Posted by SGT on April 24, 2007, 7:35 pm, in reply to "A historic Elsie"
John: It's certainly your gun and you can do with it as you please; but, if it is indeed a 16-bore Grade 4 (I can't tell anything from the beautiful photo) your gun appears to be in very high condition with tons of original case colors. Grade 4 guns are not very common (455 recorded examples); and of that number, only 43 were 16-bore. As 16-bore Grade 4 guns are seldom seen; and further, as collector quality 16-bore Grade 4 guns are virtually unknown, this is not the shooter grade you want to take to the grouse woods. I've only seen one near mint Grade 4 16-bore Smith (one year ago), and it was for sale at $23K; and although I don't know the actual selling price, it does have a new home. If you would be so kind as to post close shots showing detail we would be most appreciative; but if the gun is as close to new as it appears in this photo, a mishap in the grouse woods could reduce its value by thousands.