doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Francotte Nimrod

Hi Guys,
Looking for some information on a gun my Uncle recently traded some old milk bottles for.The gun is a Francotte 12 ga. He says it has Nimrod and Damascus stamped on it, and he thinks the serial number is 14786. It also has not for ball stamped on it. It has double hammers and scroll work over almost the whole gun. I will be going to have a look at it tomorrow and post some pics. He nor I have any idea what he has and would appreciate any help.

Thanks!

Good Pics from all sides , & marks will help,
looking forward to seeing it
Franc

[img][IMG]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd460/Leaky114/DSC02380_edited-1.jpg[/img][/img] [img][IMG]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd460/Leaky114/DSC02373.jpg[/img][/img] [img][IMG]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd460/Leaky114/DSC02374.jpg[/img][/img] [img][IMG]http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd460/Leaky114/DSC02379_edited-1.jpg[/img][/img]
Ok....I hope this works. Here are the pics, hopefully they are clear enough to help.

Here are your pictures:




OK, from the proof marks, the gun was made between 1878-1897. That is the range for "Not for Ball", which basically means the gun has some choke. The Crown with AF is the Francotte maker's mark.
http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html
http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_Trade_Marks.html


From the serial number, according to this list:
http://www.doublegunshop.com/dgsnos2.htm

The gun was made in 1889.


Pete

Thanks Pete,
I know this sounds unbelievable but here is the story. My Uncle has a friend that does handyman work. He had been taking care of a house for a lady that passed away.They let the water lines freeze,her son calls the handyman and he finds an old .22 rifle laying in the water in the basement. He asks the son about it and the son tells him it belonged to his Dad and there is a shotgun in the basement somewhere. They find it and the son gives both to the handyman. The handyman collects old milk bottles,so when my Uncle finds any he buys them to trade with the handyman.(My Uncle is the kind of guy you could swap dimes with and loose a nickle) So he trades the handyman the milk bottles for the guns.
Any idea what the value of this gun is? Just curious to find out what you can get for 40 bucks worth of milk bottles.
Thanks!

It is impossible to tell the value from the pictures you have supplied. In good light, take a few sharp photos of the full gun. Show both sides, etc. From that, some one may be able to take a swag at the price.

Pete