Where can you find information and values for a Belgium Browning Shotgun with a hammer that is stamped C Parker and has damascus double barrels?

Answer 1

This is an interesting story. The gun IS Belgian, and it is a 'C Parker', but it is NOT a Browning. Has nothing to do with Browning. In the late 1800's, from about 1880 through 1910, various major distributors such as the HD Folsom Company imported thousands of inexpensive shotguns from Europe (primarily Belgium) for sale by the various large mail-order catalog hardware stores of the time. Sears sold them, for instance. They had neat names designed to impress the typical unsophisticated Midwest or frontier buyer, such as "The Interchangeable." Some retailers wanted to play on the more established gunmaker names so we see these shotguns marked with "SAM HOLT" (not Sam Colt, even though Colt Firearms were never marked that way), "BARKER" instead of Parker, and "C PARKER" (also to confuse with Charles Parker and subsequent Parker Brothers). Parker Brothers shotguns and the early Charles Parker shotguns are considered some of the finest American made shotguns ever and are highly collected well into the six-figure price range. Your gun, however, is NOT one of these. On the underneath of the barrels, between the barrels and the frame, you should see the telltale 'ELG' proofmark indicating Belgian manufacture. The finish on the barrels is probably NOT actually Damascus, but a version of twist construction. Value is as a decorator piece only - these guns are universally considered unsafe to shoot. $200 or so, if in top condition. sales@countrygunsmith.net