doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A J Aubrey value

I am having trouble valuing an A J Aubrey shotgun.
A friend owns it, and I am going to buy it. So, I want no hard feelings.
I've done the typical research, ie. closed auctions, etc. but,
Model 58, (it might be a 56)? Aubrey's are scarce.

Condition is used, not abused
30" Chain Damascus, w/o pop up sight, pattern is visible, but going plum.
Non ejector
60% color
Gough engraving, flying turnips, well cut, but grimy
Stock uncut, butt plate un marred.
Screws Ok, but a couple are marred.

I've only seen 2 in 20 years, and one was right out of the ocean. So, I don't have much to refer to.

I'm not into screwing friends, I just need some real current market info if anyone wished to hazard a guess w/o pictures.

Meridens are just not appreciated by the market. The one you're looking at sounds great and is pretty much top of the line.

Still I couldn't value it on par with say a Parker or a Smith. Not even a Baker or Syracuse. Just my humble opinion, but I'd venture less than a grand...Geo

I'm with you George.
I see many Meriden's and Aubrey's of a pedestrian sort. Most are loose.
But people see the engraving, and start comparing to guns well established as collectable.
I felt it would be worth $1200 if it had ejectors, and the pop up site. But it doesn't. There's no LOM case either. So, I was leaning toward 6-700, leaving some cash for a barrel refinish. But, since I have no feel for the relative rarity, and the condition is acceptable, I could be pushed a little higher.
I just don't want him believing it's a 5K piece when the market says it isn't.

a lot of folks figure if that's all its worth Ill just hang on to it and hang it on the wall......make your offer worthwhile for him to want to part with it...or let him set the price....

Rare does not always mean high value, 600-800 dollars. There is just so very little interest in non big four or big five double makes. Same gun, if made by Smith, would have ten interested buyers on a web auction. Many times when there is just no interest by multiple bidders then prices are just never going to be that big for secondary makers like Aubrey, Baker, etc.... That said I expect the gun to sell for well under a grand. If a Smith it would bring two or three times as much. Market price is what it is. If you pay much more than that you might have a problem sellng it later for what you have into it. But if you love it and money is not the issue search gunbroker and other sites. The average selling price for the gun you describe will be under a grand. Now you can find asking price guns much higher but a few of them have remained unsold for multiple years.

I just bought a 53 in very nice shape, 50% case and very nice wood for $400 dollars. Only complant I have on the gun is someone put an ivory mid bead 9" down the barrels. I don't like extra beads and none that close. Removal and tender filling in the hole will make the gun much more usable. Maybe it's in high condition because that bead has bugged all the owners so much they never shot it.

Not meaning to "hog" this thread, but do any of you responders know about Tobin shotguns???

A little, "What do you want to know?"

I have an Aubrey that sounds exactly like yours. I think I paid around $450 for it in a GB penny auction a few years back. It should be worth more than that, but there is just zero collector interest in them. It is basically valued as a shooter and nothing more. If your friend doesn't believe that, let him advertise it for what he thinks its worth and learn the hard way.

OK- why are they not listed in the current Fijestad Blue Book of gun values? One is coming up at a local gun auction soon- only description I have for it is as follows: Tobin Arms 12 gauge sidelock SN: 15910- sorry- no fotos of this shotgun. Scarce? Valuable? different grades? History of Tobin Arms??

Below is some info that you may have seen. The typical Tobin here in Canada does not have that high of a value and can be had for around the $350.00-$550.00 price range. Of course a model with a higher level of engraving, such as the gun a few posts above, will bring more but the higher grades don't seem to be encountered often here. Also, most Tobins that I have come across have seen a lot of use and the opening lever being left of center is a common trait on a Tobin. That being said I find them to be a nice handling/pointing gun.




Album: Tobin Arms Mfg. Co.

Frank Major Tobin, Canadian by birth, was a gun salesman for several companies in the U.S. from the 1880's to after the turn of the century. He acquired the rights to the shotgun patent of Clarance Wollam of San Francisco and set up a company in Norwich, Connecticut, to manufacture the gun. Tobin operated there from 1904 to 1909. +++++ Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Limited, was incorporated on August 9, 1909, in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. The company produced the same line of Tobin Simplex Guns in 12- and 16-gauge; and in a variety of grades from $25 to $250. A hammer double using the same frame and bolting as the hammerless was added to the line at $20, and a simple .22 caliber single shot "Boy Scout Rifle" was added to the line of shotguns at $5. Advertising by Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Ltd. continued into 1916, but by then at least part of the factory had been taken over by the Arnold Thompson Tool Company. The generally accepted serial number range for hammerless doubles was 11,090 to 18,395, though lower numbers have been recorded presumably from Norwich inventory. Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company, Ltd. is not listed in the Woodstock City Directories after 1916, and its charter was surrendered to the Provincial Secretary and Registrar on December 19, 1921. Frank Major Tobin lived the rest of his life in Woodstock. +++++ The Tobin Arms Manufacturing Company gun was offered in 12- and 16-gauge and a variety of grades from $30 to $250 with options of ejectors and a single-selective trigger. Tobin also made guns for the trade that are not marked Tobin anywhere, but they can be confirmed by the patent stamp -- PAT. MAY 23-93 AND PATENTS PEND'G. Serials to a bit over 11,000 were made in Norwich, and above that in Woodstock. There is quite a bit of overlap as 16g guns have been found in the 9xxx range with the Woodstock address. +++++ A local gunsmith who had worked for the company, Gladstone Blake Crandall, bought the remains of Tobin Arms, and for many years billed himself as "Manufacturer of Tobin Guns (Successor to Tobin Arms Co.)." Crandall is believed to have assembled 551 Tobin Guns from parts, some as late as 1951. Crandall serial numbers reportedly range from 18,976 to 19,526. +++++ The 1908 A&F CATALOG has a page dedicated to their Tobin guns -- "We are carrying guns made especially for us by the Tobin Arms Company which we highly recommend as the very best guns on the market for the money." A&F's grades were -- No. 02 - $25, No. 03 - $37.50, No. 12 Special Trap Gun - $53.50, and No. 54 Featherweight Gun - $49, with ejectors were $13.50 extra. It appears that these equate to the regular Tobin No. 20 Standard grade, No. 30 Expert Grade, No. 21 Trap Grade, and No. 40 Featherweight Grade. +++++ Tobin guns have both a grade name and number, with an E, T, or ET appended when fitted with ejectors, single trigger or both. THE NORWICH CATALOG lists -- Model Grade, No. 60 $150, No. 60E $175, No. 60T $175, and No. 60ET $200. Model Grade, No. 55 $80, No. 55E $100, No. 55T $100, and No. 55ET $120. Special Pigeon Grade, No. 50 $70, No. 50E $90, No. 50T $90, and No. 50ET $110. Trap Grade, No. 21 $60, No. 21E $80, No. 21T $80, and No. 21ET $100. Premium Grade, No. 45 $55, No. 45E $75, No. 45T $75, and No. 45ET $95. Featherweight Grade, No. 40 $45, No. 40E $65, No. 40T $65 and No. 40ET $85. Expert Grade, No. 30 $40, No. 30E $60, No. 30T $60, and No. 30ET $80. Standard Grade, No. 20 $30. +++++ In 1907, the Jobber Price of the highest Tobin, a Model Grade No. 60ET was $109, with a net selling price of $160 and a list price of $200. The lowest Standard Grade No. 20 had a jobbers price of $18, a net selling price of $22.50 and a list price of $30.









+++++ AFTER THE MOVE TO WOODSTOCK, the grades were: Standard Grade No. 40 -- list price $40, Black Diamond Grade No. 55 -- list price $55, Trap Grade No. 70 -- list price $70, Pigeon Grade No. 100 -- list price $100, Model Grade No. 200 -- list price $200, Regal Grade No. 250 -- list price $250 +++++ Ejectors or single selective trigger were each $20 extra from No. 55 to 200 and $25 each on the No. 250. In Canada, Tobin offered a Leader Grade No. 25 for $25 that was a hammer gun. It used the same frame, but with a coil-spring driven hammer lockplate in place of the hammerless sideplate and frame-mounted hammer and V-mainspring. +++++ Collectors in Australia describe Tobin guns marked W.E. Ekins, Adelaide.