doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Ithaca Gr 1 1/2 value?

Recently found in a basement gun shop..1914-15 grade 1 1/2 12ga 28" Krupp 4 & 4 mk'd (F/F) decent bores,tight action, thinning blue, no case colors, some buggered screws and fair wood with original but worn butt. I have seen what folks are asking for these guns but what are they actually selling for?

Less.

As described that gun will be hard pressed to make much more than a few hundred more than a regular Flues around here. They can be found for less than a grand, most in the $400-600 range unless pristine. Just not that much demand for the lower grades in Ithaca these days.

If this 1 1/2 grade Ithaca Flues has the magnificent acanthus leaf engraving, I think it would command substantial interest among connoisseurs. This particular pattern represents a tour de force in American firearms engraving. From a purely aesthetic standpoint the simple though delicate acanthus leaf pattern surpasses the top of the line Sousa grade.

J.K.B. von Falkenhorst

The leafy engraving was introduced on the No. 1 1/2 in mid-1915.



Prior to that the No. 1 1/2 had the roll-stamped dog and logo on the sides and a bit of zig-zag border engraving. Also, the No. 1 1/2 was only catalogued with Damascus barrels at that time. This is from the 1912-13 Fox & Crows catalogue, but the listing and picture in the 1914-15 Fox & Turkey catalogue are just the same --

Does the acanthus leaf engraving define the gun as a Grade 1-1/2, or did that engraving also appear on lower grade guns?

By 1919, Ithaca catalogues no longer offered composite iron and steel barrels and Ithaca moved to simplify their line. The No. 1 with Twist barrels and the No. 1-Special with Cockerill Steel barrels went away, what was the No. 1 1/2 with the leafy engraving became the new No. 1 with steel barrels. The No. 1 with the leafy engraving lasted thru 1935 of the NID period --





This leafy engraved Grade 1 28-gauge was shipped 04/11-35 to Henry Tharoff.

By the way, they are not Acanthus. Acanthus are on the post-1915 Grade 4 Ithacas --

The" acanthus leaf engraving" was used only on the 1 1/2 until that grade was discontinued, about 1919ish. The "acanthus leaf engraving" was then used on the grade 1 and continued through the NID era on those Grade 1 guns.

Thanks, guys. I have one with "leafy" engraving and thought it was a Grade 1.

and my wife thinks this computer stuff is a waste of time. I have a 20 ga. 28" steel barreled Ithaca grade 1 and 1/2 .With what I always thought was the strangest oak leaf on each side. Almost as bad as having a grades in the halves.
I will have to get it out for a new appreciation.