William Powell & Son SXS 12 g made in 1910. Value

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niacbob

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Hello
My brother-in-law has a 12G SXS William Powell & Son that his father purchased in 1950-53 when he was stationed in London. An email to William Powell gave a brief history of the manufacturing details and who it was made for 1910. Gun has been very lightly used. A local gunsmith rated it as excellent for its age and very little sign of wear. The butt stock is slightly loose and needs tightened. My brother-in-law is not a shooter and wants to know who he can contact to put a value on the gun. He lives on Vancouver Island.
The range of asking price for the ones listed on the internet is very wide.
Does anyone know who would be a resource person he could contact?
Tks
Bob
 
Bob, if you can manage it, post some pictures of the gun. Pictures showing the stocks, engraving etc plus the stampings on the barrels and actions are very important. There are some knowledgeable and honest people on here that could assist. if you cant figure out the picture thing, send me a private message and I can help you out.
 
dilly said:
Bob, if you can manage it, post some pictures of the gun. Pictures showing the stocks, engraving etc plus the stampings on the barrels and actions are very important. There are some knowledgeable and honest people on here that could assist. if you cant figure out the picture thing, send me a private message and I can help you out.
Click to expand...

This.....with the added caveat of don't look to the US market for a price. It's a different market that values older SxS differently.

EDIT TO ADD. Powell made a lot of different quality guns over a fairly long period of time. So to arrive at any kind of an estimate we need to see good pictures to do two things......assess the original quality level of the the gun....was it a best sidelock? a keepers boxlock? ....and then arrive at an evaluation of the current condition.

With those two judgments made I have a data base of thousands of English guns sold at American auction. Real prices...not someone's asking. From that I can infer what a likely price range for sale in Canada might be. But without pictures, it's pointless for any of us to try to answer your question.

A maker like Powell could easily have a legitimate range of prices now from under $1000 to over $10,000 in the US market, based on original quality and current condition.
 
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Thanks for the offer to help.
I am looking into posting pictures now.
William Powell & Son has sent a copy of their production record for this shotgun and I have asked him to scan and send it to me so that I can post it.
Thks
Bob

These photos were taken to send to William Powell & Son to get more information from them. The shotgun was cleaned with oil and a soft cloth. It has been in a closet for the last 30 years. Bore looks good. I can take more detailed photos on request.
The brass overlay on the but stock is interesting. First thought it was a repair, and it may be, but the person from William and son wasn't sure it was a repair or just a special request to protect the weak section of the stock. May well be a repair as the checkering goes under the brass. The information sheet from the manufacturer should be available to me tonight and I will post it when I receive it. tks Bob




 
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Initial observations from these pictures....
A basic quality boxlock, probably made in the trade.
The stock is pinned as well as being plated, definitely broken or badly cracked.
External pitting evident.
Various dents and scars on the stock.
Maybe heel and toe plates?
Probably 2 1/2" chambers=expensive hard to find ammo
IF the barrels aren't pitted and IF it locks up tight with the forend removed and IF all systems function correctly and IF it's nitro proofed for modern ammo then someone MAY be interested at $400-600. If it needs work in any of the above areas no knowledgeable English double fan will want it as repairs won't be economical. Sorry, this gun is at the very bottom of the value scale. J
 
Bob, the pics are showing for me now.

This gun would be about the lowest grade Powell would have been making at the time....a border engraved boxlock. As Ashcroft notes, there is pitting and for sure the brass plating is there because of a crack at least and more likely a significant break. As he suggests, it's at or near the bottom for condition as well. So....lowest original quality and very poor but shoot-able (based on your comments) current condition put this in the $200 to $300 USD range in the US. Canada is typically 30% less.

As Ashcroft also notes, the cost of repairs would be astronomical and while I have been known to drop un-economical amounts of money to rehab a gun, I want something interesting when it's done. Not this gun. Speaking from experience repairs to bring this back to good condition could easily be in the $3000 to $5000 range to do it all properly. And when done, you'd have a gun worth at best $1500 to $2000. I sold a much prettier, almost full coverage engraved Army & Navy 12 gauge in excellent shape with re-blued barrels done by an English trained smith near London, ON for around $1200 18 months ago. No question it was originally a better gun than this was originally.

Sorry, old and English doesn't necessarily mean valuable.

Oh, and I hate to say this but don't take another older SxS to that gunsmith. He doesn't know sh!t from shinola if that what he told you about the gun.
 
Tks for the honest replies. Sounds like it would make an interesting wall hanger for a cabin.
The shotgun cost 37 pounds in 1910 according to the info we just got from Williams. Rest of the description of the order is very difficult to read.
 
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