Armi Poli Shotguns

[Vash101]

I've just dug these two shotguns up in a friends basement while helping him move and we're trying to get an idea of what they're worth. I can find absolutely no information on them on the internet. They don't have model numbers or names anywhere on the guns. They just have the company name and the manufacturer location on them. I went to the Armi Poli website and was able to find very little about them.

All we know is that they are Armi Poli and have the markings "Accioaio Vickers Gardone VT BS"

Any help figuring out what they might be worth would be appreciated.

 

[Sharptail]

Vash101, those are a couple of interesting game guns. The first gun pictured looks like a quality piece, with Kersten bolting system and Beretta - like barrel shoulders. The second gun (double triggers) looks very similar to the Sabatti design. (After apprenticing at Sabatti and Zoli, Paolo and Battista Poli bought an existing firm in 1966 and founded their own company).

Poli guns have gradually increased in quality and price since their inception. Today, Poli makes boxlock SxS's and U/O's and a very sweet little hammer gun, all as custom order guns. While far from the most expensive of the Italian custom gunmakers, Poli's products are of good quality and craftsmanship.

It would be helpful to know when these guns were made. There should be a date code on the barrels. You can decipher the date code with the table found here:

http://www.gundata.net/italiandatecodes2_arms.html

"Acciaio Vickers Gardone VT BS" translates as Vickers Steel, from Gardone, Val Trompia, Brescia.

I am of little help with their worth, but guns of this type are a little depressed in value at this time due to their inability to shoot steel shot and the lack of interchangeable choke tubes. Nevertheless, Poli is a good name. The guns are generally well balanced and a pleasure to shoot. For the hunter who does not need steel shot, these arms can be a real find.

To estimate the value of the second gun, I would search for the price of Sabatti U/O field guns of the same era, and then add $100 - $200 to reflect the better engraving and finish. The sideplated, straight gripped gun should bring a little more, but I wouldn't want to guess at how much.

Sharptail