There are many photos of the Diamond grade and Regent Diamond grade guns. But the only photos of the lower graded guns seem to
be copied from Daly catalogs which are more sketches than real photos. Does anyone have quality photos of the guns identified by Daly
as 100 -185 models?

If I can step out on a limb here, when we refer to Diamond Quality (not grade) and Regent Diamond Quality, those had numerical model numbers assigned to them as well. And, over the course of the Prussian Daly output, you might have only one Diamond quality in the line up or you might have 5 Diamond Quality models. And the numerical designation might have changed over the years for essentially the same basket of options. So in identifying them one really has to take a stab at year of production, then look at a relatively closely aligned catalogue.

The same holds true for the models below Diamond Quality.....ranging from model 118 to 185. One has to look at the assortment of features on the gun, figure out rough date of production, then look at the nearest catalogue.

Canvasback i agree with your post. My purpose is to get some good photos of the guns which aren't the beauty queens. Surely there are some holders of the grades below Diamond grade who could post photos showing the engraving

This is a 10g I have for sale. I think it is an intermediate grade and the pictures show the engraving well. I do not know what grade or year it is but I can provide the serial # if that helps. https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...Words=charles&Search=true#Post621988

builder if you send cme the serial number i can give you an approx date.

Jerry, i have a 118 I'll post pics of later.

I edited the post above to add the link to the pictures.

I also private messaged you with the serial number.

Thanks.

For anyone looking builder's gun, by a flawed and approximate measure to be clear, it seems to be an 1898/1899 era gun.

Does it have a dolls head?

Search Lindner or Prussian Daly on gb and GI and you can see several examples of the lower numbered models. This publication will help you sort them out a bit.

I have that reference and you are right it is a good source - but not really good photos of the less than diamond grades. i am trying to fill that gap a bit. I will look at the gb and gl as you suggest

Does your 10ga have ejectors? do you have photos of proof marks on table and barrel flats?

The internet gun sites are a great source of "less than Diamond Quality" Prussian Daly and Lindner gun pictures. They aren't exactly rare.

To definitely determine the model designation of Daly hammerless SxS gun you have in hand, you need to note 6 items -

1. Whether the gun has ejectors or extractors

2. What locking design it uses (dollshead vs, crossbolt)

3. The gauge of the gun

4. What the rib inscription says

5. The engraving on the gun

6. WHEN THE GUN WAS MADE



#1 - This is usually the easiest to determine via photo. Just look for "steel eyes" on the side of the forend indicating the presence of ejectors. All other things being equal, ejector guns were utilized in higher model numbers (until they became standard in all but the base model at the tail end of the Daly production).

#2 - Dollshead fasteners were initially used on all the hammerless SxS model until the introduction of the crossbolt in the early 1890s. After that, (almost) all higher number models were made with the crossbolt with the exception of many big bore (i.e., 8 gauge guns).

#3 - The gauge is important to note as some guns (i.e., the big bore guns) usually retained the dollshead lock-up while an identical model used the crossbolt (confusing, huh?)

#4 - The rib inscription is important as you can often glean thee important pieces of information:

a. The quality designation (e.g., diamond quality, regent diamond quality)
b. The barrel steel composition (fluid steel vs, damascus steel)
c, Whether the gun has a special designation (i.e., a featherweight gun)

Each of the three items above, DEPENDING ON WHEN THE GUN WAS PRODUCED, is very helpful to lock onto a model number

#5 - Engraving is a very useful and often the quickest way to determine a Daly model number but MUST be taken into consideration with the other items. For example, in 1902, models 225, 255, and 275 were all identically engraved diamond quality guns except that the 225 had extractors (vice ejectors), the 255 had ejectors but damascus steel barrels, and the 275 had ejectors and fluid steel barrels. That said, when you see a gold crown engraved on the underside of action and shell motifs carved on the fences, for example, you can be pretty certain you are looking at the regent diamond quality version of the gun (i.e., a model 500)

#6 - The date the gun was made is essential to determine what model Daly you have. This is, by far, the most confusing aspect of Daly models. The reality is that Daly model designation came and went over the 60+ year run of the Prussian Daly SxS. What was a totally different model one year was just a feature option in other years. For example, during some periods, damascus guns received a different model number than their steel barrel counterparts. In other production periods, the barrel construction was just an option within a single Daly model. And while #1-5 can be quickly determined with the gun in your hand, the year of production is harder to determine and usually relies on a combination of things (e.g., proof marks, stylistic features (e.g., sideclips), serial number range, etc.)


The six items, taken together, will usually quickly get you to a model number. That said, even as I wrote the verbiage above, exceptions kept popping into my head. Schoverling, Dale, and Gales would honor customer requests so some guns don't fit neatly into the catalog descriptions of the day. But, for 98% of the guns, the above holds true. So bottomline, you really need a lot of information to determine the model during some production periods. I wish it were simpler, but it is not.

Hopefully this is helpful



Ken


- One final note, the "empire" and "superior" quality terms referenced by the Blue Book are only applicable only to the very last years of the Prussian Daly production. 20 years ago, the only Prussian Daly catalog reproduction readily available was a circa-1930 catalog that used these terms and they have unfortunately stuck around - and again, are not applicable to most of the Prussian Daly production.

Ken, that's really good information. Thanks