Need help with value

Speckle55

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Hi all I am new on here and have this 1875 Watson Bro's 12 g shotgun can you help with appraisal ..thanks David ..is there a site that does a panel appraisal

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Nice old gun. It is a decent quality British gun worth considerably more than American and Belgian guns made during that period for the American hardware trade. If I owned it I would check out selling prices for similar guns on auction sites. The twist barrels lower the value over fluid steel though they are probably still fine with light loads of the proper chamber length. I have seen similar quality guns go for $800- $1200 but get a lot of opinions before selling her.
 
Not agreeing or disagreeing on the price, but I do concur on the statement that it's a nice old gun.
But it's got ' That damned crack' on the wrist that plagues nice old doubles. That will sadly ( and likely IMO ) lower the value considerably.
Doubles don't age well that way, my father-in-law has a few that are nice...except for that crack.
But your's also has a dolls head, which is also very cool.
 
While nice, these old guns are a wolf in sheep's clothing. Price , to a degree, will be affected by what the buyer wants it for. Most people who are interested in these vintage guns for shooting/collecting, will bring them back to "life". Not too many will hunt with a vintage damascus gun in so-so condition. Right off the top there is already a cracked stock to contend with. A back action with a cracked stock already will surely lower value. The stock is probably a lot worse behind the lock plates. We have no idea of barrel wall thickness. If a person wants to refinsh the damascus to contend with the rust you are into it for another $500.00. There are other areas where money could also be spent on it without counting unforeseen things. So while many think these are nice guns that are worth a fair dollar because they are vintage English guns, in reality they are not in their given present condition. And if the gun is for wall hanger status, well most aren't going to pay a whole lot for that purpose.
 
In this area, shotguns are hard to sell and I would guess that yours would run maybe $400 on a good day. I sold a somewhat similar gun (different maker) last fall for $300 and that was a hard sell. The bores on the inside of mine were perfect and I rebrowned the barrels on the outside to show off the damascus patter. Shooting damascus guns is controversial but I feel that with black powder and lead shot, they are safe and for a knowledgeable person, can be loaded with low pressure smokeless loads. The key issue on smokeless is "a knowledgeable person"

cheers mooncoon
 
The above values by mooncoon are spot on in my opinion in it's present condition. In reality many of these are just tired old guns that need a fair buck spent on them to be revived.
 
You were seeking opinions of value so I will chip in mine.
Mooncoon was much closer at 3 to 400 than the 2 to 7 K that you suggest.
This gun has a long way to go in reconditioning to make it serviceable and presentable.
 
Spend $2500.00 on it and you might get $2500.00 back for it!! You might get a bit more if you try and sell internationally than $400.00 but you will have a lot higher cost involved to achieve that. You just can't list a gun and mail it to another country. Almost every country except the US and Canada have proof laws. So the gun has to pass proof in whatever country the buyer is in. No one is going to pay any money for an old gun that you cannot prove will pass proof in their country. The UK has recently changed proof testing and it is a lot harder for these guns to pass proof. In fact, in many of the countries with proof laws, a person can only sell a gun as deactivated if it is out of proof which means they bring next to nothing. But $2000.00 in its present condition. I'm afraid that's wishful thinking but hey, it's nice to dream.
 
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I shoot hammer guns and am always buying and selling them.
A Watson in good to very good condition would bring about $2,000 but that would be with no cracks, rust and minimal patina.
The benchmark I normally go to are my Westley Richards and Thomas Bland and Sons.
These two guns - a 10 gauge bar in wood ( W.R.) and a smokeless proofed 20 gauge ( Bland) are is super shooting shape, cased, and the bland is lettered.
Both are pre 1900 and both were right around $2,000.The barrels on both guns are excellent .
Fro the pictures yours is nice Speckle, but as Mooncoon and the others have sated, it would be a tough sell for $450.
As a collector it's not desirable, and as a shooter the crack will have to be repaired and the barrells and locks checked before that happens.
Cat
 
Just to replace the wood is over a $500 touch. The missing pin could be a challenge too. Sorry to say but in the present condition it is a wall hanger.
A couple of years ago I came into possession of a very old Remington double. The stock was busted right off. Value was in the 10's of thousands. But this one was absolutely worn right out, not even any usable internal parts. Traded it for a $40 bag of sweet carrots....
 
Just to replace the wood is over a $500 touch. The missing pin could be a challenge too. Sorry to say but in the present condition it is a wall hanger.
A couple of years ago I came into possession of a very old Remington double. The stock was busted right off. Value was in the 10's of thousands. But this one was absolutely worn right out, not even any usable internal parts. Traded it for a $40 bag of sweet carrots....
Are you speaking of the missing firing pin on the left side?
I thought it was missing as well, but it's just set in on the bottom picture- they are non rebounding and in the first picture it is protruding from the receiver.:)
Cat
 
tigrr;11321979[B said:
]Just to replace the wood is over a $500 touch.[/B] The missing pin could be a challenge too. Sorry to say but in the present condition it is a wall hanger.
A couple of years ago I came into possession of a very old Remington double. The stock was busted right off. Value was in the 10's of thousands. But this one was absolutely worn right out, not even any usable internal parts. Traded it for a $40 bag of sweet carrots....
More like in the area of a $3500.00 touch , give or take, if a person was to restock. That's figuring if you wanted a stock blank that would be in line of what should be on the gun. A plain Jane blah piece of wood of course will cost less but will be out of place. If at all possible, the stock should likely be repaired, refinished and recheckered. A lot less expensive but still a minimum $500.00 repair.
 
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