I traded an elderly guy at work for a Parker 12Ga side by side. I had the serial numbers run it came back with a manufacture date of 1885. It has 32" barrels, and engraving all over the reciever. The stock is very fancy and I suppose it would have been their high grade or whatever they called it back then. A local gunsmith looked it over and said he would classify it as %90 - %93 condition, but that he didn't deal with shotguns enough to appraise it's value. To me it looks almost new, and I'll probably never shoot it due to the damascus barrels, but I was wondering if it had any value? If nothing else, it will sure look nice in an oak presentation case hanging on the wall in my living room.

thanks,
George

hi,parkers are one of the most collected shotguns out there.we need more information,there are around 12 different grades and different forearm types,shapes,wood type and different models.the trojan was introduced around 1912 ish.just for example,model trojan,12ga. 10% cond. $500.00 top of the line trojan 28ga,a-1 special grade in 70%,$90,000.these are fully engraved and only 320 were made so don't get happy yet.it is worth getting a real appraisel from some one who really knows what they are looking at.blue book of gun values will get you close but i would still advise on the apprasiel

I thought so. The guy I took it to does a lot of appraisels for old rifles, and he was able to run down the serial number and came back with a manufacture of 1885, but he had no real idea what is was worth since he did not deal much with shotguns. He did say that "if it were a rifle" he would class it as about %90 condition, but once agin, he doesn't know shotguns, so they may be looked at differently. The model I have is FULLY engraved with the only exception being the barrel which only has a small amount of engraving on the rib between the barrels. The forearm tapers down to almost nothing and has a metal cap on the end which is also engraved. The metal part where you lift to remove the forearm is engraved and marked "patent 1878" The trigger guard is also engraved, and the buttstock has a dog on the butt plate. One thing I just noticed today which would bring the value down considrably I'm sure is that one of the hammers was replaced with one that is slightly different than the other. I will take it to an appraiser someday, but i was just curious if it was worth the Ruger M77 I traded the guy for it. I'm sure it is. Mainly I just wanted it to hang on the wall.

Thanks guys,
George

if you want,i will see what info i can find out for you with the discription from your second post.i would guess you got the better end of the deal.and there are parts out there to bring it back to orig. cond.

sounds good to me, as far as I know the only thing less than pefect is that one of the hammers has ben changed and is slightly different than the other. I'll post some pictures of it as soon as I get my film developed, as my digital bit the dust a while back.