New Member, Arizona, Inherited a few Parkers

[Nick Visokey]

Hello All,

My grandfather passed away and left me several Parker Brother shotguns (along with TONS of other stuff). Local gun place came by to appraise it all, and at least get me ball park values and there is one that is tricking us all. It is 1902 Parker Brothers 12g double barrel shotgun, SN 115543. There was another one that didn't have any engraving that he valued at ~2000ish, but this one we can't nail down. People are saying anywhere from 4-12k, so figured this would be the best place to get more info on what exactly it is, and a reasonable ball park range.

The other parker was very little engraving but gorgeous wood work, but it was not factory, so he said not that valuable at all.

Photos

https://imgur.com/a/izA9Uuv

[Steiner]

It's a Grade 3 (D) hammerless 12 gauge with 28" Titanium barrels and no extras per the serialization book. Looks like a lovely family heirloom. If it's original even the low end of $4-12k seems a bit optimistic barring some unforseen circumstances.

[Craig Larter]

Grade DH nice looking gun. It appears the barrels and trigger guard have been reblued. The gun has no case color showing externally. Have a gunsmith with knowledge of vintage SXS's check the barrel wall thickness and insure it is mechanically sound and in shootable condition. Then take it out and shoot it with 1oz loads less than 1200fps. A wild guess of value is $2500. assuming it is safe to shoot.

[Bruce P Bruner]

Some of the most important aspects of valuation are:
Original unaltered condition.
How much vibrant case color remains?
How is wood finish?
What are the bores like?
Is the gun tight or off face?
Barrel blue?
Trigger guard blue?
Nicks and dents.
This list goes on and on.
Frame size.
Barrel length.
Gauge.
If a gun has just honest wear from use it isn’t a bad thing other than the depreciation factor.
Based on the photos of the subject gun these questions come to mind:
Is the wear consistent on the remaining wood finish, frame, barrels and trigger guard?
The deep blue on the trigger guard may be too nice in relationship with the diminished furniture finish and silver frame.
My evaluation is based on what I see in the photos and my opinion shouldn’t detract from your pride of ownership from this family heirloom.
The value to you probably shouldn’t be judged in dollars, possessing your grandfather’s Parker shotgun is priceless.
Collectors go ‘round and ‘round about every minute little detail, it’s just what they do. A perfect example shows no actual use and wears no history.
If I inherited a Parker shotgun I would be absolutely ecstatic! Enjoy the shotgun and pass it down to your family.

[Nick Visokey]

Originally Posted by Bruce P Bruner

Some of the most important aspects of valuation are:
Original unaltered condition.
How much vibrant case color remains?
How is wood finish?
What are the bores like?
Is the gun tight or off face?
Barrel blue?
Trigger guard blue?
Nicks and dents.
This list goes on and on.
Frame size.
Barrel length.
Gauge.
If a gun has just honest wear from use it isn’t a bad thing other than the depreciation factor.
Based on the photos of the subject gun these questions come to mind:
Is the wear consistent on the remaining wood finish, frame, barrels and trigger guard?
The deep blue on the trigger guard may be too nice in relationship with the diminished furniture finish and silver frame.
My evaluation is based on what I see in the photos and my opinion shouldn’t detract from your pride of ownership from this family heirloom.
The value to you probably shouldn’t be judged in dollars, possessing your grandfather’s Parker shotgun is priceless.
Collectors go ‘round and ‘round about every minute little detail, it’s just what they do. A perfect example shows no actual use and wears no history.
If I inherited a Parker shotgun I would be absolutely ecstatic! Enjoy the shotgun and pass it down to your family.

It was a gun that was part of my grandfathers estate, not his shot gun. He owned a pawnshop for 40+ years. It was just left over "junk" inventory from when it shut down 30+ years ago. Has no link to the family any more than the hundreds of other rifles or junk he had left over from shutting it down. I'm flooded with guns, guitars, coins, stamps, and all sorts of stuff you would see at a pawn shop that operated from 1945-1990 or so. Zero sentimental value on it.

It sat in a safe in the leather case for the past 30+ years untouched and even long at the store when it was pawned back in 1972 or so.

[Phil C]

Nick if you are in Tucson I would be happy to look at your Parkers. Sometimes the local shops can be giving you an appraisal for insurance purposes which many times are far from what they can be realistically expected to be sold for.
Let me know if I can help.
Phil

[ArtS]

Nick

You are probably aware, but if you have a lot of guitars that were in a pawn shop and haven't been on the market in 30 years, you should have someone knowledgeable look at them. With them, sometimes a terrible looking guitar is highly sought after. The market has gone up incredibly over that time,some to prices that will be exceeded by only the highest grade Parkers.

[Nick Visokey]

Originally Posted by Arthur Shaffer

Nick

You are probably aware, but if you have a lot of guitars that were in a pawn shop and haven't been on the market in 30 years, you should have someone knowledgeable look at them. With them, sometimes a terrible looking guitar is highly sought after. The market has gone up incredibly over that time,some to prices that will be exceeded by only the highest grade Parkers.

Guitars I have are a lot like this shot gun. Had several shops look, and got values from 4-10k. Much like this weapon. Still getting values anywhere from 2200-6k for this shot gun.

I'm in Mesa, and it is currently at AJI for display. We don't care about insurance purposes, as it will be liquated, but we must figure the value as part of clearing it out, and I didn't want to take these crazy 1000-2000 offers if it really was worth 5k+.

Now the other one that I got looks 10x better, but because it was refinished/ all new wood, and whoever did it did a great job. But it is a base base model so that made it less desirable. If I was going to keep one, it would be that one.

[Phil C]

Nick, a very respectable shop in your area is William Larkin and Moore. They specialize in double guns and might be your best bet for someone to provide you with a realistic idea on value.
The problem with anyone giving an estimate is there are varying degrees of expertise, and knowing what to look for in originality as well as functionality which is critical. Also knowledge of what the current market is doing.
When you get estimates between $2200 and $6,000 you realize some of the people doing the estimates are just guessing.
As Bruce points out there are many things to consider when putting a fair value on any vintage gun.

[Nick Visokey]

Originally Posted by Phillip Carr

Nick, a very respectable shop in your area is William Larkin and Moore. They specialize in double guns and might be your best bet for someone to provide you with a realistic idea on value.
The problem with anyone giving an estimate is there are varying degrees of expertise, and knowing what to look for in originality as well as functionality which is critical. Also knowledge of what the current market is doing.
When you get estimates between $2200 and $6,000 you realize some of the people doing the estimates are just guessing.
As Bruce points out there are many things to consider when putting a fair value on any vintage gun.

Thank you. Looks like they have a bunch of them there. I contacted them. They should be good and are not that far from me.