It would be most foolish to fire this gun. Laminated barrels are also called Damascan barrels and have been known to corrode and weaken where you can't see the damage. This was aggravated by the black powder shells in use at the time the gun was new. Modern smokeless powder has much higher pressures. The barrels can blow up. You are best to hang this gun on the wall and never use it again.
the gun has two hammers and on the barrels is stated laminated steel
@ turn of the century, 50-100 USD
Your gun was made between 1880 and 1914, probably by Henri Pieper. If the name is actually Rickard (with a K instead of an H), it was probably retailed by J A Rickard Co of Schenectady, NY. Chrome and laminated barrels don't belong on the same gun. Except for a few custom-made shotguns, laminated barrels were not produced after the 1920s and chrome was not used until the 1940s. The plating was added after manufacture. I must have been short of sleep when I posted that. The finish is probably a nickel plating which would be appropriate for a firearm of this age.
Try gun shows, libraries.
No.
This will have to be one of the earliest Crescents. The proof mark indicates the barrels were finished in Belgium but the gun was not or it would have additional proofs. If the oval ELC has a crown above it, the barrels were produced sometime after mid-1893 and if not it was earlier, but not too much earlier because Crescent was founded in 1892. Any Belgian laminated barrels used by Crescent by 1900 or a few years earlier would have been finished in the US and would not have the ELG marks. Despite its age, these guns are plentiful, not in demand as collectables, and not suitable for use. Their primary value depends on how well they look over the fireplace in a yuppie's mountain home, perhaps as much as $250 in top condition.
Both of those names are in the list of old shotguns imported from Belgium c. 1900. Probably sold by Sears Roebuck. Laminated steel barrels should be retired. If it has side hammers, it should bring $125-$150 as a mantle decoration.
100 USD or so.
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If it is a fully functional (have it checked by an experienced gunsmith) gun with fluid steel barrels, back hammers or hammerless, it should bring $200+ as a shooter. If it has side hammers and twist steel barrels, it's worth $125-$150 as a mantle decoration.
Oxford Arms was a tradename used by the Belknap Hardware Company on shotguns they retailed through their mail-order catalog from c.1880-1920. Most were inexpensive utility grade guns made in Belgium and will have Belgian proofmarks underneath the barrels. The barrels themselves will generally be made of twist construction. Hammers and other parts would have to be made. Value is as a decorator piece only, $100-$200. Guns from this era and construction are considered unsafe to shoot with modern ammunition. www.countrygunsmith.net
Elgin Arms Company: Trade name used on shotguns made for the Strauss and Schram Company of Chicago. The value will depend on the exact configuration and condition. If it is a boxlock, either hammerless or with back hammers, it probably has fluid steel barrels and could (if approved by an experienced gunsmith) still be used as a field gun and be worth around $200. If it has side hammers, it probably also has laminated barrels. These should be retired and usually sell for $125-$150 as mantle decorations.