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Old 01-06-2011, 07:09 AM
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Default old english double guns?

i have a chance to buy a i hollis & sons shot gun. 12ga damascus barrels, double triggers and hammers, look to have internal firing pins. very highy engraved and this thing is mint. lock up is very tight and there is no pitting in the barrels. have been looking for information and value on this gun. please help thanks...
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:10 AM
2152hq 2152hq is online now
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Isaac Hollis & Sons.
A Birmingham maker, though they did have a London office at times. The prestige was and is in a London maker though Hollis is a well respected name.
I think he was out of business before WW1,,perhaps before the turn of the century.

Hollis gets kind of a bad name sometimes as they made alot of so-so quality trade guns for the Colonial trade (mainly South Africa). But their sporting arms will stand the quality test with most any of the makers of the time from that side of town.

Hollis made alot of pinfire shotguns (and rifles too). Could yours possibly be one ("....hammers, look to have internal firing pins..").
Pinfire guns have a very low resale value dispite the fact that everyone wants to look at them.
Do you actually see center fire firing pins in the breech face?
Some Pin fire guns were later converted to center fire (central fire in their terms). Many done by aftermarket gunsmiths.

There was a purpose built design that included external hammers with internal firingpins though. Kind of a transition from the hammer gun to the hammerless.

The English shotgun market is very slow right now, as is everything else I guess! It has been for quite a while. The shotgun would have to be something really special to get big money.

Nice condition Birmingham maker guns in 12ga with steel bbls (hammerless) w/extractors can be bought for well under $2000.
I have one here now I just went over for the owner and reblued the bbls for him, (though they really didn't need it for a shooter). It was bought for $1300.

Damascus Hammer guns have an audience, but a smaller one. Some collect and some shoot them also. Overall,,they don't like to pay alot for their treasures.

With a mint bore damascus gun (or any SxS for that matter) buyers will generally want to know the bore dimentions, chamber lengths, choke dimentions. They'll want to know the proof marks on the gun. The measurments will make a determination of wether the gun is still 'in proof',,a very big deal with SxS buyers of English guns. Doesn't matter if they're going to shoot them or not. It shows originality and wether the bores have been honed, chambers lengthened, chokes opened, etc.

Do a bit of looking at auctions for the maker and I think you'll find most go for $2K and under. Some hammer guns, some hammerless. There are exceptions of course and a standout gun will bring more..

Last edited by 2152hq; 01-06-2011 at 10:29 AM.
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Old 01-06-2011, 02:17 PM
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thank you very much, this helps alot. i'm going to the
OGCA show this weekend and will have it with me, hoping
to have a collector look at it and maybe sell it...
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