Two Barrel Sets
I usually stay away from appraisals, as per my "oath of office" but I will offer some guidance here.
About 15 years ago I found a CH two barrel, two gauge, two grade set. I thought that I had the most difficult set to find so I began seeking two barrel set guns. I soon found an interesting GH that had a full pound difference in weight( 30 vs 28) but had precisely the same balance point.
The next was a big surprise; I bought a lifter that appeared to be an early live bird gun from a major dealer. There was no mention of a second set of barrels in the ad or on the phone call. When I opened the box there were two barrel sets of same length and weight.
I paid a premium for a two gauge two barrel DH from an ad in Gun List 10+ years ago.
I found a dandy two barrel set G lifter at Baltimore about 7 years ago.
Altogether I had grade 1, 2GH , 2, 3DH and 4CH two barrel sets. Two were two gauge sets, and two were two grade sets.
The DH two gauge set was the only two barrel set that I paid a premium in price. This premium was associated with the 10 ga barrel, which appearred to never have been mounted or fired. When PGCA research letters became available I found that the 10 gauge barrel was the original; the 12 ga barrel was fitted, and the 10 ga barrel rebrownd about 5 years after the gun was originally delivered.
The serialization shows original two barrel sets but can only show 1 barrel length, grade and gauge. The CH is a two gauge, two grade(B4 D4) set. The serialization showed the D4 length for the B4 barrel.
If I follow the philosphies presented on this forum correctly, most prospective buyers will walk past a a 2 barrel set because it cannot be instantly verified as original. I would be very careful in paying a premium for a two barrel set, as only a small number of collectors will risk purchase of two barrel set that cannot be instantly verified from the serialization.
Best, Austin
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