a vent rib. In 1890 Parker Bros. did not offer a vent rib gun so the rib must have been added later either by the factory or some other outfit such as Moneymaker or possibly Simmons. Although I am not sure if Simmons did vent ribs on double guns.Good quality picture would be a great first step in solving this mistery.

Dave,
I don't have my serialization book at home here but when I looked up that number today the code was PT which corresponded to a O grade with Plain Twist barrels. Did Parker make Vulcan barrels in 1890?

Larry, I just looked the gun up in the book and it is listed as PT. I think this is in error as the lowest grade gun advertised with composite barrel would be a P grade/Grade 1 gun. Vulcan barrels were advertised in 1899 but we know they were put on grade O grade guns as early as 1898.

I have 68805 it's listed as a PT 12 gauge with 30" barrels also. There is a P stamped on the watertable.

I

Plain Twist

We truly need pictures of this gun to identify it. A Grade 1 with an aftermarket rib and Twist barrels is not a $3000 gun, regardless of condition. Please post pictures or email them to someone who can post them for you. The "Serialization Book" chart on page 63 is in error when they describe the PT as a Grade 0. In the hammerless era, it is a Grade 1.