#1351 questions & issues

[Scott Boal]

Hi everybody -

I'm a newcomer to the forum living near Seattle and would value your insights and best thoughts. You've hear this story many times before: I inherited a Parker Brothers gun years ago and am now in the process of "lightening the load" as life progresses.

The inherited gun is #1351 which I understand from the forum is a pretty low serial number. If you look at my album Parker #1351, you can see that it is a beautiful gun - as all Parkers are, really - but that it has a nasty broken stock. The triggers are broken; the right trigger works fine but the left trigger won't hold. It appears to me that the only missing parts are the triggers and two pieces of the stock. The buttplate has some rust. The barrels look "cleanish" but not mirror-like.

I don't have the family story that would make this gun an heirloom for my next generation. So here are my concerns.

I'd like the gun to eventually go to a good home where it can become a family heirloom or a featured spot in a display. But is best to pay for some level of restoration and then sell OR sell to a collector first as is and let him/her restore as desired? I have done nothing to it so far because I understand both the value of patina and the danger of bad restorations.

I'm also prepared to learn that this is NOT a valuable gun and that I should just forget about it. But please give me your thoughts and perspectives as I try to honor the history and builders of this gun.

Scott