Parker time capsule - 1968
 

I recently purchased an old copy of Peter Johnson's book; Parker...America's Finest Shotgun. On the inside cover, a previous owner had scotch taped 2 classified ads from The Shotgun News dated Sept 1968 featuring some very desirable Parkers.

Makes me wonder, did he purchase these great guns and where are they now almost 50 years later...

Back then I had a good paying job in a steel mill in Pittsburgh paying about $25/day, my rent was 85/month for a three room apt, with utilities included. $785 for a DHE sounds good today but back then it would have been a lot of money.

In 1968 I sold my 1965 GTO hard top with tri-carb, and a close-ratio Muncie for $1,200. and I was making $1.55/hr.






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Today my wife & I have 52 years of marriage under our belts, in late 1968 I bought our first new car a 1969 Chevy Camaro Z28 paid $3464.00 for the car. Most of the time I worked two or three jobs just to get ahead (which never happened). Now at nearing 71, I wouldn't want to do it over but I would do it with her.

I just did an inflation calculation off of google. $875 in 1968 equals $6,105 in 2016. So, though $875 seems very low in the ad it was quite a sum of money.

Forget the prices, what really astonished me were the seller's addresses. :shock: "Key is under the mat if we're not home."
My, how times have changed.

Not in any way to hijack the thread but I was up at Julias cataloging last week and cataloged a large collectible sporting shotgun paper collection that is in the April sale. Included in the lot were copies of letters from Larry Del Grego dated 1976 discussing the authenticity of the famous John Lee Pratt Parker A1 special. Del Grego was paid $150 (3 hours at $50 each) to inspect and appraise the gun. He valued the gun at $25,000 at that time.

Times have changed!!! In many ways....

Further to not hijacking this thread. I was sorting through some old pictures from maybe 20 some years ago. Ran across a picture of a (the?) B grade .410, laying on a sellers table, (Beinfeld's) with a hang-tag on the trigger.
That would have been a good one to scoop up, back then, but so was Las Vegas real estate.


Edited to prevent further embarrassment.
:shock:

I'm confused.... what is a "B grade A-1 Special"???






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I'm sorry. Brain fade B grade .410.