A friend asked me to photograph this old Parker shotgun so he could sell it. It is a Wells Fargo coach gun, made in 1885. I figured folks here would enjoy seeing it.

If only that old shotgun could talk. I bet it would have a few good stories to tell for sure. Thanks for posting the pics pumkinslinger.

very nice indeed... as 10spot says if only it could talk!!!!

That is sweet...I want it. Thank Punkin.

Thanks, Pkslinger. I've gotten so l recognize your tree.

That is one cool old gun. I've got a couple old shotguns or I'd be asking for your friends email addy....

It is for sale, but its not a shooter. Damascus barrels are kinda pitted inside. We're thinking that the Wells Fargo stamp will add some value.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. All the best...
Gil

I was wondering about that "shield". Thought it might be law enforcement related.

In the third pic it looks like the barrel is stamped 1875, not 1885...

Neat gun! Thanks for the pics.

patent date is 1875.

Some body had one like this on Pawnstars or Storage wars and discovered that someone had stamped the WF& Co much later because their purchase of the guns did not matchup to the dates on the gun..

You can see the episode here: eztvstream.com/storage...-the-mayan

The appraisal for the shotgun is near the end.

Does he have any documentation to go with this? Another clue would be a name stamped in the gun and a property number for inventory.

I thought they used Ithaca's too?

From Wells Fargo site...

10. How do I know if the Wells Fargo markings on an antique shotgun are real?

"Wells Fargo" marked shotguns have become a problem among collectors of antique firearms. In general, each town's Well Fargo Agent bought weapons from local stores carrying whatever was available — it was not a central headquarters function. Just as with companies today, Wells Fargo's offices did not keep outdated records. Therefore, there are no comprehensive lists of Wells Fargo firearms.

Additionally, in recent years, many people have added "Wells Fargo" to actual antique weapons. All of this makes it very difficult to know whether any shotgun currently for sale was or was not used by Wells Fargo, regardless of the markings. For further information, you may check the book by James Bartz, Company Property, (the Westbound Stage, 1993), for sale at www.westboundstage.com.

The folks at the Parker Gun Collectors forum have been helpful. The manufacturing date was confirmed there. The gun was originally made with 30" barrels but they've been shortened to 22". They told me that there are counterfeit "Wells Fargo" guns out there. I'm debating paying the $40 for a research letter, just to see what else they've got.

parkerguns.org/forums/...php?t=9451

I also emailed the Wells Fargo museum to see what they could tell me.

www.wellsfargo.com/abo...y/museums/

Sounds like a reasonable amount to me. It might save you a ton of trouble down the road.