Hi gjw..other posters have brought up some valid points on this Sauer. I will add the following..from the photos it is difficult (by me anyway) to tell if the receiver has been polished. A number of the early Pre-WW1 Sauer boxlocks I have seen owned and handled appear to have a high degree of alloy to the receivers. With time and handling the case colors mostly do fade to almost zero as already noted. Much handling will cause these receivers to take on a high degreee of shine or polish, mostly on the frame panels and in the areas of the trigger plate. The main point of the above is that the photos of the Grade 20 (model 8E in the Continental/German market)with the powerfull fill lights used to photo this piece emphasise the lack of case colors and hightlight the "bright" nature of the steel alloyed frame. Only by having the gun in hand can one really tell if the recevier has been polished.
A couple of plus' about the piece is the screws appear to be in fine shape, it is equipped with ejectors, has the original(?) buttplate and it has the checkered side panels, which are rarely seen on the model 8E's. The buttstock has the typical Sauer German comb/nose and from the photos it does not appear to have been refinished. (The Beavertail fore end may or may not be original. I have never seen a beavertail on a Pre-WW1 Sauer boxlock before but JPS&S would provide a customer with almost anything that they desired)
As pointed out the right tube does not have the Crown W which means a cylinder bored gun. The barrels appear to have original finish (look at fourth photo in the series the barrels have an underlying slightly brown or plumb cast to them) Also and should be noted, proof loads for the american market export shotguns (prussia marked pieces) prior to WW1 generally are not seen on the barrels.
I do agree that the piece while intriging is overpiced in todays market, mostly due to the short 26 inch barrels and almost three inches of drop. If I was seriously interested in the piece I would ask for high resolution photos (plus more than what is posted) to asertain if the frame has been cleaned up etc. I would also ask to have the seller confirm the .709 and .730 numbers that he posted in the description. Over all it is truly best to have the gun in hand to really look it over and make the necesary measurements (especailly the bores and chokes and wall thickness if possible)and to make sure it is tight and on face. Good luck! Jeff Stephens
