Looking for information and value of 19th century French shotgun.

What I know about it is that "OST" is stamped on underside of barrel. It is a percussion double barrel 20g shotgun. On one side of firing mechanism is the name Charleville, and on the other is what appears to be Alexandre. The barrel appears to be domascus. The stock is not cracked and has wild boar and flower engraving (both of which are impressive).

Please give me some information on it and what it might be worth. Thanks

If pictures will help, I can email them.

Photos would help.

19th c. percussion shotguns are common and generally have minimal collectors' interest. In spite of the "Charleville" making on your gun, it could have been made in Belgium, where hundreds of thousands of shotguns were churned out in that time period. The proof marks will tell the tale.

If it is a shooter, with no dings or dents in the barrels and a bright or at least only lightly pitted bore, and turns out to be a Belgian production, it may be worth $400 to $500. But, without photos and more information it is not possible to say.

Luie Alvarez wrote:

Looking for information and value of 19th century French shotgun. What I know about it is that "OST" is stamped on underside of barrel. It is a percussion double barrel 20g shotgun. On one side of firing mechanism is the name Charleville, and on the other is what appears to be Alexandre. The barrel appears to be domascus. The stock is not cracked and has wild boar and flower engraving (both of which are impressive). Please give me some information on it and what it might be worth. Thanks If pictures will help, I can email them.

i've got a book of European proof marks, if you pot pics i'll look for you. So far there are no French or Belgian proof marks of a Boar or floral pattern so its probably a makers mark. is it a fleur-de-lis?

I can email the pictures, just send me your adress

[quote="Lin Robinson"]

Luie Alvarez wrote:

The more folks who see them the better the chance of identifying the gun.

agreed

i'm just a man with a book, no expert

my email is belairsean@aol.com, but i would suggest posting pictures here

I'm no expert with computers, and cant figure out how to reduce them to fit on here, so for now I will email them.

Gilbert...

I can tell you, from the photos, that you have a French shotgun, definitely, probably made by manufacturer somewhere near Paris. I have a photo in one of my references of a 24 gauge shotgun by Armand of Paris which has a boar's head carving on the stock almost identical to yours. The trigger guard is also the same. The shape of the buttstock mirrors your gun as well and the barrels are of damascus twist steel. It is difficult to tell for sure, but I would say that the forends of both guns are close to the same configuration as well. The primary difference between the guns are the hammers. The hammers on my example have rounded necks instead of flat.

It is too bad that your gun has a broken hammer and the chipped forend. In better condition it might be worth upwards of $2500, depending on the condition of the barrels.

It is still a nice gun and you are fortunate to own it. Try to get the photos onto the forum for all to see.

Lin

I would like to offer some advice. If you do try and sell it to a registered ffl dealer remember he will try and offer you 1/3rd the price and try and turn a profit.