Dollar Grade Gun
 

Need some help figuring this gun out. Grade, and value.
I've owned this one about 30 years now. Came to me from Chaddicks.
It's a 30" 12 gauge. Dimensions are very good at: 14" LOP, 1 3/4" DOC and 2 1/8" DAH
Herchel thought it was a "B", which we know it isn't. Oscar Gaddy thought it was a $250 Grade based on the tear drop inside the tear drop on the bolsters.
Once I get this one sorted out, I will be onto a 16 Ga project.
Here's some pics:
Attachment 114202

Attachment 114203

Attachment 114204

Attachment 114205

Attachment 114206

More pics:
Attachment 114207

Attachment 114208

Attachment 114209

Attachment 114210

Attachment 114211

2 more:
Attachment 114212

Attachment 114213

Wow. Hershel would like to have that one back. I would like to have it also. What a great gun.

What’s engraved on the shield. Beauty BTW

Based on what I see, it appears to be a $250.00 grade. Not quite a $300.00 grade due to lack of necessary engraving. A worthy project for refurbishing and chasing the engraving.

Do you have a PGCA letter on this gun? If not, you should get one. This may very well be an "in-between" gun - one that was ordered out as a demo or "teaser" gun to show what could be done on the higher grade guns, especially by special order.

I once owned a 10 ga. 32" lifter gun in the 135XX range that was clearly above a $200 Grade gun but also not quite a $250 Grade gun. A careful search of the Parker record books revealed that it was an "embellished" $200 Grade gun (e.g., a bona fide "$225 Grade" gun) that had been sent to a high-volume CO dealer for display at his store for prospective customers desiring a high grade Parker Gun. It was massive 4-frame gun weighing in at just under 12 pounds. It was also incorrectly identified as a B Grade gun.

The gun was manufactured in 1878 and wound up in an estate sale in MO in the late 1940s; I purchased it from an heir of the man who bought it at auction in 1947. According to him, they used it to hunt cornfield pheasants in MO and IO routinely using 2 7/8" 10 ga. smokeless powder shells up through the 1970s, ignoring the Damascus barrels. The gun won the Best Original Hammer Parker Gun at the Concours d' Elegance of Fine Guns at The Vintage Cup, Orvis Sandanona, September 22, 2001.

I'd call it a $200 quality gun, maybe a $225 QUALITY, or the predecessor to a B grade or grade 5.





.

Beautiful gun, thanks for sharing!

I believe it is a $200 grade gun. I own a gun with a serial number 6xxx and the stock is stamped with the serial number and a 6 (for the grade) under the trigger guard. It might be worth a try to check yours to see if it is stamped.