Parker CHE

[Donnie Reels]

I have added some pictures on my first post on page one... Thanks for all of you guys help..

[Harry Reed]

Here is my concern. In your post, you indicate the gun is factory original. That is key to the upward value. I am not that good of a Parker collector to say whether it is or is not factory original finishing from the photos. I mention this because that is where all firearms get their upper value. They are original. You have come to the correct place. There are folks on this site with knowledge about Parkers we could only wish to know. I am sure they will help you out with this. Better photos of the Parker would help evaluate. If it is a local dealer I would take more photos and post. Barrel markings and water table photos. If the dealer will not allow you to take photos, beware!!! IMHO $15k is tops.

[Ray Masciarella]

Bruce hit the nail on the head. For reasons unknown to me, It seems case color is everything when it comes to Parkers, and to answer Craig's question, a Parker with 40% case color cannot be a 90% gun, at least according to those who rate Parkers. The originality of other components plays a factor but more to the downside rather than the upside. I could never figure out why a Parker with stocks/barrel 90% but only 40% case colors is a 40% gun?!? Anyway, that's life.

[Bill Murphy]

Although it has been mentioned that our feerless leader, Bill Mullins, wrote the Blue Book entries, readers must read all of those entries. There are many caveats and exceptions that have to be taken into account. The supplied pictures of the gun in question are like looking at collector postage stamps through a soda straw. Better pictures with enlargement capability would help us a lot to appraise the gun.

[Donnie Reels]

I will try to put better pic on Monday guys.. I just like to make sure I don't overpay for the gun... Thank all of you for your time..

[edgarspencer]

The scalloping off the frame suggests it's an early gun, so I wonder why the trigger guard looks so black and shiny. The colors on the trigger plate seem a bit bright. Pretty hard to tell from the size of the images.

[Harry Reed]

Would an early C have fluid steel barrels?

[Bruce Day]

Lots and lots of speculation and conjecture. Nothing surpasses studying and knowing The Parker Story, studying many Parkers, looking over guns carefully in person and in natural light, and in knowing what to look for, particularly for costly guns.

Most Parker collectors that I know start carefully with lesser grade and lesser cost guns and gradually move up. If a person doesn't have the knowledge himself, then I recommend having a good mentor who does.

In response to the questions above, yes early C's could be ordered with Titanic barrels, but study TPS and look at Parker catalogs. Some late guns had deep frame sculpting and I have posted photos here before of such guns side by side with early ones. Photos are notorious for providing inaccurate case colors. Flash, color saturation, lighting, etc. can lead to inaccuracies. Nothing beats examining the gun yourself in diffused natural light and waiting to draw conclusions.

The last annual meeting we had in Louisville had a theme of C grades and some fantastic guns were on display. I am mainly a C collector and was asked to and did give a presentation on C's which might have been interesting for participants here.

[Donnie Reels]

Thanks for the info guys. Yes I do have some Parkers that cost less. I have always wanted and looked for a C grade with steel barrels and straight grip. I found this one so that is why I am here asking for info on C grades. Yes if I had the gun in hand well then it would be easy! but I live in Kentucky and the gun is in Texas. Thought you guys could look at it and now more than ever will. Yes the # match on the gun. The gent said the checkering was most likely recut some time back.

[Chris T.]

It may be worth mention that this gun is made without a safety too. I looked at this gun when it went up for sale a few weeks back, if I had the $15k it would be in my safe already. It looks right to me, excellent condition, straight stock with skeleton butt plate, safety delete, all it needs to be perfect is another 2" of barrel.