Serial number help

[Robert McDonald]

Hello and thank you for letting me join your forum! I’ve enjoyed browsing around while waiting for authorization to post.

About 12 years ago i purchased this shotgun from whom I believe is a reputable antique firearms dealer in the state of Maryland. I went to school with his son and I’ve known the guy for about 30 years. I thought it was really cool and still do. Some time after taking it home, I started looking up “Wells Fargo” shotguns, and as I’m sure you all know….theres a lot of fakes. And it’s hard to say if it is or it isn’t. There wasn’t a lot of consistency back then, I hear most of those guys would either buy their own weapons or the local branch would. We can definitely talk about the Wells Fargo aspect if you’d like, or not. I was told when I bought it that it’s a Parker, “the people who make board games now.” It also came with three cool Wells Fargo manifests/bills of laden that shows passengers on the coach, how many bags they had, how much they paid. Even who the driver was and how much he was paid. I have no idea how long this shotgun and those papers had been together. Probably just someone’s Wells Fargo collection? There was also a photo copy from a book showing a very similar shotgun, with a very similar repair done to it. I guess just to show that this is the way they would have done it back in the day? I’ve lost all of the paperwork sadly, because I had to hastily move. But I still have my shotgun.


I just went looking for information about the shotgun, like when was it made ect. Which brought me here. I can not find a serial number on it. Also, it says “Parker & Co” not Parker bro’s or C. Parker. So I’m wondering if it even is a Parker like you fine gentleman are into. The barrels measure 30 1/4 inches, and they’re stamped laminated steel. I was told it should be fine to shoot low brass bird shot out of laminated steel barrels, so I have fired it a couple of times and it’s really fun to shoot. Definitely feel like Jed Clampet with it. Any help you guys can give is much appreciated. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. I just wanna know what I’ve got. Thank you

[Robert McDonald]

Additional photos

[ArtS]

It is un fortunately a hardware store gun of some sort, to use a generic term. It was proofed in Belgium and made by one of many companies there who made low cost generic guns and often used names similar to Parker Bros or one of several high grade English guns marked with names such as W. Richards etc to try to increase their market price.

I would put no faith in the butt stock stamp. It uses a stamp of W F instead of Wells Fargo and is marked as simply Stage Depot without stating which one. I have never seen one marked as Stage Depot for a location, much less one which has no location. Everything I have ever seen is simply marked with some version of Wells Fargo.

These guns are often serviceable guns, but not built to the standards of finish and fitting of high grade guns. They should be checked by a qualified gunsmith who is familiar with composite barrel steel guns. Many will not recommend that any be used, so find someone who works on antique guns. He should check barrel bore condition and wall thickness, along with chamber size and general fit and condition. If you then decide to use it, stick to shells loaded to working pressures consistent with the black powder loads of the period or simply use moderate black powder loads. The chambers are likely 2-1/2" so it is more safe to shoot short reloads or new factory shells of the proper length loaded for these guns. RST is the most popular brand right now.

Guns such as this generally are referred to as "wallhangers" as their primary use is as a decorator piece. They are readily available for $100-150, especially with a broken stock. You can pursue information on the gun but I would hold little to no hope that it is real. Even then, it is a low grade gun with a broken stock and no provenance. If the documentation you had was original it was likely more valuable than the gun. If you get the gun OK'd to used by a gunsmith, it should be enjoyable to shoot and enjoy.

[Bill Murphy]

Robert, I have been buying guns in Maryland for nearly 70 years and am curious about the antique dealer you bought your gun from. Would you share his name with us?

[Robert McDonald]

Thank you for your analysis of my gun. What you’re saying checks out and I’m sure you guys are tired of people asking questions about their Belgium made shotguns. I still think it’s a very cool old shotgun. And someone took great care a very long time ago to “fix” the stock. Yeah it’s broken, but it’s very solid and I think it just gives it character. It’s honestly the nicest shooting shotgun I’ve ever fired, and I own many.

The gentleman I purchased it from is named Bill Shawley. He owned two shops 12 years ago. The collectors corner in st James, Md. which is still there. And the sharpsburg armory, now gone. It was in sharpsburg Md, about a mile from the Antietam battlefield. The building itself was history and beautiful. Gave off an art gallery vibe. This shotgun was proudly displayed like art really. There weren’t a lot of guns at this shop. Just his best stuff. I’d like to think that Bill didn’t know it wasn’t a real Parker. Hell of a nice guy.

[ArtS]

You didn't show a lot of pictures but one question I had would be .. is there a rib engraving? Someone knowledgeable may be able to tell from a rib engraving who the original marketer may have been. Most US dealers had some sort of catchy name applied to the gun for sales reasons. The thing I noticed was that the gun had post 1893 Belgian proofs and post 1887 British proofs. My guess is that it was made post 1893 in Belgium and then was reproofed (which was required in England for an import) somewhat later in England. I don't think this would occur with an American hardware gun, so I suspect it was made for the British market originally. It was likely marketed as a British Parker, later being sent to the US,

See this thread for some additional reading:

https://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29327

[Robert McDonald]

The only marking on the rib says laminated steel.

[ArtS]

My guess was that it is a Belgian gun made for a jobber in England and marked as Parker as an advertising ploy.

[Robert McDonald]

Yeah, I’ve tried my best to find any other firearms made by “ Parker & co” on the Internet. I got nothing. I’ll have to look up the British proof marks when I get a chance. Thank you for all the information. I bought this gun because i’m a fan of history and the old west. It really bothers me that some people would fake things just to rip somebody off. I was hoping that maybe some branch of Wells Fargo ordered this thing through the mail or from a local hardware store and just had it at the depot for security. I’ll never be able to prove or disprove that. And it’s not even a Parker. This shotgun was the crown jewel of my “western gun“ collection because of its age and alleged history. I was like 28 years old when I bought it. I would like to think I would exercise more due diligence today. I definitely didn’t question it enough. It was practically in an antique firearms museum lol. A simple search for Wells Fargo shotguns though would have given me pause, had I done it. I think I’ll take your advice and get some 2 1/2 inch shells and just enjoy it for what it is. A cool old shotgun.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Robert, a few years ago Louis Parker wrote an article for our Parker Pages and it was about marshal Parker Bros shotguns and included some info on Wells Fargo & Co. If you go into the archives on this site you can find the article and glean some info. I don't remember which issue it was in but I think it was 2022 or 2023?