doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com DM Lefever Optimus Grade 16ga

Still a nice gun as an example of what can be done by todays craftsmen.

Which other example(s) are you referring to, Doc? Stopped them from doing what?

SRH

There was a high grade Lefever 16g 2 barrel set auctioned in Oct 2010 that was represented as original.
There was an extensive discussion on either this or the Lefever forum that I can't seem to find.
It had obviously been messed with. Gold had been poorly added.

Thanks, Bob. A good reminder to do due diligence in vetting these guns at auction.

SRH

All LeFever records were lost.... Any verification of an Optimus must be carefully scrutinized.

I agree wholeheartedly.
However, an auction house with the reputation and resources of Julia's should be expected to do some of that for you as compared to Joe's Pawn and Barber Shop in Podunk.

Ouch,,"never a screw turned"

Roger Ronnie might recognize it.

If the D M Lefever cross bolt guns were produced in close to serial number order, the Optimus grade was discontinued prior to #1977 being built.

#1966 is marked as made in Bowling Green, Ohio. The "Not Connected..." wording on the action bottom/trigger plate on #1977 is found on Syracuse made guns. With the plant being in Defiance,Ohio between the other two locations,that is another well out of sequence factor.

RDH45, I agree it is a good example of what can be done as a custom gun; too bad it is not so represented. I have one in process right now which will be "unveiled" at the Las Vegas show in January 2014.

"However, an auction house with the reputation and resources of Julia's should be expected to do some of that for you as compared to Joe's Pawn and Barber Shop in Podunk."

When reputable big auction houses or for that matter, any auction house takes in guns that are rare or very limited, it is up to them to research as best they can before they list it.
A prime example, a few years ago this same auction house had quite a few Parkers listed as, I believe, near mint condition. Gave a good description and naturally serial numbers in their online catalog. Doug Turnbull stepped forward and said that those guns listed he had refurbished.
Now if he had not stepped forward in the beginning and those guns were sold, and later found out that they were refurbished, they would make good and refund the money, but their reputation I think would be flawed.
It just goes to show you that even this big auction house's experts didn't know.

David,

It would be foolish to assume that every auction service employs subject matter experts for every make of gun and period of their manufacture.

Mark