Roll stamped Grade 1 Lifter
 

Picked up a new to me 12 ga. Grade 1 lifter with the roll stamped sideplates. S/n 21697, 1881 date per the book, havent ordered a letter yet. 30 in. PT bbls., straight grip, bores .753, chokes .720 R, .723 L. Although the wood and metal finish is well worn, there are no anomolies apparent and most of the screws appear to be untouched. Action is tight and bores have the faintest frosting but no pits. Except for the finish wear, this is as close to an original condition unmolested Parker as I have been able to acquire. Be interested if anyone can shed light on the "5" stamped on the barrel flats. Havent seen that before. Have a flat of old Polywad 2 1/2 inch vintager #6 loads I will pattern it with, Haven't weighed it yet but it feels like an 8 lb gun.

I had one that the engraving looked quite similar except the one i had was a 10 gauge . Very nice .

That is a very fine example.

Wishful thinking on my part. The gun weighs 9 lbs. on a 2 frame.

Mike the 5 that you wonder about is actually this, Your barrel weight unstuck was 5lb 14oz, Gary

Gary, I would ordinarily agree, except I see what appears to be a half-struck 4 just under and to the left of the small 14, which I read as being 4/14 unstruck weight. The 5 is sort of out of place for that role. I'll have to weigh the barrels to see where they come in. If the finished weight is greater than 4/14, then your conclusion would probably be more correct.
Thanks for weighing in.

That 5 is a real stumper, and being an early 1880's gun we may always wonder what it is in reference to.





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No clue what that number might be, but I recognize a nice lifter when I see one.:bowdown:

Got a letter from Chuck--the gun shipped as a Quality U at $50 to an individual in Valley City, North Dakota in 1881. That was the bottom of the Parker Bros. line in the 1882 catalog, or Grade 0 according to TPS. The gun specifics are just as ordered and shipped. Interesting that they were putting roll stamped engraving and flat topped checkering on their bottom level guns at that time. Also the line engraving around the barrel breech appears hand done. As the TPS notes, you could have bought 3 Colt Peacemakers or 2 1873 Winchesters for the same money.

That's a great example of the grade! You did very well.





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