doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com anton sodia question

I intend to buy a 16ga anton sodia ferlach hammergun. It is in excellent condition(almost unused), manifactured around 1935, from a private collection. i would like to get information about anton sodia and the prices that they are usually sold at. I have found the piece I am interested in at the price of 5000Euros. Do you think it's a reasonable price for this kind of shotgun?

It sounds a bit high for a hammer scattergun but is it similar that of current maker Peter Hofer? Anton Sodia's double rifles begin about there. A pic would be nice to see. I hope someone with more info comes along, but there were 2 Sodia makers, Anton & Franz, and some sources suggest the possiblity of them being brothers. Franz was more into quantity for export as in his heyday he could churn up to 100 longarms per month. Anton on the other hand was more into quality. His business ceased in 1982 or 1893 and I've seen catalogue references to the 1930s as well as data strings that suggest he began just after WWI. Neither were members of the "Consortium" in Ferlach, and neither is Hofer to my limited knowledge, even though Franz subscribed to the quantity school of thought. Anton's are truly handcrafted by a master craftsman. The "Consortium" looks to be an extension of the Ferlach cottage industry but in a more formalized fashion. Evidently makers from all over can purchase components in any state from rough to almost finished for their own projects/products. For price comps you are probably going to have to look at prices realized from sales and auctions, which you probably already know. And there is probably a limited market from resale. Does it have 65mm chambers and what is the data/proofhouse string?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

The above pictures are of a twin Anton Sodia hammergun, but with different engraving. Unfortunately I can't have digital photos of the piece I'm interested in buying, but since it's a twin copy you can get an idea of what the gun looks like. I have checked the proof marks myself and the maker's number on the stamp on the base of the gun. On the stripe of the barrels the name of Anton Sodia Ferlach is engraved with gold in the inlays and all the triggers, screws and pins are golden plated.

I would appreciate any advice from you

Nek what it is worth in Greece is different than what it would be worth in the states. Check some of the German auction house auctions from the recent past for value but I'd think it would be luck to find one that has sold.

I would also like to get more information about the gunmaker Anton Sodia.

First, I've found a circa 1910 Anton Sodia catalogue, so he was in business around the turn of the 20th Century. And with an early 1980s closing date, the company would have spanned a couple generations. I've looked a bit and it seems the only info to be glean is from catalogues that have survived as well as examples. Are you a collector, collector/shooter or shooter/collector? If it is possibly unfired, are you going to fire it? Is it art, useable art, etc.? Where does it fit in the scheme of things and for what use would you purchase it?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Sodia (Sodja) is still a common family name in the NW part of Slovenia called Gorenjska (Upper Carniola). Back in 1869 a young mechanic named Anton Sodia left his native Gorenjska region (at that time a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) and immigrated to Unterferlach (now an integrated part of Ferlach). Having a mechanical background he started a gunmaking business in 1870. He married and had six children, one of them being Franz. So this was the origin of two famous Ferlach gunmaking houses, Anton Sodia and Franz Sodia.
BTW many other Ferlach gunmakers are/were of Slovene origin (Borovnik, Glanznig, etc.).
Kind regards,
Jani